Job, 16.2. 1 2 reatie o fGonfcience. unrighteous,becaufe your Synterefis can tell you that the un- righteous (hall not inherit the kingdome of God. This is the reafon why we lay that there is a natural( confcience and there is an illuminated confcience ; becaufe fome have no light but onely the light of nature, fome have betides the light ofGods word, which fheweth that which nature fheweth , and much moreclearly, and teacheth many things more which nature can- not teach : And hence the confcience of the illightned condem- neth for fuch things as the natural( confcience never flirreth about. Secondly, theknowledge of our !elves is needRall; elfe con- fcience cannot aft neither. Though we knowwhat Gods Law requireth and what not, what is good and what not, yet unleffe we knowwhether we go with it or againft it, consciencecannot accule nor excufe. Asfor example; A clofehypocrite,he know- eth well enough that the Lord hath condemnedhypocrite, and that hypocrites muff have their portion in hell : yetit he do not know himfelftobe an hypocrite, his confcience can never condemnehim for being one. And thereforeboth thefe know- ledges are nece.fi`ary, as well the knowlege ofa mans felf as of GodsLaw. Many who had a hand in crucifying our Saviour, finnedgrievou(ly; yet they finned not againft nowledge,. be- caufe they knew not what they did : Father, forgive their,, they kinow not What they do. Thirdly, It is a contradidion to fay a blindconfcienee in ate. The confcience cannot be blind and yet adually condemne. In- deed theconfcience it felfmay be blind, but it cannever ad and be blind;Ifit truly accule or excufe it mtsft have fome light. It is true,it may erroneoufly excufe or accule,&yet have no true ligh; Seeming light isenough to do that;feeming knowledg is enogh to makeconfcience erroneoufly excufe; As they whokilled the Apoftles,their confciences excufed them, & told them theydid God good fervice; they feemed to know it was good fervice to God, and therefore their confciences excufed them, &c. Thus ye fee that the light that confcience worketh by is knowledge. The ufe of this point is firft,to let us fee the infiniteneceffity of knowledge.
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