THE CHRISTIAN IEWELL OR THE TREASVRE OF a Good Conscience By WILLIAM WORSHIP Doctor of Diuinitie 1. TIM 1. 20. Hauing Faith and a Good Conscience Multi quaerunt Scientiam Pauci Conscientiam Bern. in For. Hon. vit LONDON Printed by WILLIAM STANSBY for Iohn Parker 1617. TO THE RIGHT HONOVRABLE Sir FRANCIS BACON Knight Lord Keeper of the Great Seale my very singular good Lord All increase of true Honour with the glorious comforts of Grace THE Gospell Right Honorable is like the Booke of Canticles which begins with a Kisse and ends in Spices The verie sound of it imports Glad Tidings of PEACE without Rom. 10. 15. which this Inch of time allotted is but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Dead kinde of Life as Plato 1. De Repub speaks of a Guilty Conscience Forwere a man The Darling of the World with Titus Vespasian were he so replenished with all earthly good things as that no mortall creature durst wish the like De Ciuit. Dei l. 5. c. 25. as S. Augustine speakes of Constantine the Great yet if in this matchlesse prosperitie hee want the fauour of GOD and Tranquillitie of minde he is no better than AElian l. 1. Xerxes Plane-Tree which tooke no delight in it selfe though it was richly hung with Bracelets Tablets Spangles Chaines of Gold This Peace of GOD so Phil. 4 7. Gal. 6. 16. Col. 3. 15. much magnified in Scripture is better known by feeling than Discourse and being the fayrest Iewell vnder Heauen is peculiarly giuen to the Elect who cherish the sparke therof with workes of Pietie to GOD and Equitie to their Neighbour Thus in briefe hath your Lordship the drift and scope of this present Indeuour Now that I a Grasse-hopper in respect of many learned dare thus boldly and hoarcely sing in the eyes and hearing of Him who is Magnus in Magnis Primê° in Hieron Ad Pammach Primis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Herôum is I confesse Piaculum whereunto notwithstanding the Noblenesse of your Honours disposition which is wont with Artaxerxes to AElian l. 1. take in worth Synaetas handfull of water the Correspondence of the Treatise with that High place of Iustice whereto God hath aduanced you together with the zeale of declaring my thankefulnes and duty for so many Incouragements vouchsafed from your Lordship haue in a manner instigated me Goe on most Noble Lord to be a Sanctuarie to Conscience a Place of Refuge to the Innocent Oppressed and remember to serue that GOD with a faithfull heart who so graciously hath set you in the seate of your Renowned Father and go not onely beyond Him but Your Selfe too And as hitherto your Lordship hath esteemed of Siluer as of Tinne and contemned the Wedge of Gold which so many great Idolaters doe crouch to so still in this Exuberance of all things continue conâ—tant Et nudum Christum nudus sequere Durum Hieron Grande Difficile sed Magna sunt praemia Your Lordships most bounden and dutifull Chaplaine William Worship THE AVTHOVR TO HIS BOOKE POore Booke for all the IEWELL on thy brow Goe passe along and Bellman-like awake The Sybarite that liues he cares not how And will no pleasure but in Pleasure take Who while he leanes hath PINKES vpon his eye And POPPIES on his bosome as he sits And streaking out his limmes delights to lye On Roses faire and daintie Violits Bounce at his doore and if he aske WHO' 's THERE Tell him A MESSENGER from CONSCIENCE Hee 'le say SHE 'S HANG'D but then bid thou him feare That Death him selfe for if his skill in Fence Shall ward the blow that fatall Land-trees lend Rather than fayle WAPPING may be his end The Contents of this Booke CHAP. I. WHat Conscience is not CHAP. II. What Conscience is from the Notation CHAP. III. What Conscience is from the Definition CHAP. IIII. Of the Offices of Conscience and first that it is an Arbitrator CHAP. V. That Conscience is a Conuincer CHAP. VI. That Conscience is an Espiall CHAP. VII That Conscience is a Peacher CHAP. VIII That Conscience is