of all our carriage and particular actions and so it is looked on as some way different from us hence it is called a Testimony the testimony of our conscience Hence also a man will appeal to his Conscience and it doth when in any measure in exercise impartially and incorruptly bear witness and a manâ— Conscience will speak against him as if it were at all no part of him neither can he command it silence however then we call it It 's a power deputed in the soul of man by God taking orders from Him and fâ—om His revealed will and word and accusing or excusing the man as He directs It 's called Prov. 20. 27. The candle of the Lord it is above man in its sentencing and accusing and will not be commanded by him To clear it yet a little further there are in Conscience these Three things 1. There is the laying down of some ground such as the Law or the word of God by which it puts a man to tryal which is That we call the major or first proposition of the Argument As we may see in Iudas when his Conscience wakened it layes down this ground which is done by light he that is guilty of innoceat Blood hath broken the Law of God and may expect horrible Wrath. 2. There is an assuming which is the minor or second Proposition of the Argument or the Assumption if the man be guilty of such and such sin As thus But I Iudas am guilty of Innocent Blood and have broken the Command of God and this the Conscience by it's Testimony confirmeth Then 3. It draweth the Conclusion and speaks forth the mans Lot and gives out his Doom what he may expect as in the present instance thou Iudas mayest expect horrible Wrath from God this Conscience applyes and layes home unto him every Conscience hath these Three in less or more The way of Conscience its Reasoning and Concluding is different from a mans Knowledge and Light For a man may see Sin and not be touched with it It dâ—ffers likewise from the memory For a man may remember that which affecteth him not It differeth from Self-examination for that if it be meeâ— examination brings a man only to know that he lyes under such and such Sins so and so circumstantiaâ—ed though it make use of all these Three as it's Instruments yet it goâ— beyond them and hath a Pricking Stinging Paining Power It Accuseth Sentenceth Smiteth and sharply Censureth Whereas before Conscience act it's part a man may look often on his Sins and yet but overlook them And as to things that are right Conscience doth not only or barely look on them but it hath an approving Testimony which proveth comfortable there is such a thing as this in every one of you which will let nothing pass but more or less will take notice of it and either accuse or excuse you for it As to the 2d The use of Conscience or the Ends wherefore God hath put this in Men and Women which I shall draw to Three heads that may be as so many Reasons of the Doctrine 1. He hath done so for this end that by it he may keep up his Soveraignity Power and Terribleness and keep men under the awe and dread thereof For this which is called Conscience will make the stoâ—est to tremble it will Write and Impress so vâ—vely and deeply these great Truths that none shall be able to blot them out that there is a God that there is a Judgement to come and that all will be called to Reckoning which none will get eschewed It will fix and fasten such self-convictions on Sinners as will make them un-avoidably condemn themselves So Iohn 8. 9 10. When the Scribes and Pharisees bring a women taken in adultery to Christ intending thereby to trap and insnare him He sayeth He that is without sin amongst you let him cast the first stone at her Whereby their Consciences were made to bear such faithful Testimony against them and to carry such terror with it that they were all forced to steal away one by one and yet they needed not to have thought shame on account of any thing we hear men could have challenged them for But Conscience had such an awe and force on them that there was no resisting of it Scripture-history does also tell us that such is the power and force of Conscience when it is awaked that it will make the knees to smite one against another even of a Belshazzar and will make a Gouernour Felix to tremble A Second end is That God may hold Men and Women at their duty in going about these things which are commanded and prescribed by him and in abstaining from forbidden sins For if there were not some awe from Conscience what extravagancies would they loosly run into who have no fear of God and of his Word And thus Conscience hath a force to put men to duty in these respects 1 It discovers Duty and holds it before them when the Lord hath commanded to Pray read the Scriptures to keep the Church and wait upon Ordinances dispensed there to keep holy the Sabbath day c. Conscience puts a man in mind of these and when he neglects any one of them will say to him thou shouldest be in another place or about other work so when Davids heart smote him it helped him to see his Duty 2. There is an obligation to Duty laid on by Conscience so that the man cannot shift it he cannot he dare not say such a thing is not my duty for Conscience beareth it in and layeth it on him convincingly 3. There is an efficacy in Conscience to pouss to duty from this comes that restlesness and disquiet