Downame - Puritan-02038 v2

What is required to good and lawfull honours. 593 his fight : and fo walking before God in integritie and vp- rightneffe of heart, they (hall thew themfelues to bee fuch true Ifraelites as the Apofile defcribeth : Ile is a lew which it Rom.z.z9. one within, and the circumctlion is of the heart,in the Spirit, and notin the letter, who fepraife is not of men but of God. And not Ioh.t like thofe ambitious Iewes, who (as our Sauiour faith of toh f 44 them) loued thepraife of men, more then the prat feaf God: and rioh.3.zo. receiued honor one ofanother, and did not feeke the honor Atl.z4.t6. which commeth of God alone. Now we cannot thus ap- proue our felucs unto God,vnleffe we approuc our thoughts, words and workes veto our owne confciences : for as the Apofile John telleth vs, If our heart condemne vs,Cjod is Brea- Q1 t olicité ter then our heart and knoweth allthings. And therefore in the bt,nu cu pa: next place we mull with the Apofile endeauor to haue alwaies xu mrrr I? ahe acleareconfciencetowardsClodandte' ardsmen:thatfoitmaynuneiomo- approue and giue a good tefiimonie veto vs.For what will it rat. auaile vs to be commended ofmen, who are our fellowma- lefa &ors, when as God, who is our Iudge, condemneth vs ? What will it profit vs to haue them not onely excufing, but commending and extolling vs,when as our own confcience, which is as good as a thouland witneffes, accufeth and gi- ueth tefiimonie againfi vs ?whereas on the other Gde,though mé fhould defame vs, yet we might with the Apofile reioyce in this, the teflimonie of our confcience, that in ftmplicitieand godlypureneffe, and not infefhly wifedome, but by the grace of s.Cor.t.tz. Ged, the hone hadour conuerfation sn the world. And thus hauing approued our (clues vnto God and our §.Sec7.6. owne confciences;we muff in the next place labour to be app- That in the proued veto men : for this was alto a part of Pauls exercife, next plate we to haue a cleare confcience euen before men. Howbeit wee midifeeke to be are not thus to labour that we may commend our fettles vn- g u.o! and rdte to all, feeiug this is often impo{fible, in refpe& of the con- t,,ous. trarietieofineus judgements ;but next vnto God and our Att.:4.16. owne coniciences, we are to endeauour that we may be ap- proued and commended ofthe godly, vertuous,wife and ju- dicious: for theCe being indued with the Spirit ofGod, are belt able to difcerne the things of God, and mofi fir and competent Judges ofvertue and goodoeffe,themfelues be- t,Ccr.z.t;. O ing