a Monitor CHAP. IX That Conscience is a Schoole-Master CHAP. X. That Conscience is a Domesticall Chaplaine CHAP. XI That Conscience is a Prognosticator CHAP. XII That Conscience is a Register CHAP. XIII That Conscience is a Iudge CHAP. XIIII Of the Properties of Conscience and first of Testification CHAP. XV. Of the second Propertie of Conscience which is Ligation CHAP. XVI Of the third and fourth Properties of Conscience which are Excusation and Accusation CHAP. XVII Of the kindes of Conscience which are Good and Euill and first of the Good one CHAP. XVIII That the knowledge of Gods Word is necessary to the Goodnesse of Conscience CHAP. XIX That Faith is necessary to the goodnesse of Conscience CHAP. XX. That Repentance is necessary to the Goodnesse of Conscience CHAP. XXI That Peace is necessary to the Goodnesse of Conscience CHAP. XXII Of the Blessednes of that Man whose Conscience is quieted through the Pardon of his sinnes CHAP. XXIII Of the vnspeakeable Comfort of a Good Conscience CHAP. XXIIII That the Comfort of Conscience is Inward and Independent of the Creatures CHAP. XXV That the Comfort of Conscience is Noble and Sincere CHAP. XXVI That the Comfort of Conscience is Immutable and Durable CHAP. XXVII That Peace of Conscience is the best Musicke CHAP. XXVIII That Peace of Conscience is the best Physicke CHAP. XXIX That Peace of Conscience is an Inestimable IEWEL CHAP. XXX That a good Conscience comforteth in Infamie CHAP. XXXI That a good Conscience comforteth in Pouerty CHAP. XXXII That a good Conscience comforteth in Imprisonment CHAP. XXXIII That a good Conscience comforteth in Sicknesse CHAP. XXXIIII That a good Conscience comforteth at the time of Death CHAP. XXXV That a good Conscience comforteth at the Day of Iudgement CHAP. XXXVI A complaint that good Conscience is so little set by CHAP. XXXVII That Gods dearest Children are often troubled in Conscience CHAP. XXXVIII Of sundrie Comforts against excessiue Sorrow for Sinne and first Of the consideration of the Infinitenesse of Gods Mercie CHAP. XXXIX Of the second Comfort in trouble of Conscience which is The Meditation of the Bloud of Christ CHAP. XL. Of the third Comfort in trouble of Conscience which is the Indefinitenes of Gods Promises CHAP. XLI Of the fourth Comfort in trouble of Conscience which is The Example of Hainous Offenders that haue been pardoned vpon their Repentance CHAP. XLII Of the fift Comfort in trouble of Conscience which is The Consideration of Gods Fatherly Chastisements accompanying it CHAP. XLIII Of the Sixth Comfort in Trouble of Conscience which is Mourning for sinne CHAP. XLIIII Of the Seuenth Comfort in Trouble of Conscience which is Prayer CHAP. XLV Of the Eighth Comfort in Trouble of Conscience which is Reading of Scripture CHAP. XLVI Of the Ninth Comfort in Trouble of Conscience which is Singing of Psalmes CHAP. XLVII Of the Tenth Comfort in Trouble of
must vnderstand that Sapiens miser plus miser quà m Rusticus miser The wise man in his affliction is more passionate then the vnlearned for hee knowes how to exaggerate the causes of his griefe whereof the other cannot skil And though no outward crosse lye on him yet is hee so sensible and apprehensiue of his sinne that the continuation of his Pilgrimage is but a vicissitude of Ioy Sorrow He is euer sighing out this Prayer with S. Bernard Eripe De Interior Domo 31. me Domine ab Homine malo idest à Meipso Deliuer me O Lord from the Vngodly Man that is from mine own selfe And casting back his eyes on the seuerall passages of his life hee findes it to be Peccatâ—m or Sterilitas either Sinne or Barrennesse so his conclusion is this after all debatements Nullum inuenio peccatum à Bern. de Inâ— Do. 33. quo non sim aliquo modo inquinatus I finde no sin wherewith in some sort I haue not beene defiled This this was it that made DAVID water his Psa 6. 6. couch with his teares made him fast and go barefoote 2. Sam. 15. 