that is often in Men and Women when duty is omitted that they can have no peace till it be gone about 4. Conscience inviteth to duty by promising peace upon the performance of it On the other hand Conscience hath influence to restrain from Sin 1. By discovering such and such a thing to be Sin and though the Soul would notwithstanding endeavour to digest it yet Conscience makes a challenge to go down with it 2. By threatning the Sinner when it 's warning is neglected and not taken telling him that he shall repent it one day and that it will make him repent iâ— 3. By taking away the sweetness of Sin and leaving a sting in place of it as when Achab killed Naboth it said Hast thou killed and also taken possession And from this arise challenges and fears of the execution of threatned Judgements which quite mar the comfort the man expected in the enjoyment of such and such a thing in all which it keeps a majestick and stately divine way becoming Gods deputy and bears witness for him against the Sinner A 3d. end is To abbreviat as it were Gods process in judging men to justifie and clear him and to make way for his Sentence whatever it be 1. It conduceth 〈◊〉 it were to
Conscience for abstaining from such and such a practice only from long custome of doing so from the example of others or from loathness to displease them or only from dis-inclination to or aversion from the thing which they will not readily abide by if any considerable suffering whether of emergent loss or cessant gain be met with on account thereof whereby it comes to pass that Conscience and truly Consciencious persons are expoâ—ed to contempt and scorn Some standers by and lookers-on taking occasion to think and say that such persons have all the while been acted by no real principle of Conscience but only by humour or at best by the example of others to the great reproach of Religion and the holy profession there of and such as have a natural and unreasonable prejudice at all serious godlinesse and tendernesse of Conscience ly at the wait to fish and catch all advantages so fortifying themselves in their prejudice and are ready to draw their conclusions not only nor so much against the particular persons as against the whole generation of conscientious and godly people yea against godlinesse it self and tendernesse of Conscience their prejudice prompting them to think and say We alwayes thought that sort of men were not truly conscientious and godly whatsoever they professed and now we see and find them to be so and that we were not mistaken but in the right when we thought them to be such they are all such all of a piece acted by no true principle of Conscience but by humour peevishnesse or some such thing notwithstanding of all their high floun pretensions of Conscience for let them but be put a little to it and all their Conscience-pretensions will be quite relinquished and evanish and they will be and do like others which gives ground to sober and truely conscientious persons to think that it were better and more for the advantage and credit of Religion and of the real pleas of Conscience that it were never pretended in such things where it is only pretended I will not I dar not say but a truly conscienscious person may by the more closse approaches of trouble and suffering on the account of some particular debated practice or forbearance be put upon more narrow and exact inquiry into and examination of the grounds reasons of that practice or forbearance And may after such inquiry and examination come from more clear light to have different apprehensions about the thing from what he had before Though the clearnesse win at which is waited with the eschewing of trouble and suffering would be holily jealoused and suspected and brought to the light of the Word to be thereby scrutinously accuratly and impartially tryed least self-love in such a case bribe as it were and byass the persons judgement and light 2dly When Conscience is pretended in minute small petty and comparatively inconsiderable things while in the mean time little or no Conscience at all is made of but vast and unlimited latituds are taken in the most momentuous and weighty things of Religion as the Pharisees pretended Conscience in tithing the smallest herbs as mint anise and rue while in the mean time they passed over without making any bones of them Iudgement and the Love of God which is straining at gnats and swallowing of camels 3dly When Conscience is pretended for mens tenacious adhering to human traditions while in the meantime they make no Conscience of making void the Law of God as the same Pharisees did for which out Lord with holy severity inveigheth against them 4ly When Conscience is pretended for not shedding the blood of Innocents and yet notwithstanding the same things are adventured on and wickedly per-petrated when they come in competition with mens worldly wealth or preferment or with the gratifying of great ones in order to the former as it was with Pilat in the matter of condemning Christ of whose innocence he was throughly convinced and accordingly did thrice over hear publick testimony to it yet when he was told that if he did let him go and condemned him not to death he was not Cesars friend he forthwith proceeded to the condemnatory Sentence