CLÌ.43. about confeientegood andbad. 441 for our evil doins. Thefe may fay with the Thief, Luke 23.41. we fuffer jujly, &c. Thefe (like Zirnri) are burnt with fire which their ownhands have kindled. 4. When we bringour felves into worfe fufferings then any of the former , viz. fufferings in confcience and from confcience, by fhunning any other fuffer- ings for God and confcience : asfacia', Spire, &c. Thefe are run from the tear, and are fallen into the pit,lf4.24.TS.The firfl of theft fufferings arefoolifh,the fe- cond finful ; the third lhameful ; and the laf+ dreadful. Quell. What rules then are to be obferved in the fufferings of a good con feience ? Anfw. Firit, fee that thy fufferings be ever, and only for well-doing. As thou muff not shun fufferings by chooling evil, fo thou muff not feek, and pro- cure them byevil, i Pet.z.ts. A good confcience muff not go out of Gods way to meet with fufferings, nor out of fufferings way to meet with finne. Its not Pana but Caufa: the caufe , not the punithment which makes a' Martyr. 2. If thou fuffereft for ill-e'oing, yet be fure that it be wrongfully , a Per. II. 2.19. and if thou beef+ charged with any evil, that it be falfly, Mat. 5.1 i . that thyconfcience may fly,we are asdeceivers, jet true, as unknown ,yet well konwn to God, 2. COr.6.9, Io. Thirdly, ifthou defireft chiefly, and efpecially to fuffer in the caufe, and for III; the name of Chrili, this withhim is to fuffer as a Chril+ian. In the matters of the KingdomDanielwas careful to carry himfelf unreprovably, but in thematters ofGod he cared not what he fuffered , Dan. 6. 4, 5. Life as it is too little worth to be laid out for Chrift , fo. its tooprecious to belaid out in anyother caufe. Its an honour if we can call our fufferings, the frfferings of Chrift, CeI.2.24. and our fcarrs,themark! ofthe Lordfefsu , Gal.6. 57. and can £ub- fcribe our felves ,theprifoners of Chriít, Eph.3. i . Fourthly, if thou love++ to fee the ground thou goef+upon : that thycaufe be clear, the groundsmanifelt, that thoubeef+ not thrill} forward by a Turbulent ( VI. fpirir, or a mif- informed confcience : but,for confcience towards God, or ac- cording toCod, that thou mayeft fay with the Apofile, lfuffer according to the will ofGod, iPet.4.19. Fifthly, if thou beef+ careful not only that the matter be good, but that the V. manner begood, lea otherwife we difgrace our fufferings, t'et.z.t9,&c. If thou fuffer tvrongfullly, yet thoumuff fufferpatiently. This is tofuffer as Chrila lfuntered, i Pet.2.zi,z2,z3. Sixthly, ifthou committeft thy felf in thy fufferings to God in well-doing , VI, I Pet.4.i9. fuffering times mull notbe finning times : He is no good Martyr that is not a good Saint. A good caufe, a good confcience, a good life, a good death, a good matter to fuffer for, agood manner to fuffer in, make an honoura- ble Martyr . Tenthly, a confcienceof charity. This the Apoftle fpeaks ofas the end, and perfeótion of the Law,and Gofpel too , i Tim.I.5. where there is the, truth of X. charity , there is the truth ofconfcience aifo ; themore ofcharity, the more of confcience. Now this charity is twofold. i . External, orcivil , which refpedts 1. Thepoor to whom is tobe fhewed the charity of beneficence. z. To the neighbour and friend; a love of benevolence. And, 3. To the enemya love of forgrveneffe. 1 T. To the poor a love of beneficence, and well-doing: this kind of charity is 1 theworlds grand benefa&or : the poors great Almoner: the widows Trea- t fureé i the Orphans C uardian and theoppreffed mans Patron : This lends i eyes tothe blinde, feet to the lame, deals out bread to the hungry, cloaths L11 the
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=