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A46895
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The booke of conscience opened and read in a sermon preached at the Spittle on Easter-Tuesday, being April 12, 1642 / by John Jackson.
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Jackson, John.
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1642
(1642)
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Wing J76; ESTC R36019
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31,589
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156
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THE BOOKE OF CONSCIENCE opened and read In a Sermon preached at the Spittle on Easter-Tuesday being April 12. 1642. By JOHN JACKSON LONDON Printed by F. K. for R. M. and are to be sold by Daniel Milbourne at the New Exchange and at the holy Lambe in little Britaine 1642. TO THE RIGHT Honourable Sr RICHARD GURNY Knight and Baronet Lord Major of the City of London together with the Right Worshipfull the Sheriffes and Aldermen of the same City The continuall feast of a good Conscience be ever multiplyed SIRS MAy it please you The Scottish King being imprisoned in Mortimers hole comforted himself and deceived the sorrowes of his bondage by scraping the Story of Christ crucified upon the wals with his nailes Even so God writeth the lawes and dictates of Conscience upon a wall the wall of Conscience Murus aheneus so as all the rules of Divinity of nature of nations and of positive lawes as they relate to Conscience are like the hand-writing Dan. 5. herbae Parietariae wall-flowers And they are written and sculptured with a naile too but a more stiffe and potent naile then that of the Scottish King Judge not ex ungue c. but by a retrograde crisis judge the naile by the finger which is expresly called digitus Dei Exod. 31. 18. and what can the naile of such a finger be but unguis adamantinus as it is adjuncted Jer. 17. 1 and need it hath to be no lesse unlesse the pen be more soft then the paper for if our hearts be hearts of adamant Zech. 7. 12. then the stile that writes characters upon them had need be a pen of iron and the naile of an Adamant I present here your Worthinesses with a booke a booke as St Bernard ingeniously for the rectifying whereof all other bookes are written I except not the very Booke of bookes it self For there are foure Bookes written by God for the sons of men which are thus to be classed and ordered They are either the Bookes of Grace or of Nature The Bookes of Grace are either outwarâ— or inward The outward Booke of Grace is the holy Bible The inward Book of Grace is the holy Spirit the great Doctor of the Church The outward booke of nature is the world or book of the Creatures which is God unfolded The inward Booke of nature is this very booke whose seales I have in the ensuing Traâ—â—aâ—e broke open the Book of Conscience so called Apoc. 20. 12. That which one likes another will dislike some have been such grosse flatterers as to commend Nero and some againe such detractors as to dispraise Trajan one mans pottage will be anothers coloquintida the same son was Rachels Ben-oni Jacob's Benjamin The same in scription on the plaister which made Belshazzar quiver for feare made Darius his successor quavâ—r for joy The very same facultie of Conscience which entertaines and feasts one starves or choakes another And the Commentary must not looke for a better lot then the Text nor the Sermon then the Theame I know too well the wayes of this towne to expect other but for the publishing hereof I have this excuse which must prevaile with an ingenuous nature that I have beene mastered by entreaties thereunto so as if there be any errour in that regard their burthen must be my case Now I pray God keep your Honour and Worships in grace unto glory and that as the best meanes conducing to that end you here exercise your selves to keep a good Conscience in all things both towards God and towards man Your Hon. and Wor. humble and faithfull Servant in the things of God and Christ JOHN JACKSON The readings of the Text of Prov. 15. ver. 15. Hebr. {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} Graec. {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} Sept. {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} Symmacâ— Lat. Secura mens quasi juge convivium Vulg. Cujus bilaris est animus convivium est continuum Transl. Chald. Paraphr Cor bonum quasi juge covivium Munst. Secura mens hoc est bona conscientia c. Stephanus Jucundus corde convivio jugi Vataâ—â— Jociâ—dus corde c. Pagniu Laeta mens perpetuum 〈◊〉 Câ—stalio c. Angl. A good Conscience is a continuall feast He that is of a merry heaâ—t hath a continuall feast THE BOOKE OF CONSCIENCE opened and read Tho Text PROV. 15. 15. A good Conscience is a continuall feast THe reading of this Text must first be set straight ere any progresse can be made lest we seeme to make a Sermon upon a text which will not beare the burden of the discourse It was read long in our English Bibles thus A good conscience is a continuall feast till King James of blessed memory as another Ptolomy Philadelphus assembled together above 40. rare Linguists and Divines to perfect us a new translation where it is read thus He that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast Which reading is subordinate to the former for there can be no sincere or lasting mirth of heart but such as proceeds from and is superstructed upon the foundation of a good conscience Besides if we will drinke water out of the fount it is in the Hebrew neither a merry heart nor a good conscience a but a good heart is a continuall feast nor can it otherwise be because there is no peculiar word in the Hebrew tongue to denote this particular facultie of soule which we call Conscience but the generall word b HEART And even in the now Testament where there are proper words for it yet the generall word HEART is used 1 John Epist. chap. 3. and 20. c If our heart condemne us c. there HEART stands for CONSCIENCE for we know it to be the proper effect of conscience to condemne or absolve which of it selfe seems to determine that Conscience is not a peculiar and distinct faculty of the soul as understanding will memory c. are but the soul reflecting and recoyling upon it self Which being prefaced we may safely read it as you have heard A good Conscience is a continuall feast Wherein every word doth fitly constitute a part for first here is the subject Conscience Secondly and adjunct of excellencie joyned unto it Good Thirdly the praedicate A Feast Lastly an adjunct of perpetuity joyned to that Continuall And in the orderly pursuance of these foure parts there will fall out to be handled foure points of very high and necessary concernment in the life and conversation of every Christian namely First this That every man hath a certaine Genius associated to his soul to wit Conscience Secondly this That by the grace of conversion there is a divine quality stamped and imprinted upon the naturall Conscience which is Goodnesse Thirdly this That Conscience thus qualified with goodnesse is a Feast Lastly this That this feast of a good Conscience is not onely for a time but for eternity not only a long but a