and delivered him to the persecuting and murdering Iews to be crucified and poor wretch he imagined that the silly shift of washing his hands in water would wash and purge his deeply â— filâ—d Conscience from the guilt and pollution contracted by shedding of that innocent and most precious Blooâ— buâ— it stuck faster to and was more stiffly barkned on his Conscience then to be so easily washed off with such poor and pitiful shifts do such men think or fancie to pacifie their Consciences and to purge them from the defilements of the greatest most clamant and horrid crimes If Pilat had any real demurr in his Conscience about the thing as very probably he had his counteracting it on so base and unworthy accounts and then foolishly fancieing that by such an empty ceremonie as washing his hands in water he could be washed from the guilt of so aâ—rocious a Crime were high aggravations of it 5ly When men pretend Conscience as the reason of their not committing the least sin nay of their not doing somethings that are very debateable whether they be sins or not while in the mean time they make no Conscience to stretch furth their hand to â—ay with an high hand to adventure on the commission of sins that are incontravertably very great and gross as the Pharisees pretended Conscience for their not going to the Iudgement Hall least forsooth they should be defiled and so unfitted to eat the Passover who yet made no scruple maâ—ciously to embrew their wicked hands in the blood of the person that was God and typified by the Passover 6ly When Conscience or a conscientious regard is pretended for divine institutions and ordinances meerly and mainly from pickque and prejudice at the most tender and conscientious persons as if their warrantable and consistent practices were the grossest violations and greatest viâ—ifyings of them and plain inconsistencies with a just regard for them How often thus did the Scribes and Pharisees quarrel with our Lord and his Disciples as breakers and profaners of the Sabbath because of somethings done by him and them thereon not in the least in-compatible with the sanctification thereof as if they themselves had been more tender of the due observation of the Sabbath then either the Disciples or their Lord and Master was 7ly to give no more instances when Conscience is pretended for keeping and not breaking of sinful engadgements vowes and oaths wherewith men have rashly bound themselves As suppose a man should rashly vow and swear that he will be avenged at the highest rate on another because of either an imagined or real a lesser or greater injurie done him and as Herod sware very inconsiderarly and rashly that he would give the dancing daughter of the incestuous Mother Herodias whatever she should ask of him even to the
it self to proof and tryal taking the sentence of Conscience to the rule and trying it thereby and taking the answer on deliberation and not off-hand or by guess because it knoweth Conscience is but a servant and therefore will try if it speaketh its masters even Gods language to this purpose saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 4. 4. I know nothing by my self yet am I not hereby justified it will either have Consciences sentence and Gods sentence going together or else it will reject and cast it whereas the most part of men satisfie themselves with the sentence of Conscience and look not after Gods sentence and mis-interpret Conscience and take its first word as it were and put it not to the tryal Ah! is not this true of many of your Consciences ye think ye have peace and that all matters are clear and well betwixt God and you notwithstanding ye be secure ignorant or profane but when do you put your Conscience to the tryal ask your Conscience if in all the Word of God peace be spoken to the Wicked or to any that is not sincerely aiming and endeavouring to be holy consider that word Psal. 85. vers 8. The Lord will speak peace to his people and to his saints there is not one word of peace for the profane and unholy How then can your Conscience possibly speak peace if it presume to do it will most certainly beguile you and therefore as ye would not be deceived sollow not neither lay weight upon every word that Conscience speaketh as to your state especially at first but try it by the Word or take its sentence to God and to the Word and see how he approveth of it and how his Word doeth warrand it for as Solomon saith Prov. 30. 12. There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes that are not cleansed from their filthiness There is yet on this side a 2d Question viz. If Conscience may not only think it self to be right but think so in a high degree so as even to be perswaded of it when yet it is wrong Answer Without all question it may And here we may speak somewhat of a deluded Conscience which is a Conscience that not only is wrong and erreth and speaketh good when there is no ground for it but a Conscience that hath these two things beside in it 1. It hath a perswasion that it is right 2. It hath the affections somewhat stirred by it and a sort of joy in the thing whereof it is perswaded It 's I say a Conscience that not only speaketh good without ground but hath a perswasion that it is right and a kind of joy in it's way That there may be and is such a Conscience among the generality of Professors cannot be denyed and is clear from what the Apostle says Gal. 5. 