pleasure in Unrighteousness no but the contrary Who can reckon up the clamours it causes without and within Who can number the troubles of strife and variance How great is the pain of malice and envy What torments and horrours do blood and murder fill the Soul with Add to this that while unrighteousness is the bane of conversation which turns the world into a den of savage beasts where one devours another righteousness is the bond of humane Society which consults glory to God honour to Religion quietness to Conscience and happiness to Mankind And the same may be said of Godliness there can be nothing so truly pleasant and sweet Look upon the knowledge of God in Christ and how pleasant is that The Scripture calls it life eternal Joh. 17.3 One part of the pleasure of Heaven consists in knowing God and therefore this light must needs be sweet here And if it be sweet to know him how sweet is it to be united to him And that whether ye consider the misery of a state of distance and enmity Heb. 12.29 in which God is a consuming fire and we as briars and thorns and this is the state of every man by nature Eph. 2.12 without God in the world Or whether you consider the objects to which all are united that are not in union to God Their union is with their corruptions they are in Covenant with sin their Souls are glewed to their lusts some to pride some to covetousness some to uncleanness and how transcendently sweeter must the pleasure of union to God be than this Or whether ye consider the nature of this union as it is spiritual and indissoluble It is a spiritual union and therefore the pleasure of it is spiritual it is not to be seen nor felt nor tasted by common senses and therefore the natural man is so far from receiving it 1 Cor. 2.14 Prov. 24.7 1 Cor. 1.18 that he scoffs at and derides it Such wisdom is too high for a fool and therefore it is to him foolishness but the more spiritual and sublime the greater must the pleasure of it be to the Heaven-born Soul It is an inseparable union which can never be dissolved nothing can break it Death it self which can untye all other unions that of friend and friend that of man and wife that of body and soul which of all is the nearest yet it cannot râ—â—ch to dissolve this though the Soul and the body part yet God and the Believer part not neither as to body nor Soul for while the Soul is hereby taken up into a full communion the body is not left alone in the grave Rom. 8.38 39. Death cannot separate from the love of God in Christ. Therefore ye read of the dead in Christ 1 Thess 4.16 Mark it dead and yet in Christ though Dead This is meant of the body for the spirit dies not The body is in union to God when rotting in the dust therefore it is said to sleep in Jesus 1 Thess 4.14 O how sweet must union to God be upon this account that it is indissoluble though it had a beginning it shall never have an end Or whether ye look to the many and great blessings which flow from this union to God Such as pardon of sin the grace of Adoption the indwelling of the Spirit a participation of all Grace a title to all the Promises and blessings of the Gospel Oh how pleasant and sweet must these things needs make out union to God to be And where there is this union to God how delightful and sweet must all worship and service and all obedience to his commands be For by virtue of this union to God the Believer derives such power and strength from him as makes every duty not only possible but pleasant And where a man is much in obedience he is much in communion and much communion with God brings in much comfort and much comfort makes the life sweet and pleasant Therefore no life to the life of godliness Is there pleasure in living in Heaven Why a life of godliness is a conversation in Heaven our conversation is in heaven Phil. 3.20 Hath God pleasure in his own life why godliness is the life of God Eph. 4.18 As Holiness is the Divine nature 2 Pet. 1.4 so the acting of Holiness is the Divine life Now as the life of God being the highest life must necessarily be filled up with the highest pleasures and delights so a Believer partaking of the life of God which is of all the highest must proportionably partake of the pleasures of God which are of all the greatest And thus you have the first consideration which makes the Yoke of Christ pleasant and that is the matter of his service Secondly Consider the state in which this service is commanded and this Yoke injoyned to be put on and that is a state of regeneracy and renovation Without this obedience is not only difficult but impossible The proud neck of nature cannot bow to the Yoke of Christ Luke 19.14 Mat. 12.33 We will not that this man rule over us The tree must be good before the fruit can be good Good works don't make a man good they prove his state to be good but they do not make it good that is God's work Hence that in Ezek 36.26 27. A new heart will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you an heart of flesh and I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and ye shall keep my judgments and do them So that it is first a new heart and a new spirit and then a new life first a good tree and then good fruit first spiritual habits and then spiritual acts In Creation every creature is fitted and furnished with such faculties and powers as are suitable to those actions which are proper to its nature So it is in the new Creation We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works Eph. 2.10 First a new creation and then a new conversation and this makes Duty a delight Things are easie or unpleasant according to the inclination and poise of our spirits All pleasure and delight in doing arises from a suitableness between the heart and the work if there be Precepts upon us and a defect of Principles within us much may be done but there can be little pleasure in doing A sick man may eat and drink as a healthful man doth but he hath no pleasure in it all things are savourless and against stomach he hath no delight in it But it is for other ends that nature may be supported and life preserved he can't live without taking something But a man of a sound body and healthful temper acts not only his judgment in eating but his pleasure and delight his appetite is stirred up by the sweetness that
If the Conscience hath been effectually convinced of sin of righteousness and of judgment And if the will by a powerful touch of God hath been throughly subdued to the Divine Will then are you brought under the Yoke of Christ And this is a judgment a priori by such things as always precede an actual subjection to Christ and are causal of it CHAP. XIV Shews our subjection to Christ by such signs as are the Genuine Effects of it 2. WE may make a judgment a posteriori By such marks and signs as are the natural effects and proper fruits of subjection to Christ Effects bear witness to their causes the reflection of the Sun-beams upon the Earth proves its shining without looking upward And this to weak and less discerning Christians may be the most proper measures to try their State by VVho desires a better proof of Life then Sense and Motion or better Knowledge of a Tree then by its Fruits if the Tree be good Mat. 7.20 the Fruit will be good By their Fruits ye shall know them Now there are two things which are the constant effects and natural fruits of this Yoke of Christ and they are dying to sin and living to God Putting off the old man and putting on the new Crucifying the Flesh and Sowing to the Spirit And where ever a man is brought into subjection to Jesus Christ these are the inseparable effects of it by which it may be known First then take the temper and disposition of the heart towards sin for a rule of tryal He that bears Christs Yoke will no longer bear sins Yoke VVhere the one is once put on the other is dayly putting off There is an irreconcileable odds in every man that is under the power of grace to sin and lust and