30. and put sack-cloth on his loynes as if hee had beene at the brim of Despayre Psal 77. 7. as in truth hee was And so was Iob when the Iob 6. 4. Lord set him vp as a Butt to shoote at and sent poisoned Arrowes singing into his bosome So that it is not a matter of dislike to see a brother Afflicted in minde but rather of reioycing forasmuch as Trouble of Conscience is a necessarie part of Repentance without which there is no hope of Saluation CHAP. XXXVIII Of sundry Comforts against excessiue griefe for Sinne and first of the Consideration of the Insâ—nâ—tenesse of Gods Mercie IT is a worthy obseruation Super Cantica Serm. 38. of S. Bernard that The Ignorance of God bringeth foorth Despaire For when the Christian is in his Agonie his owne carnall reason will assault him on this manner Quid facis Et vitam istam vis perdere futuraÌ„ What now Wilt thou lose this life the other too Nequaquam pro tot tantis peccatis nec site excories sufficies satisfacere Thou shalt neuer be able to satisfie for thy sinnes so many are they and so enormous no not if thou shouâ—â— flay thy selfe Which sharpe temptation must be thus resisted Graue est vulnus Aug. in Psal 51. quod habeo sed ad Omnipotentem confugio de meo tam Lethali vulnere desperarem nisi tantum Medicum reperirem My wound I confesse is deepe and dangerous but I flye for cure to one that is Omnipotent I should vtterly Despayre but that I haue found so incomparable a Physician For though my sins Psal 40. 12. haue taken such hold on me that I am not able to looke vp and that they be more in number then the hayres of my head so that my heart faileth mee to recount them yet are they not Infinite as is Gods Mercie And therefore if Satan shall whisper in mine eare that my sinnes are greater than can be forgiuen I will answere him out of S. Bernard Mentiris Latro quia maior est Pietas Dei quà m quaeuis iniquitas Thou liest thou theefe for the goodnesse of God is greater than my wickednesse either is or can be The Lord describing him selfe for the comfort of his chosen repeateth his Mercie Exod. 34. 6. eight or nine times together is Hee so Rich in Ephes 2. 4. Grace and shall I bee so poore in Faith Is it not his Mercie that is Communis Peccantium Portus The Common Harbour of all Penitent Sinners For it is not the Wisdome of God nor his Power nor Iustice that keepes the broken heart from dying away but his Mercie which al men find by experience to bee the sweetest proprietie of his Nature Saint Bernard in a certaine De Euang. Sept. Panum Sermon makes mention of a Seuen-fold Mercie which hee sayth each Childe of God may find in himselfe The First is a Preuenting 1. Mercie by which the Lord preserues his Elect from falling into grosse euils Fateor fatebor sayth hee nisi quia Dominus adiuuit me paulò minùs cecidisset in omne peccatum anima mea I doe and will ingenuously confesse that vnlesse the Lord had preserued me by grace my Soule had gone neere to haue lasht into all sinne The Second is a Forbearing 2. Mercie whereby the Lord waiteth for the Conuersion of a Sinner In regard whereof the same Authour writeth thus Ego peccabam tu dissimulabas non continâ—bam a sceleribus tu à verberibus abstinehas I sinned O Lord and thou seemedst not to regard it I contained not my selfe from wickednesse but thou abstainedst from scourging mee for the same The Third is an Altering 3. or Changing Mercie which makes a man settled in the resolution of holinesse where before hee was prophane and loose in his behauiour The Fourth is an Imbracing 4. Mercy whereby GOD assureth the Conuert of his Fauour The Fifth is a Confirming 5. Mercie which strengthneth and vpholdeth the Righteous in his goodnesse The Sixth is a Mercie 6. that sets him in the hope and expectation of Glorie 7. The Seuenth is a Crowning Mercie where is Liuerie and Seysin and full possession of the Kingdome of Heauen Thus the Lord hath Seuen Mercies nay Seuentie times Seuen Mercies euen an innumerable multitude of compassions for the poore distressed sinner that groneth vnder the burden of his transgressions Therefore if I Pray this shall be Luk. 18. 