3. This perswasion cometh not of him that calleth you There is a perswasion and yet not of God and for the other to wit That there may be a joy in the thing see Gal. 3. 1. O foolish galatians who hath bewitched you They had a sort of conceit and fainness even to a kind fascination and Bewitching conceit of their being right neither was there any dealing with them to draw them off that way There are Four sorts of these Consciences among Professors according to Four several rises that they have none of which will warrand them to think themselves to be right The 1. Rise is from laying too much weight on supposed reason There is a kind of delusion that ariseth from this ground which was it wherewith the Galatians were carried away having heard first from the Gospel of the righteousness of Faith And thereafter from some false Teachers of the righteousness of the Law as necessary to be added to it in the point of Justification They thought there was good reason for such a Doctrine and that no loss nor prejudice could come by it and therefore they did joyn both together The 2d Rise Is when men lay too much weight on great though yet but common Gifts as on liberty in Prayer and warmness of the afâ—ections therein on Preaching notably and one standing it out in sharp Tryals with the approbations of others it may be even of the best or when they have been helped to do some extraordinary things as in the Primitive times some Professors were helped as Gods Instruments to cast out Divels to speak with tongues c. who yet were not sound at the heart it is on this ground that Christ goeth when He saith Luke 13. 27. And Matth. 7. 22 23. Many shall come to me in that day saying Lord we have prophesied in thy name and in thy name have cast out devils and done many wonderfull works All which are as I just now said but common Gifts though some of them at least extraordinary and when men come to have any measure of these beyond others they will not be beat from it but will go to death with it that all is right with them The 3d. Rise is from some supposed spiritual sense and comfort and from some flashes of joy These temporary Believers spoke of Matth. 13. and Heb. 6. 4 5. attained to some tasting of the good Word of God and of the powers of the World to come such as once come this length do what they will and live as they will have it as it were alwayes sounding in their ears nor suffer they it to go out of their heads that such and such a day they met with God and that he spoke peace to them and therefore they are perswaded that matters are right betwixt him and them and yet all this while they may be unsound at the heart The 4th Rise is From folks habituating themselves to speak good to themselves and from maintaining their presumption and dulling and deadning their own Conscience whereupon in Gods righteous Judgement Conscience becometh a plague to them so that they will dispute and debate with and against any Minister Neighbour or Friend that would convince them of the evil and danger of their State and Condition and the heart being by them thus deceived speaketh and pleadeth for them and deceiveth them back again they are honest â—olks and were never heard with their Neighbours none have any thing amiss to say of them and their own Conscience justifieth them and what should more Thus having put out their Light and blinded their own eyes they have constrained and some way necessitated their Conscience to cheat deceive and beguile them Such as these are spoken of Isa. 44 20. He feedeth on ashes a deceived heart hath turned him aside that he cannot deliver his soul nor say is there not a lye in my right hand The heart is ordinarily taken as was hinted before for the Conscience in the Old Testament accordingly Iob said His heart should not smite him while he lived And it is said Davids heart smote him Now such a man as is here spoken of his deceived
clear command yea as its the neglect of a notable mean for the suitable performance of all other duties so that wherever Prayer Repentance Hearing Reading c. is commanded This is also on the matter commanded And as many duties as are commanded of as many breaches of these commands are we guilty when this duty is neglected Considering that when ever we are commanded to do any duty we are commanded also to use all the means that may further us towards the suitable performance thereof And this being a special mean requisit to the right performance of every duty it is therefore commanded in every other commanded duty We may inâ—ance it in the observation of the Lords day This helps a man to begin it aright It goes along with him in all the duties of the day and when it s over and by it helps him to discover his â—ailings and short comings and his actings of Grace where it is and spiritual attainments in these duties and to be accordingly affected and the neglect of it is à breach of the Lords day both before and after and in the time of publick or privat or secret duties of worship called for on that day and so proportionably in other duties 4ly We may look upon it In respect of its being a nursery of all sorts of evils it harbours end entertains Lusts