it appeares 1. In searching out of sin let us search and try our ways Though a good man knows much evil by himself yet he desires to know more Though he sees many lusts and corruptions in his heart yet he is sensible that there are many he sees not for who can understand his errours as we know but in part of the things of God 1 Cor. 13.9 so we know but in part of the things of our own hearts First convictions discover much but not all they leave much sin undiscover'd and of the sin that is discovered there is much evil in it that is not Hence that of Job chap. 13.23 How many are mine iniquities and sins make me to know my transgression and my sin It is a great mistake to think the convincing work of the spirit is over when once it hath discovered to a man his sinful estate and brought him to close with Jesus Christ there is need of conviction in order to Sanctification as well as in order to Conversion There are sinful frames of heart as well as a sinful estate and though a Believer need the convictions of the Spirit but once as to his sinful estate yet he needs them always as to the carnal frames of the heart Therefore he cryes out that which I see not teach thou me Job 34.32 As there is a height and depth in the love of Christ Eph. 3.18 19. which passes knowledge so there is also in the lusts of the heart And as it is the light of the Spirit which shews us the unsearchable riches of the former So he also discovers to us the unseen filthiness of the latter And this is a great reason why many good men complain of sin more after Conversion than they did before and still the more they grow into acquaintance with their own hearts the more they complain of indwelling lusts It is not because their lusts increase but because their light increases Not because they sin more but because they see more of sin As other Graces of the Spirit so that of Light is a growing thing and the more the light of the Spirit is increased the more of the evil of sin is discovered But notwithstanding their complaints of what they see yet still they desire to see more Though a Believer finds delight only in the fight of his graces yet he finds a profit in the knowledge of his sins There are two things which testifie aloud to the goodness of our state One is when we desire to feel more of the Grace of Christ the other is when we desire to know more of the hidden lusts of our own hearts The one makes us more humble and thankful the other makes us more vigilant and watchful This is one thing the hypocrite fails in he never searches to know his secret sins he prides himself in his seeming graces but he never searches to know his hidden corruptions He may boast with the Pharisee Luke 18. of his Fasting and Praying but he can't truly pray with David Search me O God and know my heart try me and see if there be any wicked way in me Psal 132.23 24. 2. This enmity in Believers against sin appears in the confession of sin whereby the Believer accuses and charges himself before God For this is a great blow to sin Confession is an act of mortification By our Law no man is bound to accuse himself but by the Law of God he is He shall confess that he hath sinned and shall bring his Trespass Offering Lev. 5.5 6. The Offering for sin is not enough without the confession of sin only acknowledge thine iniquity that thou hast transgressed against the Lord. Jer. 3.13 The Antinomians are against the Confessing of sin in the Children of God and we have others leaven'd with the same Spiritual Pride they look upon it as a servile work below the dignity of a Christian State But till a Believer get above the committing of sin how can he be above the confession of sin it is a duty as needful as the labour of the pump is to the leaking vessel what the Ship leaks in the pump must cast out And therefore this hath been the practise of good men in all times not only of David 2 Sam. 24.10 Psal 32.5 Neh. 1.6 Ezra 9.6 Dan. 9. and Ezra and Nehemiah and Daniel c. in the Old Testament but of Believers in the New Testament VVe find not only young converts at this work Mat. 3.6 Act. 19.18 but the most eminent Saints Rom. 7.14 18 21. it is an indispensable part of true Repentance In some cases it is a duty to confess our sins to man Jam. 5.16 as in case of publick scandal to the Church Or of private injury to our Neighbour Or in case of Spiritual Troubles that so we may have the advantage of good mens Prayers and Counsels But it is in all cases necessary to confess sin to God Josh 7.19 It is a great Glory done to him It puts honour upon all his attributes My son said Joshua to Achan give glory to the Lord and make confession to him It is the way to stop the progress of sin While it is
all that see their need and trust to his supplies And therefore it is all the reason in the world we should obey his Call and take up his Yoke who injoyns no obedience but what he gives strength and power to perform Fifthly It is he into whose hand the Judgment of the World is committed he is ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead Acts 10.42 And this is what you all profess to believe you say in your Creed that he is ascended into heaven and from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead and it is so for the Father hath committed all judgment to the Son John 5.22 He it is who disposes of all persons to their eternal condition the power of life and death salvation and damnation is in his hand He is the Husbandman who appoints the reapers to gather the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them but to gather the wheat into his barn Mat. 13.30 He is the Bridegroom who takes the wise Virgins in with him to the marriage but excludes the foolish Mat. 25.10 Mat. 25.14 He is the man who travelling into a far Country delivered his goods to his servants to one five talents v. 15. to another two to another one v. 19. and after a long time comes againe and reckons with them blessing and rewarding the diligence of the faithful v. 21. v. 31. and dooming the unprofitable servant into utter darkness And is there not great reason then why every one should take up his Yoke especially considering that it is made up of those Laws that are the rules both of his Government and of his Judgment as he rules by them so he will pass Sentence by them the same Laws that are now given by Christ for a rule of life shall then be the rule of Judgment Our Lord Christ tells you so John 12.48 He that rejecteth me and receiveth not my words hath one that judgeth him the words that I have spoken the same shall judge him in the last day If you will not submit to his word to guide you you must submit to it to try you you may decline his Precepts but you cannot decline his Sentence You will not obey him when he says Mat. 16.24 Follow me but you cannot resist him when he says Depart from me It is most rational therefore you should submit to his Precepts Mat. 7.23 or ye can't escape his wrath Psal 2.12 3. God the Holy Spirit he calls for thy obedience and for an early submission to the Yoke of Christ and therefore it is that he begins his work in the Soul betimes I know not nor is it for me to say how early but certainly it is very early There are none of you of any competent age but the Spirit of the Lord hath been dealing with you to bring you under the Yoke of Christ * Among such as are religiously educated there is scarce a child of ten years old but the holy Spirit hath been at work in his heart Increase Mather in his Book about Conversion pag. 134. The Gospel is the ministration of the Spirit 2 Cor. 3.8 and the Call of the Gospel is accompanied with a work of the Spirit where the Gospel calls outwardly the Spirit calls inwardly and this is the highest way of Gods calling There is no work of God beyond the striving of the Spirit in the heart and doubtless the Spirit strives less or more with all under the word He cannot be said to strive with all in the same manner nor in all