13. my Petition O GOD be mercifull vnto me a Sinner and if I giue thankes this shall be Psal 136. the foot of my Song For his mercie indureth for euer for his mercie indureth for euer CHAP. XXXIX Of the Second Comfort in trouble of Conscience which is the Meditation of the bloud of Christ NExt when my Soule is heauie vnto Death I must haue recourse to the Bloud of Christ whose propertie 1. Ioh. 1. 7. is to cleanse from Sin and to make an atonement betweene GOD and Man Col. 1. 20. And for my further increase of comfort I must call to minde the seuerall Effusions thereof as they are recorded in Scripture The first bloud he shed Luk. 2. 21. was at his Circumcision when hee was but Eight dayes old which Saint Bernard De Passion Do m. c. 36. cals Maturum Martyrium A Timely Martyrdome To which end hee further addeth Vix natus est Coeli Gloria Coeli Diuitiae Coeli Deliciae dulcis IESVS eccerecenti ortui Crucis dolor copulatur Scarce was sweete IESVS come into the World who was the Glorie the Riches the Delight of Heauen but he vnderwent the painfulnesse of the Crosse The Second effusion of Bern. De Passion Dom. bloud was in his Agonie wherof S. Bernard speaketh thus Ecce quà m Rubicundus quà m
is the Booke of all comfort which if wee perceiue not the fault is in our pallate according to that of S. Augustine Mel amarum Febrienti Not hony In Psal 19. it selfe but is bitter to the Aguish I confesse the Bookes of Heathen Writers doe promise comfort in calamitie but alas they performe it not but are like a Brooke Iob 6. 17. that swels in winter when there is no neede of it and is drie in Summer when the Passenger fainteth and panteth for heate For being ignorant both of Sinne the wound and of Christ the Remedie the succour they afford must needs bee wearish No if wee will haue good Gold wee must go to Ophyr if good Balme to Gâ—lead if good Wine to Christ at the wedding of Cana and if good tidings to the Booke of God For to make a voyage when the minde is deadded to Gentile Authors for refection especially to their merrie Poets is little better than 1. Kin. 10. 22. trauelling to Tharshish for Apes and Peacocks I appeale to all the Seruants of God and chiefely to the old experienced Souldiers of Iesus Christ if euer they were eas'd of the Sting and tumour of Conscience by any writing vnder heauen but the Bible or by some Booke that hath borrowed all the sweetnesse it hath thencefrom And more let them say if at any time they hasted to this Fountaine of liuing waters taking with them their Pitcher that is true Faith and came not backe with wonderfull refreshment There is a rare and profitable History recorded by S. Augustine of Himselfe in Lib. 8. c. 12. his Confessions His words are these Recalling to minde and aggrauating my miserie there arose a great storme which brought foorth a pealing showre of teares Wherevpon I went aside from my friend Alipius that I might more freely giue my selfe to weeping And laying me downe vnder a certaine Figge-tree mine eyes gusht out with riuers of waters and thus I bemoned my selfe to God O Lord how long how long wilt thou bee angry with me For euer I beseech thee remember not my former wickednes For I perceiu'd that still I was hopled in it and therefore I tooke vp this miserable complaint Quam diu Quam diu Cras Cras Quare non modo Quare non hac hora finis turpitudinis meae How long how long shall I put off my Repentance with To Morrow To Morrow Why turne I not Now this present houre from the filthinesse of my life At which words deliuered with bitter mourning mee thought I heard a voice thus singing from the next house Tolle Lege Tolle Lege Take vp and Read Take vp and Read Then changing my countenance and pondering the matter carefully and aduisedly I returned to Alipius where I had left my Booke of the Epistles of S. Paul I snatcht it vp and opened it and read to my selfe this place which first presented it selfe to mine eyes Not Rom. 13. 