xxvi 2-rho i f le fanity and mongers of mifchief, and even in a manner brings up hell upon earth, when it becomes habitual, and when God judicially gives men up to their own hearts lulls, and to walk in their own counfels,without all regard to what he fays to them, by his word without them, and by their own confciences within them. Seventhly, We would carefully advert, that we adven- ture not to do any thing with an unclear, hefitant and doubting confcience fince it is impoffible in this cafe to do without fin and hazard of damnation, the Holy Ghoft having pofitively and plainly told us, that what- foever is not done in faith it fin, Rom. 14. 23. that is, not only whatfoever is not done by a perfon in a gate Of faith (without which it is impoffible to pleafe God) is fin.; but alto, and molt agreeable to the fcope, whatfoe- ver is not done in the faith and perfwafion of the warrant - ablenefs,thereof, is fo ; and that he who thus doubtingly, and without fuch faith and perfwafion, eateth, or doth, is damned, or judged. Ibid. It will nor afloil the doer doubtingly, or the doubting doer from fin and judgment, to tell him that his confcience is in an error, and that he is not to regard what his erroneous confcience di &ates to him, but to a& contrary to it. 'Tis true indeed, that an erring confcience doth not oblige a man to a& according toits blind and erroneous di &ates ; for a man never is, neither can be, obliged to fin ; he is rather bound to en- deavour, in God's way, to have his confcience, when in an error, undeceived and well - informed, and fo to lay a- fide his error ; but yet while his confcience í1i11 continu- eth in its error, and cometh not to be informed aright, the man is bound up fo, that he cannot without fin coun- ters& the di &ates of his erring confcience, which is not for the time apprehended by him to be in an error. Nei.. ther will it relieve the man whole confcience doubteth of the law fulnefs of doing fuch and fuch a thing, to tell him that more knowing and confcientious, more prudent and pious men than he, are free and clear for the thing whereof he doubts ; for other mens confcience can be no rule to his, 'unlefs he were perfwaded of tli+ir infallibili- ty, and that their confcience could not be taken with any error or : ,iffake. God bath put a confcience in evrry azr
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