with equal power and efficacy for then all would as well be brought under Christs Yoke as those that are But that he strives with all in one degree or other is evident For whence is it that many are under such frequent and strong convictions and that they are made to see sin and feel the burden of it convinced of their undone condition under it convinced of the necessity and equity of obedience and a holy life it is from the striving of the Spirit And whence is it that many are brought to take up the Yoke of Christ formally and feignedly that have no work of sound conversion wrought in their hearts So did the stony ground hearer he hears the word Mat. 13.20 and receives it and what is the receiving it but conforming to it So did Simon Magus Acts 8.13 he believed and was baptized and so came under the Yoke of Christ And whence is this but from the power of the Spirit put forth to convince of sin and of the equity of the ways of Christ This doth it Through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves to thee Psal 66.3 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mentientur in te Arias Mont. virtus nolentium nulla est The word which we render submit signifies in the Hebrew to lye Your Margent reads it feigned obedience and to feign obedience when the heart is not right with God is a lye And whence is it that many are wearied out of their lusts and brought to a free and willing submission to Christ and his Yoke but from the irresistible power of the Spirit Acts 7.51 And whence is it that many do resist the Spirit of Grace How could he be resisted if he did not put forth his power and strive with the sinner Resistance is a forcible opposition made by one against another in his onsets and attempts So that it is most evident that the Spirit of the Lord strives with all to bring them under the Yoke of Christ at one time or other Now I pray do but consider what reason there is for your compliance with the Spirit herein First Consider what his work and design is It is to prepare the way of the Lord into the heart to break the Yoke of sin to destroy that confederacy with corruption which will be the ruine of thy Soul and so to captivate the heart to the obedience of Christ Whatever means he uses this is the end he pursues If he wound us if he break us if he empty and out us of our selves it is but to bring us to a more ready and free subjection to the Laws of Christ Wounds of Conscience are painful things and spiritual troubles are grievous troubles the burden of sin is a heavy burden but so long as these things are under the management of the Spirit as instrumental to a ready obedience to the Lord Christ there is all the reason in the world why you should undergo them Secondly Let it be considered how uncertain his striving is you don't know how long or how little while it will last He begins betimes but you know not how soon he may have done If you refuse his calls and repulse him when he knocks you have no promise he will knock again To be sure the more you resist him the sooner you quench him and where he is once utterly
and word of Christ no Decree of God shall ever hurt him 2. Though the Decree of God be as determinate in other matters as in that of Salvation and Damnation yet no man rests upon that God hath fixed the period of every mans life His days are determined Job 14.5 the number of his months is with thee thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass Now will any man neglect his meals because God hath determined his days Will he say If I eat and drink I shall live never the longer if I never eat more I shall not dye a day the sooner There is no man so bereft of sense as to leave his life upon the decree of God without using means to preserve it for 3. The Decree is not only of the end but also of the means Faith and obedience are as much decreed by God as eternal life Hence ye read of being chosen to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth 2 Thess 2.13 And the Apostle to the Ephesians says God hath chosen us in him viz. Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be holy Ephes 1.4 Holiness is as much decreed as happiness There is no such thing in all the Scripture as Election to Salvation separate from faith and holiness The means and the end go together the Scripture is not made up only of promises for the incouragement of hope but of directions for the furtherance of holiness And therefore 4. Though the Kingdom of Heaven be prepared by the Decree Matt. 29.34 yet it must be sought by an early diligence in duty Though it is Gods good pleasure to give it Luk. 12.32 Matt. 6.33 yet it must be our work to seek it though it be designed for us yet it must suffer violence by us and we must take it by force Matt. 11.12 or we shall never injoy it notwithstanding Gods choice and Christs purchase The land of Canaan a type of Heaven was a land of Promise but yet they cannot possess upon the promise without fighting their way to the inheritance 5. In the day of Judgment God will not proceed with men upon Election and Reprobation but upon their obedience or disobedience to his Law He will render to every man according to his deeds To them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honour Rom. 2.7 8.9 and immortality eternal life But to them that are contentious and do not obey the truth but obey unrighteousness indignation and wrath It is said God will judge the world in righteousness Acts 17.31 Now righteousness in judgment is to distribute to every one according to his works God will vindicate the justice of his proceedings in that day by making the Word the rule of his Judgment to all that are under it John 12.48 And every mans Conscience a witness in the case Rom. 2.15 Let no man therefore deceive himself by groundless conclusions about the secret Decrees of God and so indulge himself in a sinful neglect of duty to the eternal ruine of his Soul Object 2. Another stumbling-block that lies in the way of young ones to hinder their taking up the Yoke of Christ is this That early Religion seldom comes to any thing They that mind Religion young seldom hold out long A young Saint and an old Devil * Angelicus juvenis senibus satanizat in annis Answ The design of the Devil and wicked men in this Objection is to decry early holiness as if it were time enough to seek after God and grace when we are dropping into the grave Now to such I would say three things Answ 1. This Objection is founded upon a notorious falshood for it supposes that true grace is utterly loosable that a Child of God may perish for ever which the Scripture doth expresly consute Where the seed of God is once sowed in the heart it never dies it is never lost nor plucked up it remains in him 1 John 3.9 Solomon says Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it Prov. 22.6 So that this Proverb of a young Saint and an old Devil is none of Solomon's 2. It is true that where a profession of Religion is taken up in Hypocrisie it commonly ends in Apostasie So that it may be said A young Hypocrite and an old Apostate But where do you find that any that truly feared God did ever depart from him Obadiah feared the Lord from his youth 1 Kings 18.12 2 Kings 22.2 and as he began with God so he ended Josiah was good betimes at eight years old and he held it to the last He turned not aside to the right hand or to the left David was a young Convert and he died an old Saint Psal 71.5 Thou art my hope O Lord God thou art my trust from my youth there is his beginning My flesh and my heart faileth Psal 73.26 but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever there is his ending I might instance in Samuel Jeremy John Timothy c. these began with God in their youth took up the Yoke betimes and so they continued all their days He that chuses God for his chief good and highest Lord at first finds so much happiness in him that he will never leave him at last Besides the Covenant of God is sure