Selected quad for the lemma: judgement_n
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A37045
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Heaven upon earth in the serene tranquillity and calm composure, in the sweet peace and solid joy of a good conscience sprinkled with the blood of Jesus and exercised always to be void of offence toward God and toward men : brought down and holden forth in XXII very searching sermons on several texts of Scripture ... / by James Durham.
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Durham, James, 1622-1658.; J. C.
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1685
(1685)
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Wing D2815; ESTC R24930
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306,755
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418
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their Religion in that being much darkened and insensibly prejudicat as to their Light when they come up the length or near the length of that light Conscience speaketh and giveth its Testimony accordingly and they have thence a sort of peace but it is not the peace of a truely good Conscience 4. A natural man or a hypocrite may come a great length in respect of the external duties of Religion and may have a kind of a good Conscience in that respect as he may pray and have some moral sincerity in it and â—o as he would â—ain have a hearing and would some way have his heart praying â—ay he may have a kind of delight in approaching to God as it s said of those hypocrits Isa. 58. 2. He would â—ain know what is Duty and what is Sin and he doth not deliberatly thwart with his light in this respect Paul sayeth of himself before his Conversion that as touching the righteousness of the Law he was blameless and Rom. 10. 1. He beaâ—eth the Iews record That they had a zeal of God but not according to knowledge and what I pray was this but Conscience un-informed in and ignorant of the righteousness of God from which ignorance of Christs righteousness and of the way of coming to him it came to pass that they went about to establish their own righteousness So then the natural man or hypocrite when he hath come the length of some honest meaning is disposed to think that he hath done very well and that he hath a good Conscience yet though he may have a good Conscience in some respect or in these respects mentioned and the like yet to have it simply and positively from solid and good grounds giving him a good Testimony is impossible and the reason is because he hath not the Word going along with his Conscience in reference to his whole carriage and in referrence to the principles motives ends and designs of his actions testifying for him and therefore I say he hath not the Testimony of a truely good Conscience For the next Question Wherein is this Conscience defective and what is the difference betwixt it and a believers good Conscience Or how may it be known as differing from an honest Gospel Conscience Answer 1. In respect of its rise there is a defect in the Judgment for if the eye be blind if the understanding be dark the Conscience must be so too They have saith the Apostle of the Iews a zeal of God but not according to knowledge and being ignorant of the righteousness of God they go about to establish their own righteousness However zealous they were of God or others such may be yet they are ignorant in three thingâ— 1. In the extent and spiritual meaning of the Law supposing for instance that a man keepeth the Sixth Command when he is not guilty of any gross act of Murther and the Seventh when he doth not actually commit Adultery or Fornication not knowing or considering that a look arising from the flame of lust within is a breach of that Command and so proportionably in other Commands Even as the Pharisees conformed the Law in the meaning thereof to their own practice and not their practice to the meaning of the Law 2. They are ignorant of the way of Gods righteousness and of that which giveth the Conscience solid ground to speak peace many if they have an honest meaning in their praying reading of the Scripture waiting on publick Ordinances if they put their bodies to some sort of pennance or be ready to give if it were the half of their estates to have their souls safe and if they have a sort of seriousness in all this think that all is well with them and that they have a very good Conscience if this peice of ignorance were well discerned never one soul out of Christ would have peace because none out of Christ have solid grounds of peace for none have their hearts sprinkled from an evil Conscience but these that are in him 3. They are ignorant of their particular case they know not what sins they are guilty of nor what Conscience sayeth of them they think it speaketh better things to them then indeed it doth some guess at it some mis-interpret it and some repeâ—l it whereas if they were soberly reflecting on and impartially looking to their manner of proceeding in every thing they would see that they mistake their Conscience exceedingly This then is the first defect viz. a defect in the Judgment The 2d Is a defect as to singleness and sincerity in the natural mans best condition such are never single when at their very best even when they are most serious in Prayer they are but going about to establish their own righteousness when they fast and give alms and the like it is that they may have some ground for a good opinion of themselves or that others may have a good opinion of them being always acted from selfy motives and for self-ends A 3d. defect Is the want of unbyassed Affections these being partial and byassed will put the man to reason and dispute for the silencing of his Conscience and this eye not being single the whole body is full of darkness Affections being inclined or sweyed to this or that side they will seek to â—way Conscience to that side they incline to This is it that maketh some to follow after and to haunt the company of those who are erroneous in their judgment notwithstanding that they have good reason to the contrary laid before them from the Word of God which they reject and that without challenge being quite byasâ—ed and prejudged in their affections thus many natural men lay this for a conclusion that so much only is Holiness and that no more is needful and what is more is but superfluous niceness and so they prejudge their Conscience by that 4. It is defective in this that it maintaineth not its peace nor answereth its challenges from Christs blood it is not sprinkled with clean but with foul Water to say so it may be it putteth the man to take on some resolution or to come under some vow as to somewhat that it may be is no commanded duty of Religion not hath any valuable influence upon it or he will as it were sprinkle his Conscience with his tears thus many will grant that they have sinned but withall they think and will be ready to say that they have a good heart or a good meaning or that such and such a man well esteemed of hath such a sin and is as guilty as they are or that many have had such siâ—s who yet have gone to Heaven on such and others the like pitiful grounds they found their peace and by such silly shifts they seek to quiet their Conscience yea sometimes from the consideration of the possibility of pardon many conclude confidently that they are actually pardoned We shall forbear to say any thing further at this time God
