12 2. Sermon . had rather have a very little money in their hand, than the teflimony of their Confcience; and this regardlefnefs arifeth from the ignorance of it, and of what great con- cernment it is. idly, Men, even by accufloming and habituating themfelves to thwart with their Confcience in leffer things, do, by little and little, flupify, and, in a manner, put out the life of their Confcience ; and, as the apofile hath the word, They cauterize, or fear it, as it were, with a hot iron : Hence it is, that when fome truly tender Chriflians are troubled with, and have for the matter of their exercife, any little things, or things that have in them but the leaft appearance of evil, others will be ready to pray to be faved from fuch madnefs and fol- ly, becaufe they were never accufiomed to, nor acquain- ted with, any challenge or exercife of that kind, but have taught themfelves a way of flepping over their Con fcience ; and this provoketh God to give them up to a re probate mind, to do things which are not convenient : They harden themfelves by refitting the challenges of the wórd and rod of God, and of their own Confcience ; and are judicially hardned, fo that either Confcience faith no- thing at all to them, or they do not at all value what it faith ; thence, and therefore it is, that the profaneft have moft ordinarily fewefi challenges, and thefe few that they have, they trample on them, and flifle them, as but unregardable and trifling things ; whereas the =oft tender Confcience hath readily manyeft challenges : Tho' I deny rot but that fometimes challenges will bear in themfelves irrefiflibly on the profaneft of men, but they are to fuch very unwelcome guefls, and they endeavour quickly to fmother them, or to drive them out again. 4thly, Many biafs their own Confcience, and teach themfelves lhifts; not fo much to fatisfy their Con- fcience, as how to anfwer it, and to flop the mouth of it, and to pleafe their own humour : If they can give a rea- fon for fuch and fuch a thing (filch as it is) to their Confcience, they think they do very well ; thus deceiving themfelves, and being deceived ; for a deceived heart bath led them aide. Hence it comes to pafs, that in fome things men take as much pains to biafs their Confcience, and to have it fàying as they fay, as one man would take on
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