and one branch of it is I will put my fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from me Jer. 32.40 3. Should not the great uncertainty of life silence this Objection We have no security for another day much less that we shall live till the keepers of the house tremble and the grinders cease and they that look out of the windows be darkened c. As Solomon elegantly describes old age Eccles 12.3 Our candle may blow out as well as burn out One dies in full strength being wholly at ease and quiet his breasts are full of milk and his bones moistned with marrow Job 21.23 24. And shall we be afraid of taking up the Yoke of Christ too soon Or suppose you should live to old age yet such as turn their backs upon Christ while they are young it is rare if ever they come to take up the Yoke of Christ when they are old as a young Saint will never leave Christ so an old Sinner will hardly ever embrace him Or if he would it may be too late his season of grace may be past It is storied of Hannibal Plutarch that when he could have taken Rome he would not and when he would have taken it he could not And is it not the case of many When they may find Christ they will not seek him and when they would seek Christ they cannot find him when they may have mercy they don't prize it and when they would have mercy they can't obtain it He that in his youth reckons it too early
But he charges this practice with folly says he they are not wise 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They never come to understand their case alas how should they the obliquity of the person is hid in the crookedness of the rule For a man to be his own rule and standard is great folly and yet nothing more common than to judge a mans self by the presumed goodness of his own heart though it is the greatest cheat and impostor in the World The Holy Ghost tells us so the heart is deceitful above all things Jerem. 17.9 You read of deceitful riches Matt. 13.22 deceitful weights Mic. 6.11 deceitful witnesses Prov. 14.25 deceitful Prophets Jerem. 23.26 deceitful tongues Psal 52.4 a deceitful Devil Revel 20.3 but the heart is deceitful above them all Satan himself could never deceive a man if his own heart did not deceive him It hath a thousand deceits It paints sin with the colour of vertue It hides from a man the evil that is real and flatters him with a good that is seeming It perswades a man he hath the good he hath not and if there be any good that the good he hath is greater than it is It presents him with common Grace for saving It makes him take education for conversion and moral virtues for Gospel Holiness It is endless to trace the heart in its several deceits and therefore for a man to measure himself by himself when the heart is so deceitful must needs be a false rule of judgment Secondly Some measure themselves by such as come short of their attainments thus did the Pharisee in Luk. 18.11 God I thank thee that I am not as other men are extortioners unjust adulterers nor as this Publican and this was the false rule that deceived him Alas what is all this nature may be refined and yet be but nature and when all is done it giveth one man no more advantage of another than tame Beasts have of wild A tame Beast is as much a Beast as they that are wild We may not be so bad as the worst and yet may be worse than we think and we may be better than some and yet not be so good as we ought Thirdly Some make a judgment of their condition by the judgment of others If such as are Godly wise and discerning do approve and commend them this puts all out of doubt and makes them confident of their good condition Nothing blinds a man more to himself than the applause of others for this holds him in a pleasant dream of an imaginary excellency and puffs him up with an opinion of those virtues in himself which he is an utter stranger to Alas what is the judgment of others about the truth of my Godliness that I should value and judge my self by that How often have good men been mistaken in their opinion and judgment of others The Disciples judged Judas to have been as sincere and true to Christ as themselves and could suspect themselves as soon as him nay rather than him And therefore when Christ tells them one of you shall betray me Matt. 26.21.22 they every one cry out Lord is it I they little thought that Iscariot had been such a Judas How was Peter deceived in Simon Magus and the Apostle John in the false Disciples and never knew what they were till their Apostasy detected their Hypocrisie 1 John 2.19 Men judge by what they see and that is only what appears Now a man may be one thing in appearance and another thing in reality Our Lord Christ speaks of some that are in sheeps clothing and yet are inwardly ravening wolves The Opticks say solae superficies videntur we only see the surface of things and it is true who can see another mans inside who can tell what principle I am acted by in the worship of God or say what my aims and ends are they may be right or wrong true or false for ought any other man knows Many shall in that Day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ be condemned for Hypocrites that have passed through this World with an applause for Eminent Saints for secret sins may be retained under an open profession of holiness and men judge by the profession that is made because they see not the secret lusts that are indulged This is therefore a false rule to judge by Fourthly Some make outward reformation the 〈◊〉 to judge of their subjection to Christ by If they leave their open wickednesses their scandalous practices and live soberly in the World this is a rule by which they judge their case good Now this is a false rule to judge by For 1. Open sins may be reformed and yet heart lusts may be reserved and so the Soul is in as dangerous a condition as ever An impostume in the Bowels may as surely kill a man as the plague in the flesh Where sin is outwardly forsaken and yet secretly beloved there the Disease is not cured but struck in and so is as mortal as before It is not the refraining sin that weakens it but the withdrawing the heart from it It is a less evil to do sin and not love it than it is to love sin and not do it for the doing sin may possibly be from weakness of Grace but the love of sin is always from the strength of lust 2. A man may as to outward acts let all sin go and yet be a secret enemy to Christ for the Enmity as the Law says of treason against the King lies not in overt acts but in the depravedness and corruption of the heart and what is it for all lusts to be restrained unless the heart also be subdued to Christ A Dog tyed up from doing harm is a Dog still There may be a cessation of arms between Enemies and yet the quarrel may remain though the War cease A sinner may lay the weapon of sin out of his hand and yet the enmity against God still remain in his heart And therefore for a man to measure his Religion from an outward reformation only is to judge by a false rule Not but that an outward reformation is necessary for though a man may have a bad heart under a strict life yet to be sure he cannot have a good heart with a bad life Matt. 23.25 But this is not enough for the outside of the cup and platter may be cleansed and yet the inside remain unclean and filthy Fifthly Some make a profession of Religion the measure of their subjection to Christ they reckon a cleaving to his worship and ordinances to be a taking up of his Yoke Indeed it is required that all that believe in Christ should make a profession of him it is a part of the homage we owe to Christ to stick to his worship and ordinances to hold fast the faith and not deny his name But yet for any man to judge of the truth of his subjection to Christ by making an
