viii he Epiftle occafions frech believing applications made to the blood of fprinkling, that thereby the heart may be fprinkled from 4n evil confcience, and the confcience purged from dead works to ferve the living God ; and endeavours would be renewed in the ftrength of grace to walk more tenderly, without offence toward God, and toward men : Toward which there fermons abound with variety of choice and excellent directions and helps. Thirdly, and more particularly,We would fludy to have our confcience well and throughly informed, by intimate acquaintance with the mind and will of God, revealed in the fcriptures of truth,.as to all things that we are called to believe and do; fo that it may be in cafe to difcharge its office and duty aright, whether in dictating, or in teflifying, or in judging. An ill- informed confcience, efpe- cially where there is any zeal or forwardnefs, ftrongly pufheth and furioufly driveth men to many dangerous, diftra&ed and deflru &ive practices; bath not this driven men to kill the fervants of Chrifl (as himfelf foretold) and in doing fo to think that they did God fervice ? Did not this hurry on Paul, before his converfion, to perfe- cute callers on the name of the Lord Jefus, and to make bavock of the Church,by drawing and dragging the dif ciplcs, both men and women, bound to prifon, and by cruel perfecuting of them even to flrange cities, compel ling them to blafpheme ? So exceedingly mad was he (as himfelf confefï`eth) againft them. O what terrible and tragical things hath this fet men on to do, and what mad work bath it made in force places of the world, befide many leffer impertinencies, extravagancies and diftur- bances in particular Chrif}ian focieties! Fourthly, We would endeavour to have the confci- ence deeply impreffed with due and deep veneration, awe and dread of the majefty of God, the fupreme Lord (If, and great Lawgiver to, the confcience ; whole laws and commands are only properly, direftly, immediate- ly, and of themfelves obligatory thereof ; becaufe the confciences and fouls of men are properly fubje& only to God ; and becaufe the law of God written in the beans of men, and in the fcriptures, is the only rule of confcience ; and rnoreoverp becaufe men cannot ammedi- atehy
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