Durham - BV4615 D87 1732

goes beyond them, and hath a pricking, flinging, pain- ing power; it accufeth, fentenceth, fmiteth, and fharp- ly cenfureth á Whereas, before Confcience aEt its part, a man may look often on his fins, and yet but overlook them : And, as to things that are right, Confcience Both not only or barely look on them, bur it hath an approving teftimony, which proveth comfortable. There is fuck a thing as this in every one of you, which will let nothing pals, but more or let's will take notice of it, and either accule or excufe you for it. As to the 2d, The Ufe of Confcience, or the End, where- fore God bath put this in men and women, which I (hall draw to three heads, that may be as fo many Reafons of the do6trine ; .irf, He bath done fo, for this end, that by it he may keep up his fovereignty, power and terriblenefs ; and keep men under the awe and dread thereof: For this which is called Confcience, will make the ftouteft to tremble ; it will write and imprefs fo vively and deeply thefe great truths, that none shall be able to blot them out,That there is a God, that there is a, judgment to come, and that all will be called to reckoning, which none will get efchewed ; it will fix and fatten fuch felf- conviaions on (inners, as will make them unavoidably condemn therrfelves : So, yob; 8, 9, to. when the Scribes and Pba- vifees bring a woman taken in adultery to Chrift, intend- , ng thereby to trap and infnare him, he faith, He that h without fin among( you, let hire cafi the firjiJione at her ; whereby their Coníciences were made to bear (itch faithful teflimony againft them; and to carry fuch terror with it that they were all forced to (teal away one by one: And yet they needed not to have thought flume, on account of any thing we hear men could have challenged them for ; but Confcience had fuch an awe and force on their, that there was no refitting of it. Scripture- hiftory does alfo tells us, that fuch is the power and force of Con- fcience, when it is awakned, that it will make the knees to finite one againfr another, 'even of a B'elfbazzarg and will make a Governor Felix tó tremble. A jecond end is, That God may hold men and wo- men at their duty, in going about thefe things which are coma

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