pray against his sin as it is said Austin did in his Natural State who was afraid that God should grant his request He prayed one thing and desired another But he prays as David did wash me throughly from mine iniquity and cleanse me from my sin Psal 51.2 Oh the sighs and groans that a gracious heart sends up to God under the load and burden of sin We groan being burdened 2 Cor. 5.4 Hence that of the Apostle Rom. 7.24 O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of death never did poor Prisoner more long and wish to be freed from his chains then the Believer doth to be rid of his sins None can know what the wrestlings of a gracious heart are with God against Corruption but they that have been wearied with the burden of it 2. He mourns and sorrows under it as the daily burden of his Soul Grace softens the heart and then sin makes it mourn They shall be on the mountains like Doves of the valleys all of them mourning every one for his iniquity Ezek. 7.16 And this is sorrow of the right kind There is a great deal of sorrow caused by sin that is not right therefore the Apostle speaks of being made sorry after a Godly manner I rejoyced not that ye were made sorry but that ye sorrowed to Repentance for ye were made sorry after a Godly manner 2. Cor. 7.9 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ye sorrowed according to God And it is known from all other sorrow By its object and that is sin Sin more than any thing and special sin more than any sin 1. Sin more than any thing more than suffering more than affliction more than Hell Nothing in the world causes that sorrow in a gracious heart as sin doth Father I have sinned against Heaven and in thy sight sayes the poor prodigal Luk. 15.21 he doth not say I am full of wants ready to famish for bread but here is his wound father I have sinned So as it was with David 2 Sam. 24.10 I have sinned greatly in that I have done and now I beseech thee take away the iniquity of thy servant He doth not say take away this judgment this pestilence nay he is willing to bear it ver 17. Lo I have sinned and done wickedly but those Sheep what have they done Let thine hand be against me He is willing to indure the smart so as God would remove the guilt He would quietly bear his hand in chastisement for sin so that his heart were but towards him in the pardon of sin It is not smart but guilt that is the chief cause of sorrow in a gracious heart Now the hypocrite cryes out more because of smart then guilt Punishment causes sorrow when sin doth not Pharaoh is under a plague of Frogs and he presently calls for Moses and Aaron and what must they do Intreat the Lord that he may take away the frogs from me Exod. 8.8 he doth not say that he may take away my sin from me he was very sensible of the plague of frogs but had no sense of the plague of his heart So that here you see the difference between David and Pharaoh David is for the taking away of sin rather then of judgment Pharaoh is for the taking away of judgment but not a word of the taking away of sin 2. True sorrow for sin is more for special sins then for any other sin Though all sin is matter of sorrow yet special sins above all And it must needs be so for by these God hath been most dishonoured By these he hath so often broke with Jesus Christ By these he hath given the deepest wounds to his own Conscience By these Satan hath so long maintained his power and rule in the Soul And so easily insnared and overcome him The hypocrite never sorrows for his special sins His sorrow as it is feigned so it is either for some petty sins or such as are common to him with others But he feels no remorse for his bosom lusts nor comes near to that which is the chief cause of controversie between God and his Soul His beloved lust lies secure in his heart without the least disturbance or notice taken of it 3. He maintains a constant conflict against sin And this is a natural effect of hatred for hatred stirreth up strife Prov. 10.12 hence ye read of striving against sin Heb. 12.4 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is a military word and implies an opposing and fighting as against an enemy to whom a man is resolved not to yield And the enemy is here said to be sin which is the greatest enemy in the world and makes the fiercest war for it wars against the Soul 1 Pet. 2.11 against the grace of the Soul against the peace and comfort of the soul against the life and salvation of the Soul Hence it is that the life of a Christian is a continual warfare The Age that men observe in Civil Wars is from sixteen years old to sixty but this war commences from the first moment of taking up the Yoke of Christ to the last moment that a man lives in the world Every man that is born again is born a man of strife as Jeremy speaks in another sense he keeps up 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Jer. 15.10 a truceless war with sin Cant. 6.13 what is the company of two armies in the Shulamite but the lusts of the Flesh and the Graces of the Spirit in continual conflict and opposition of each other So the Apostle explains it Gal. 5.17 The Flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the Flesh And mark the Tense it is not said it did lust viz. at the first working of grace or it will lust viz. when grace is come to more strength and maturity but it lusteth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the present Tense and so it notes two things 1. That so soon as ever Grace is wrought in the heart it shews it self in strifes and contests with lust and corruption it lusteth against the Flesh or else it is not Grace 2. That this contest once begun will never end so long as any one lust remains in the heart Nor can it for this hatred of sin wrought by grace in the heart is so radicated in the new nature and so essential to it that as grace is increased so this hatred is heightened and needs it must for all hatred springs from love amor odii causa it is love to God and Christ which works to hatred of sin and therefore as love grows stronger so our hatred of sin still grows greater so that this contest can never end but in the death and destruction of every lust Other enemies a Christian can love and pity and forgive and pray for but he hath no pity for sin It is a hatred wrought by the Spirit of God which is full of indignation and revenge What indignation it wrought in you yea
what revenge 2 Cor. 7.11 Hence it is that he is so conversant and constant in the use of Ordinances his great end is to subdue and weaken lust under all First He uses the word to this end for this is the sword of the Spirit Eph. 6.17 and in conflicts either with corruption within or with Temptation without there is none to that No man was ever overcome either by Corruption or Temptation so long as he kept close to the word I write to you young men because ye are strong and have overcome the wicked one 1 Epist John 2.13 Here is an evidence of their strength their overcoming the wicked one But where lies their strength that is intimated ver 14. I write to you young men because ye are strong and the word of God abides in you and ye have overcome the wicked one The abiding of the word in the heart implies the power and virtue of the word taking hold of the heart and there it is mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds 2 Cor. 10.4 The abiding of the word in the heart includes every part of the word precepts promises and threatenings and the Believer makes use of all to subdue lust 1. The Precepts of the word where all sin is forbidden Hath God forbid sin and shall I indulge to it ought not his word to be my rule can I be true to God and transgress his Precepts what is sin but a transgression of the law 1 Joh. 3.4 and shall I dare to invade the rights of God and deny his Sovereignty Thus his heart stands in awe of the word Psal 119.161 2. The promises of the word he makes use of them to incourage hope and hope purifies the heart 1 Epist John 3.3 Hath God made such promises so many so great of this life of that to come and all to incourage the Soul to dye to sin and shall I live in it and so frustrate