it hardens the heart strengthens security it cherisheth hypocrisie It brings on formality and impenitency It as it were locks up in presumption and carnal confidence It wears men out from under the aw of God and from under all due respect to Conscience The man that makes Conscience of Self-examination will be afraid of a challenge but he that uses not and cares not to examine himself pulls as it were the bridle out of his own head runs at random gives himself up and layes himself open to every sin and temptation without fear of challenges And if ye will look well about you and observe narrowly will ye not find that the man that rusheth impetuously into a course of sin as the horse rusheth into the Bâ—ttel is very readily he that quite neglects and despiseth this duty of examination of his way by his Conscience or before the Tribunal thereof And when I pray are persons most tender or untender Is it not when they are most impartial or most partial in this work of setting themselves down to take a serious review of their case and way and â—illing themselves before their Conscience to review the sentence thereof As for the 3d. thing proposed to be spoken of viz. The causes of this so abominable and groâ—ly sinful neglect they may easily and soon be found out if we knew and considered what a nature we have so very averse from true holinesse yea the more sublimely holy and spiritual that duties be the more averse naturally are we from hem as its much easier to bring a man to the profession then it is to bring him to the power of Religion So is it much more easieto bring a man to the practice of many external duties thereof then to the practice of this one inward duty It being as it were a â—neding knife to Corruption bringing a man to strick at the very Rooâ— and Life of it and it being as it were a setting of him on the Black-stone He is the more averse from it We may add to this the consideration of the influence that the Devil hath on us in this neglect who knowing well how prejudicial to him to his kingdom and interest and how advantagious to the sinner this duty is he labours mightily to hold all in confusion and to keep the soul fast asleep as that which contributs much if not most to the gaining of his point for he knows by experience very galling to him that self-examination awakes a man and gives him a view of himself and puts him to think how he may be rescued from this destrover and therefore he doth in a special manner hate abhore and set himself against it And though he will suffer a man to do many other Religious dutâ—es yet he labours by all means to keep him from this duty because it helpâ— much through grace to make him cast out with himself and his own way and so makes Satan in a manner hopeâ—esse of him More particularly we may assigâ—e these causes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from peoples own practice The 1. whereof is 〈◊〉 that many men and women live so that their life cannot abide the tryal He that doth evil saiâ—h the Lord Iohn 3. hates the light neither 〈◊〉 unto the 〈◊〉 teaâ—t his deeds should be reproved It s no wonder that a Malefactor desire not to come before the 〈◊〉 and it s as little wonder that a man or woman that liveth a sinful and evil life deâ—ire not to come before their Conscience Hence it is that many dare not go to their Conscience because it never speaks good but evil to them as indeed it hath no other reason and on that account they even hate it As Achab did the Prophet Micajah of whom he said I hate him because he never prophesies good but evil to me And that they will rather consult Flâ—sh and Blood their own inclination and affection then their Conscience in a particular because they dread it will speak evil to them especially when they know that there is something palpably wrong in their way for in that case they conclude it will gloum on them and gall them and even prick them in the quick A 2d Reason is Because folks make not this work of self-examination habitual to themselves but delay and put off time till their case become so ravelled and consused that they are afraid to medle with it And though they should they grow heartlesse and out of hope to get it righted just like men that cannot indure to adjust their accounts which they have suffered negligently to run long on and into great confusion A 3d. Cause may be this which respects Believers in Christ that even where persons make Conscience of their wayes there is a kind of foolish precipâ—tancy and haste making They being disposed to think that examination of themselves takes up much of their time and that it is better to spend it in prayer or in reading then that way Not considering that its much better to have some little thing of Religion solid then to have a great bulk of many duties without solidiâ—y or with very little of it These are like to the builder of a house who rickleth up stones without Square and Ruâ—e and without Morter which possibly falleth and cometh down ere he come at the top of it A foolish haste to be forward makes our work in Religion to be oâ—tentimes very unsolid Alace â—ts not what bâ—lk we have not how soon we come to have it but what solidity and sickernesse we have that will give us peace comfort oâ— joy Our common proverb holds true here That work