uprightnesse quietness What S. James affirmeth of supernall wisedome chap. 3. vers. 17. That it is first pure then peaceable The very same two properties are the essentiall adjuncts of a good conscience A Conscience quietly good may be viciously evil and a Conscience troubledly evill may be honestly good and therefore to constitute a conscience perfectly and fully good both purity and peace are required the violation of the purity and integrity of conscience is to be referred to the evill of sinne and the violation of the calme and tranquillity of conscience is to be referred to the evill of punishment yea the greater the light of conscience the greater is the sinne and the greater trouble of conscience the greater is the misery The point you see is a clear truth wee will therefore be briefe in the explication of it that we may be large in the application The application of the Doctrine Follow therefore either S. Pauls rule or S. Pauls example his rule shews what should be done and his example what may be done His rule we have 1 Tim. 1. 19. Have faith and a good conscience And againe Chap. 3. ver. 9. Having the mystery of faith in a pure conscience His practice we have frequently inculcated both in the Acts and his Epistles hear a harmony or little concordance I have in all good conscience served God untill this day Acts 23. 1. Again And herein doe I exercise my self to have a conscience without offence towards God and towards man Acts 24. 16. And again I speake the truth in Christ I lye not my conscience bearing me witnesse Rom. 9. 1. And again For our rejoycing is this the testimony of our conscience 2 Cor. 1. 12. And again I thank God whom I serve from mine Elders with a pure conscience 2 Tim. 1. 3. And yet again Pray for us for we are assured we have a good conscience in all things Hebr. 13. 18. A good conscience you see is S. Pauls recognizance it is his boasting for twâ— things he is observed moâ—â— to glory in his Sufferingâ— and his Conscience to raâ—tle his chains and displaâ— his conscience it is hâ—â— flag he hangs out o his sige in every Epistle so 〈◊〉 writes 2 Thess. 3. 17. Now this exercise keeping a good conscienâ— stands in two things according to the premiseâ— distinction of a good coâ—science into pure and peacâ—able which distinction 〈◊〉 as a key-stone to this arcra The former is how to ractifie the vicious conscience and the latter how to pacifie the troubled conscience or how to clense the impure and how to salve the wounded conscience two points of most necessary and dayly use in practicall divinity And in rectifying of conscience due regard must be had to two things first Jus the right or law of conscience Secondly Vis the force or strength of conscience two severall words made up and elemented of the same three letters by an easie metathesis or transposition of letters First then let a man acquaint himselfe throughly with that which must be the rule and law of conscience for it is no matter how strong and active conscience be if it be not first right informed and then the stronger the better otherwise the stronger the worse a lame man who keeps his way shall outgâ— a swift runner that wanders out of his way he who once hath strayed the more he hastens the more he wanders and errs Every science and art proceeds by a rule the noble and liberall sciences of Arithmetick Geometry Astronâ—my Musick have their numbers figures ballances squires compasses lines even the poor sweaty mechanicks cannot be without their rules yards squares c. much lesse can conscience dainty precise exact conscience which ought to be as levell-handed in her cases as the men of Gibeah in the book of Judges who could throw stones at an haire-breadth can she I say want her rule and measure to proceed by when in the circumstancing and individuation of every action she must lay judgement to the line and righteousnesse to the plumb-line Isai. 28. 17. This law or line of conscience is foure-fold 1. Divine law which is the will of God revealed in Scripture is the proper and adequate rule of conscience it hath of it self an adnate priviledge to bind conscience and wheresoever it holds out to man a light to shew him his duty it doth withall tie such a bond of obedience upon the conscience as no creature is able to release 2. The law of Nature is also a good rule of conscience for that naturall light and engraffed instinct written in our hearts shews us also what is to be done and what to be avoided That there is a God that this God is to be worshiped that we ought to live honestly hurt no body give every one his owne doe as we would be done to these and such like are the dictates and statutes of the law of nature and doe bind conscience 3. The law of Nations also which is brought in by the common consent of all people for that was never false or wrong which all the whole world cals truth and right Humane nature was yet never so much at a losse as that a right opinion of what is just equall should quite perish from the earth The division of things and appropriation of them to their owner the faire usage of Embassadours c. are draughts of the law of all nations and doe likewise binde conscience Lastly Positive lawes whether they be Ecclesiasticall or Civill doe lye strong bands and tyes upon Conscience as well as either the lawes of God or of nature or of nations A thing is said to be of positive law when it is thus or so not of any intrinsecall necessity arising out of the particular essence of the thing but may either be or not be and when it is may either continue or cease by humane imposition And even such lawes as these while they are not contrary but subordinate unto and commensurate with the divine law have an obligatory power over Conscience not that any law of man hath of and from it self any connate power to over-awe Conscience nor can the Conscience subject her selfe to the jurisdiction of any creature without Idolatry but it hath an adnate power rather to wit as it receives influence and vertue from Gods law which commands us to obey every lawfull ordinance of man for Conscience sake Next regard thus had to the Law of Conscience the second respect must be to the force of Conscience for though Conscience be never so well principled and illuminated yet if it be dull and slegmatick without vigor and force to put things in execution it is but as a fire of straw which hath light without heat or as a wel-shap'd horse without mettall Now the force of Conscience consists in Obligation both in tying a man from that which Conscience judgeth sinfull and tying him to