my hope in the promise Hath God so often promised Heaven and Glory to such as mortifie sin and shall I live to the Flesh and dye Thus having these promises 2 Cor. 7 1. he labours to be cleansed from all filthiness both of Flesh and Spirit 3. He makes use of the threatenings of the word as an incentive to fear for by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil Prov. 16.6 Thus the law of his God is in his heart so that none of his steps shall slide Psal 37.31 Secondly He uses the Sacraments for this end both Baptism and the Lords Supper 1. His Baptism he reflects upon it as a token and seal of that Covenant wherein God hath made himself over to him to be his God and in which God requires a forsaking of all sin and by his owning this Covenant he hath taken God for his God and devoted himself to live to his will and therefore looks upon himself as strictly ingaged against every lust and for this cause labours daily to put off the body of the sins of the Flesh Col. 2.11 2. The Lords Supper here by Faith he sees Christ Crucified for sin and how can this but make him hate sin and heighten his rage and indignation against it shall Christ dye for my sins and shall I suffer any lust to live that had a hand in his death Besides this Supper is a solemn renewing of Covenant with God and no man can renew Covenant with God but he must solemnly ingage to hate and renounce all the lusts of the Flesh Thus the Christian uses and improves every Ordinance to carry on the contest against sin that so he may mortifie and destroy it 4. His hatred of sin appears in his purposes and resolutions against it The Covenant with Hell and Death is now broken and he resolves never to say a confederacy to the lusts of the flesh any more When he is at any time surprized by sin as sometimes he is he hates it the more and it causes him to issue out a practical decree for God like that of David I said I will take heed to my ways that I sin not Psal 39.1 When once a man hath truly taken up the Yoke of Christ the resolve and bent of his Will is never to sin more Though a Believer cannot promise absolutely not to sin yet he may fully purpose not to sin So did David I am purposed my mouth shall not transgress Psal 17.3 No man can be said to hate sin that doth not purpose against it and he that doth not hate sin his heart is not right with God And this is one of those fruits of subjection to the Yoke of Christ whereby judgment may be made a posteriori Now I would to God that young ones would try themselves by this Character What is the disposition of your heart towards sin do ye make it your work to search out sin do ye labour to know more of your secret lusts and carnal frames and deceitful hearts this every one that is under Christs Yoke doth Do ye accuse and charge your selves home before God for sin and is it done freely and in sincerity and brokenness of heart this every one that is under Christs Yoke doth Do ye hate sin with a hatred of abomination I so as to loath and turn from sin and is it from all sin and do ye hate it with a hatred of enmity do ye pray against it do ye mourn under it do ye keep up the spiritual conflict striving against sin and using means of Grace and Ordinances to keep down sin this every one that is under Christs Yoke doth Is the bent and resolution of your soul against sin have you taken up fixed purposes never to live to the lusts of the flesh more thus every one that is under the Yoke of Christ doth By this then every one may make a judgment whether ever he hath taken up the Yoke of Christ or not 2. It may be known by living to God in a course of Holy Obedience Whoever hath truly put on the Yoke of Christ makes it his work and business to live to Christ there is such a Principle of grace infused that obedience becomes natural And this obedience is an infallible sign of your subjection to Jesus Christ and therefore a fit medium to try your State by For 1. What better Testimony can there be of our subjection to Christ than that which evidences the work of holiness in the heart Now obedience in the life is a sure evidence of the work of holiness within It is the natural fruit of the feed of God sowed in the good ground of an honest heart Holiness is an inward frame obedience is an overt act proceeding from it Holiness is the Divine Nature planted in us Obedience is the fruit that grows upon that Root Holiness is our Conformity to the nature of God Obedience is our Conformity to the will of God And nothing can prove our participation of the divine nature like our subjection
that was not right in the beginning Job sayes of the Hypocrite will he always call upon God Job 27.10 No he will not where the heart is not made right with God by renewing grace it can never hold out long in the ways of Obedience Sappy Timber in the building will quickly fail Counterfeit Grace cannot last There is something in the beginning of the way and something in the end that distinguishes every true Believer from a Hypocrite He begins in sincerity and that never any hypocrite did He perseveres to the end and that never any Hypocrite could Direct 3. Practise daily the duty of Mortification of sin not this or that or another sin but every sin for if there be any one Lust indulged in the heart that one Lust will at one time or other make the yoke of Christ an offence to you Therefore they that are Christs have Crucified the Flesh with the affections and lusts Gal. 5.24 Direct 4. Labour for weanedness of heart to all carnal and worldly interests that you may be able to say with David Psal 131.2 My Soul is even as a weaned child While our respects to worldly advantages are kept up in their strength we are sure to miscarry when a temptation comes This was Balaams bane he loved the wages of unrighteousness 2 Pet. 2.15 And this caused Demas his downfall Demas hath forsaken me having loved this present world 2 Tim. 4.10 This Scripture hath occasioned a great question and that is whether Demas was a good man or an Hypocrite whether his Apostacy was final or whether he did repent of his fall Some are of opinion that he was a good man and that though the love of the world prevailed upon him to leave the Apostle Paul in his troubles and to mind his present advantages yet he afterward repented of his sin and returned to the Apostle again And the ground of this opinion is from two Scriptures One is Col. 4.14 Luke the beloved Physitian and Demas greet you the other is Philemon 24. There salute thee Epaphras my Fellow-Prisoner in Christ Jesus Marcus Aristarcus Demas Therefore say they Demas his fall was but partial and though he fell yet he arose again But how weakly this opinion is founded appears in this that both those Epistles to the Colossians and Philemon were written before this second Epistle to Timothy which was written when Paul was in Bonds at Rome the second time as the conclusion of the Epistle which was but a few Months before his death doth make manifest And he tells you ver 6. The time of my departure is at hand And if so then those salutations of Demas to the Colossians and to Philemon were written while Demas was a Professor and before his fall and therefore can be no proof of his rising again by Repentance In all probability therefore Demas was but an Hypocrite who made a profession for carnal ends and such a one can never persevere in the ways of Christ He may follow him so long as Christs way and his lye together but where the way parts there the Soul departs from Christ From that time many of the Disciples went back and walked no more with him Joh. 6.66 Direct 5. Preserve tenderness of Conscience This is an excellent remedy against back-sliding It binds wherever God binds and gives every Precept its full force upon the Soul It consults neither safety nor danger but Gods honour and its own peace Nothing stands in competition in such a heart with the authority of God and the securing his favour Keep Conscience tender