13. 14. in Gluttonie and Drunkennesse neither in chambering and wantonnesse nor in strife and enuying But put ye on the Lord Iesus Christ and take no thought for the flesh to fulfill the lusts of it Nec vltra volui Legere nec opus erat Nor would I reade any further nor needed I for so soone as I came to the end of this clause my minde was secured al doubts dislodged If here it bee demanded what parts of Scripture are fittest to bee read for the stay of Conscience I answere that for the Old Testament the Prophet Isaiah in the iudgement of Saint Ambrose who counselled Aug. Confes l. 9. c. 5. S. Augustine propounding the same question to bee conuersant in him aboue others no doubt because he wrote so cleerely of the Messiah to come as if hee had beene already incarnate But Athanasius and Prolog in lib. Psal Ad Rust Mon. Basil Augustine Ierome and Chrysostom and almost al the New Writers stand so deeply affected to the Book of Psalmes that they hold it the Store-house of all good learning the Diuine Mâ—stris both of Faith and Vertue and the perfect Anatomie of the Soule And therefore their aduice is that as Alexander the Great was woont to put the works of Homer in the most precious Casket of King Darius which glittered all-ouer with gold and gemmes so that euery Christian especially those that are burdened in Conscience would locke vp the Booke of Psalmes in the Cabinet of their hearts as a most incomparable Treasure Now for the New Testament which is more glorious than the Old as S. Paul proueth I am of Zanchies De Natur. Dei c. 3. opinion that those Doctrines are most excellent which our Sauiour Christ deliuered with his owne mouth as his Sermon vpon Mat. 5. Luke 4. Iohn 17. the Mount at Nazaret at Capernaum and those heauenly Prayers which hee made a little before and at his Death Where it must be cautiously remembred that though in the Sermons of our Sauiour there be found some sentences of terrour and deiection yet as Luther Vpon the Galatians noteth they properly belong not to his office of Mediator-ship and were only bent against the viperous generation of the Pharises and others of that straine CHAP. XLVI Of the Ninth Comfort in trouble of Conscience which is Singing of Psalmes THere are sundry Reasons 1. why the Lord would haue the chiefe points of Religion included in Numbers by the sweet Singer of Israel One is that they might be transmitted pure and without deprauation to posteritie for they runne so eeuenly and so harmonically vpon feete that if there want but a word or syllable the errour is deprehended Secondly it is done for the 2. helpe of memorie for Concinnitie of Numbers is sooner learn'd and longer retain'd then Prose Thirdly as Athanasius 3. obserues it putteth vs in minde of the harmonie of our actions Fourthly it serueth for the 4. comfort of the Godly who are often more cheared by Psalmoaie than by Prayer In this last respect S. Augustine thus describeth a Prolog in lib. Psal Psalme Psalmus Tranquillitas animarum est Signifer Pacis A Psalme is the Tranquillitie of Soules and the Standerd-bearer of Peace With the which agreeth that of S. Ambrose Psalmus Praefat. in Psal est vox Ecclesiae clamor Iucunditatis A Psalme is the voice of the Church and the Noyse of Reioycing And truely it is verified in the experience of the Saints that deuout Singing of Psalmes causeth teares of ioy to stand in the eyes if yet wee may call them teares and not rather the Dew of Heauen with Saint De Scala Claustrali Bernard To this purpose saith S. Austine Psalmus etiam Prolog in lib. Psal ex corde Lapideo Lachrymas mouet A Psalme fâ—tcheth teares from a flintie heart Nay he sticketh not to affirme that the Singing of Psalmes and Hymnes vnto the Lord with a grace in our hearts doth inuite the Angels