might have taught him even when he is about to die when men use to be most single he is by his excess of affection carried on that same way though doubtless not inrending to cross Gods purpose anent Iacob And if Imight instance it without being mistaken by any in this particular which doth not seldom come to pass when two Parties are making choice each of other for Marriaga they may not only think but some may be perswaded that they are called to marry such an individual person because inclination and affection setteth them on when yet there may be no such call of God and so it may be in reference to other things A 4th Case is when Believers think that Gods Interest and their own interest go joyntly together in such and such a thing or practice though their own interest swayeth more with them then Gods interest yet they will be ready to alleadge that they care not so much what become of their own interest but they cannot endure noâ— admit such or such a prejudice should come to Gods interest something whereof we may see in Ionah to whom the Lord saith chap. 4. Doest thou well to be angry I do well saith Ionah to be angry to death and he would do nothing but die and even in that evil frame of spirit he adventureth to pray to God that he would take away his life for all which passion and precipitation he alleadgeth a regard to the great concern of Gods glory as if by that dispensation his truth and faitfulness would be reflected on while yet in the mean time respect to his own reputation that he thought would run a considerable risk and hazard had thereby for the time a prevalent influence on him and the great impatiency for the withering of his Gourd says plainly that his own interest lay there and his being so very caâ—kered and impatient oâ— so small an occasion and where so inconsiderable an interest of his own was touched might have down-right told him that he had need to suspect his impatiency in a greater matter Thus it was manifestly with godly Baruch Ier. 45. where regard to his own interest had too great a stroak on his fainting and â—ighing for which he is sharply checked Seeks thou great things for thy self seek them not though no doubt he wanted not respect to the publick interest that was now going to ruine in all appearance A 5th Case is when Believers seem to have or indeed have greater manifestations of God then ordinary whereby while it may be he is only approving and encouraging them as to the main they are then in hazard to conclude that he is approving them in some particular thing that was never in his mind As we may see in Peter who Matth. 17. at the transfiguration being trysted with a glorious manifestation draweth this conclusion It is good to be here let us build three tabernacles it might have been thought that he would not have mistaken and gone wrong then by any time and yet even then he doth so There is a very common ground of mistake amongst Believers who if they win at liberty in Prayer about such or such a thing and get as they think Gods countenance in the duty they are then very ready to conclude that God certainly approveth of the thing when yet it may be otherways but suppose it be so that thou art indeed countenanced in thy duty yea though thou wert upon the mount with Christ it will not prove that God alloweth the thing though he thus manifest his respect to thy self The reason is that which is said of Peter This he spoke not knowing what he said A 6th Case is when Believers impulse of Conscience proceedeth from zeal without light or when their light is not proportional to their zeal for as there may be in Hypocrites light without zeal which light doth not readily keep them from miscarrying so when the judgment of a Believer is mis-informed and zeal driveth him without light he then very readily miscarries as we may see Acts 21. and 20. Iames saith to Paul Thou seest brother how many thousands of Iews there are that believe and they are all zealous of the law c. their zeal was such for the Ceremonial Law of Moses that neither Paul nor any of the other Apostles could get them taken off and Paul was forced to stoop to them in many things when it might in reason have been thought that they should rather have ceded to the Apostle Thus Believers when not well informed but having an honest zeal for God are like a Ship that hath more sail than ballast and so cannot well bear up into the wind nor steer a straight and steddy course and from this honest zeal of theirs they may err and go wrong yea even be displeased with others that will not go along with them in their Error As all these are incident to Believers so they would watchfully take heed that in these and other such cases they give not credit to nor lay weight upon all that their Conscience saith A Fourth Question arising from the former is Whether it may be thus with a Believer and yet he be in a good frame Answer If we mean â— good frame universally so he cannot be but although he be in many yeâ— in most things in a good frame as both himself and others may think and have good ground to think so yet he may go wrong in a particular and in so far he is not in a good frame as in the instances given before 1. He may have an honest mind and meaning 2. In other things he may be very observant of and tender in duty very tractable and obedient to the faith of Christ keeping the Church hearing the Word preached given to Prayer and to wait on all Ordinances as no doubt these believing Iews were Act. 21. 3. he may be in some measure in a praying frame yea praying in or about the very time he miscarrieth as we see in that forecited â—nstance of Samuel 1 Sam. 15. compared with 16. who had been presently praying and offering sacrifice when he drew that conclusion touching Eliah Ionah also was praying in that fit of distempered passion and content to die and desirous to be in heaven which supposeth some clearness of his interest for it cannot in charity be thought that the godly man was desperate or durst so go to God and yet he was no doubt wrong Yea 4. He may have great manifestations as we see in Peter on the mount and yet go wrong in a particular as he did This sayeth that Believers as-well as others should walk in humility and fear and never be over confident it is not sure in vain that they are bidden work out the work of thier own salvation with fear and trembling And all men should be very warry unless it be on good grounds to draw conclusions about the goodness of their estate especially wherein these greatly failed