and that will keep thy path pure no man makes shipwrack of Faith but he first violenceth Conscience So sayes the Apostle Holding Faith and a good Conscience which some having put away concerning Faith have made shipwrack 1 Tim. 1.29 Direct 6. Live much in the lively exercise of Faith The Apostle saith in one place we walk by Faith 2 Cor. 5.7 that speaks its influence into our Obedience And he sayes in another place we stand by faith 2 Cor. 1.24 which imports its influence into our perseverance In nature standing is before walking but in grace walking is before standing Obedience must be before perseverance but both obedience and perseverance are by Faith We walk by faith and we stand by faith All Apostacy from Christ is the fruit of unbelief Heb. 3.12 Take heed Brethren lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God Nothing can keep the heart close to duty in all conditions but Faith firmly fixed upon the Authority of the Precepts and the good of the promises By faith Abraham when he was called to go out obeyed and he went out not knowing whither he went Heb. 11.8 Faith is an excellent Grace not only for the undertaking of duty but also for persevering in it There are but 2 things that make perseverance in the service of Christ difficult Some good which we can't not part with Some evil which we know not how to undergo Now there is no good but Faith can part with at Gods command By faith Abraham when he was tryed offered up Isaac and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten Son Heb. 11.17 And there is no evil but Faith will undergo at Gods call Through faith they were stoned they were sawn asunder were tempted were slain with the Sword c. Hebrews 11.37 Faith fetches constant supplies from Christ as head of the body and he is not only a head of guidance for the way we are to walk in but a head of influence for strength to walk in it Therefore it is said Isa 40.31 They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength they shall mount up with wings as Eagles they shall run and not be weary and they shall walk and not faint Direct 7. Take heed of first declensions and watch daily against them Apostacy begins in little decays at first nemo repente fit turpissimus A breach of waters which is but little at first may end in a great deluge Many a fair house goes to utter ruine which timely repairs might have prevented at a small charge A little breach made in the Conscience grows wider and wider It is easier to crush the egg then to kill the serpent And therefore it concerns us to watch against first declinings Is your Spiritual fervour abated doth love decay is duty omitted doth Conscience grow less tender This if let alone and not timely remedyed will end in a casting off the Yoke of Christ Hence that counsel of Christ to the Church of Sardis Rev. 3.2 Be watchful and strengthen the things which remain that are ready to dye Direct 8. Remember the terms of the Covenant you are in with God and renew them often by a fixed and setled resolution There is no man takes up Christs Yoke but he doth therein enter into a Covenant with God and this Covenant stands in mutual agreements and
a temporal Kingdom which they expected Christ would set up and who should be greatest in it so Mark explains it chap. 9.34 therefore our Lord tells them they shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven without a new conversion they must be converted from their carnal frames as well as from a carnal state hence you may learn that a man may have a right to Heaven and yet be very unfit for it there must be a double right jus haereditarium and aptitudinarium a right of inheritance and a right of fitness in our first conversion we derive a right of inheritance for then our state is changed but a right of fitness lies in after conversions by which our carnal frames are subdued We need but one conversion as to the former but we need many as to the latter First Because this though the former cannot is a conversion that may be lost a man may be in a quickned frame to day and under deadness to morrow he may be spiritual in this duty and yet carnal in the next Secondly Because it is a conversion that admits of degrees a man cannot be less or more converted as to his state but as to his frame he may there is no one believer more born of the spirit than another and yet one believer may be more spiritual than another and he that is so yet considered as to the measure of spiritual mindedness which is attainable and which he is appointed and called unto may himself be said to be carnal and may be filled with complaints because of the shortness of his attainment This I take to be the meaning of that complaint of the Apostle I am carnal Rom. 7.14 Doth he therein condemn his state no that had been sin But he bewails the frame of his heart that in such a spiritual condition into which by Grace he was brought he should have in him such a carnal disposition and frame of spirit Secondly A Believer is not to judge himself by what is unfixed and mutable for so the frame of the heart is what more volatile and unstable now caught up to Heaven anon sunk down to the Earth Cant. 6.12 now like the Chariots of Aminadab agil and swift to run the way of Gods Commandments anon like Pharaohs Chariots that drove heavily having their wheels took off Exod. 14.25 or like the wheels in Ezekiels Vision that sometimes went Ezech. 1.21 and sometimes stood still one while the acts of Faith are high another while giving way to Unbelief Oh how inconstant are the frames of good mens hearts look on David and now his mountain stands strong Psal 30.7 and the next word is thou didst hide thy face and I was troubled At one time you shall find him rejoycing in God at another why art thou cast down O my soul was it not so with Peter Matt. 26. V. 35. V. 72. Lord though I should dye with thee yet will I not deny thee And by and by I know not the man so that he who judges himself by the frame of his spirit will change the opinion of his state as often as the frame of his heart changes And therefore when you find your hearts dead and carnal your duty is to make this matter of mourning but you ought not to make it matter of doubting You must pray and strive and use all Gods means for the removing it but you ought not to judge your state by it lest you deny the Grace of God in you because of it This is another false rule of tryal Many more I might instance in but these may suffice to shew you how carnal and ignorant persons are apt to misjudge their state by false rules on the one hand and how weak believers are apt to misjudge theirs by false rules on the other and to caution you on both sides And now I come to shew you which is the true and right rule you are to judge your selves by and that is the word of God I do not mean the moral Law that is not a proper rule to try weak Grace and imperfect obedience by for that condemns for the least sin Cursed is every one that continues not in all things written in the Law to do them Galat. 