juf$ice but his blood, there can nothing purge and fatisfy the Confcience but it ; therefore David prays, Pfal. 51. Purge me with by sop, and I ¡ball be clean : Where he al- ludes, and looks to the blood of Chriif, that was typi- fied by the fprinkling of blood, with a bunch of hyflop under the law, as the apoffle doth here. As the ufe of this doctrine, We would have the faith of this great truth well fixed and riveted, That every man's Confcience, whether awakned or not, is Rill defiled and polluted, till it be cleanfed and purged by the blood of Je- fus Chrift. As bodily or outward exercifes profit not as to this ; fo the mouth of the Confcience will not be flop- ped,till it get of this blood : So that, if it should be laid, Who will lay any thing to the charge of God's eleEt ? as it is, Rom. 8. the Confcience will anfwer, I have many things to lay to their charge ; tillthat fweeteff word that is fub- joincd,be fpoken to it, for flopping its mouth ; Tis Chrißt gvho died,(thedding his blood) yea, rather is rifen again; then, and never till then will it be quiet. In further profecution of the ufe of this do &rine, we Would have you to know,that there are four ways that men are ready to take for cleanfing and purging of the Con- fcience, forne one, and forne another of them ; which are all (if there be no more) ineffeetual for reaching the real purging, and folid fatisfa&ion of the Confcience, which ye would therefore be aware of; as, 1. Some en- deavour to divert their Confcience, and to leek a fufpen- fion of its purfuing the quarrel againff them, pretend- ing Tome other uptaking bufinefs ; as Felix did, Albs 24. who finding himfelf beginning to tremble at the apoftle's fearching and powerful difcourfe, and unable to Rand before his own awakning Confcience, he feeks as it were a fufpenfion from it for a time, laying to the apoffle (and to his Confcience on the matter) Go thy way for this ;time, and I will call for thee when I have a conveni ent feafon. Hence, when forne perfons are in heavinefs,- or in forne fit of exercife of Confcience, they will run to fame merry and jocund friend, or to forne game to drive it away, or poffibly to a four -hours to drink it down, and the devil is as bufy to carry on the diverfion ; if there be fuch a friend to make a vift, he helps them:
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