3.10 The Law indeed is a rule to know sin by I had not known sin but by the Law Rom. 7.7 and to know our natural and undone estate by Rom. 7.9 It inlightens convinces accuses condemns and kills but it is not a rule to judge our estate in Christ by or the truth of our Grace by For by the Law nothing is Grace but what is perfect nothing goes for obedience though our sincerity be never so great if our failing be never so little And therefore he that trys himself by this rule must needs condemn all the Grace of God in him as no Grace because it is not perfect Grace he must be continually tormented in his own spirit about his state because the least sin subjects him to the wrath of God A Believer is under the Law for conduct but not for judgment it is the guide of his path but not the judge of his state The Believer is bound to obey it but he is not to stand and fall by it It is a rule of life and for the substance of it it is moral and eternal and can no more be abrogated than the nature of good and evil can be altered And therefore it obliges Believers as much as others though upon other motives and to other ends for they are not to expect life and favour from it nor fear the death and rigour that comes by it the Law hath no power either to justifie a Believer or condemn him and therefore can be no rule to try his state by We should labour to live to the precepts of the Law but try our state by the rule of the Gospel for that is the rule we are to stand and fall by And it is a comfortable rule for in the sense of it affections go for actions and indeavours for performances so that if our affections be real and our indeavours sincere the rule adjusts our state and gives us confidence before God The ready way to come to a right determination about our condition is wisely to apply to our selves those Characters and marks which the word lays down concerning state and state for it describes both the natural and spiritual man it characterizes both a state of Nature and a state of Grace it shews by positive signs who are subjects to his Yoke or Rebels to his Government So that it is easie for a man by a right use of this rule to make a judgment what his state is As a wicked man by applying the characters of the natural state may certainly know that he is out of Christ an enemy to him and that his condition is a lost condition for the works of the flesh are manifest Galat. 5.19 So would the good man but wisely
apply the marks of Grace to his own heart as he finds them laid down in the word he might certainly know that his state is good for the fruits of the spirit Gal. 5.22 are as manifest as the works of the flesh As God is principium essendi the cause of the being of Grace so the word of God is principium cognoscendi the rule by which we judge of the truth of Grace and therefore to the law and to the testimony Isai 8.20 Solomon says The commandment is a lamp and the law is light Prov. 6.22 as a lamp it is the guide of our way as a light it is the tryal of our state And so the former verse clears it when thou goest it shall lead thee there it is a lamp to guide us when thou awakest it shall talk with thee there it is a rule to try us Try your state therefore by this rule and believe nothing either for or against your selves but according to the word of God This is the rule God will try us by and therefore we should try our selves by it The judgment of God concerning us will be according to the word John 12.48 Rom. 2.16 So should ours be But in making use of the word for a rule of tryal it will be your wisdom to observe these three directions 1. You must take negative and positive signs together Many judge themselves by negative signs only and not by positive but this is to deceive themselves for negative holiness can never commend us to God whose commands are positive as well as negative A man may abstain from that which is positively evil and yet be but negatively good So did the Pharisees Luke 18.11 2. In trying your selves by the word you are not to look so much to the habit and principle of Grace in its being as to the properties and effects of Grace in its working for properties best prove principles and effects bear witness to their causes That which constitutes godliness is the habit and principle of Grace but that which evidences godliness is the properties of it Formae nos latent We do not know the internal forms of things but their natures become known by their properties and effects Our knowledge is for the most part à posteriori from effects the principles of Grace in us are not evident to us but by the motions and effects of them in our souls and lives 3. In judging your estate by the word you are not to look for perfect signs in your selves I mean such as do exactly answer to the latitude of the Law for these are not to be found in any Believer upon earth And if we look for such signs we shall be so far from receiving any satisfaction concerning our state that the more we try the more we shall distrust the more we prove our subjection to Christ the more we shall disapprove it We are to look for true signs but not for perfect for such as are common to the weakest believer not for such as are above the strongest The least grace discovered in a believer if sincere and true is a sure sign of his good estate in Christ though it be not enough to satisfy his desire yet it is enough to satisfy his judgment though it be not sufficient to fill up his measure in Christ yet it is a sufficient sign to make out the truth of his interest in Christ And that is the seventh general rule laid down for the carrying on the tryal of our state that we be sure to make use of a right rule Rule 8. As the word of God must be your rule so Conscience must apply it and give testimony according to it for the word of it self proves nothing but as conscience applys it and argues from it The word doth no where say this or that man is converted to Christ is a child of God and in a state of salvation no but it describes that state to which salvation is promised and then Conscience evidences that to be our state and so infers a certainty of salvation from the word The word lays down things in plain propositions Conscience makes the assumption and then draws the conclusion The word says Any man that is in Christ is a new creature 2 Cor. 5.17 there is the proposition now the good mans Conscience helped by the spirit as I shall shew anon that makes the assumption thus but I am in Christ and then draws the conclusion therefore I am a new creature The word says They that are Christs sheep hear his voice and follow him John 10.27 Conscience says but I hear his voice and follow him and thence concludes therefore I am one of Christs sheep And this is that wherein the true testimony of Conscience doth consist in giving evidence according to the rule laid down and by that either condemning or acquitting Hence that of the Apostle He that believes on the son of God hath the witness in himself 1 John 5.10 truly so hath the unbeliever too for Conscience by the light of the word witnesseth against him if he would but hear it The word says the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God 1 Cor. 6.9 but says Conscience Thou art unrighteous and thence concludes therefore thou shalt not inherit the kingdom of God And hence the Apostle speaks of a condemning Conscience 1 John 3.20 If our hearts condemn us It witnesseth in the sinner to condemnation and in the Believer to justification Object 1. But you will say if it be thus why doth not every Believer know his own state why are they so often calling the goodness of their state into question and so full of doubts and fears about their condition if they have a witnessing Conscience why is it thus Answ It is possible they may have witnessing Consciences and yet may know little of the goodness of their state For First They may not possibly be acquainted with their own Consciences nor keep up a communion with their own hearts as they ought Psal 4.4 It is no new thing for a good man to be a stranger to himself who might otherwise be satisfied from himself Prov. 14.14 Secondly They may have Conscience witnessing to the goodness of their state and yet not credit the testimony As a bad man is deaf to the testimony of his Conscience when it witnesseth against him from the power of self-love so is a good man to the testimony of his conscience when it witnesseth for him from the power of jealousie and suspicion He can look forward to apprehend the right object but can't look inward to apprehend his own act He can believe the testimony of the word but cannot believe the testimony of his own Conscience though it speaks according to the word though he hath truly received Christ yet he will not receive the testimony of Conscience witnessing to his state in Christ Thirdly Many may have witnessing Consciences and yet