Fenner - BV4500 F466 1651

v¡e 3. zCor.I,12 A Treatie ofGonfeience. would fecal godly and perform good duties, but with hypocri- tical hearts and carnal minds. O that they would hear but con- fcience argue a little in this manner; To be carnally minded is death,that is,is an evidentfisnofa man that is in thefrate ofdeath and damnation, Put, faith confcience, I am carnally minded; or weare carnally minded: Therefore We have anargument a- bout Ui ofdeath anddamnation. And fo alf'o for all other fins ; There is not a wicked man under heaven but he may argue out of his own milerable eftate by his confcience, or he might ifit were awaked,as one day it will be. Thirdly, this may ferve for inftruL`tion. No matter what o- pinions menhave of us in the world : The queftion is, What is El e judgment of our own confciences upon us ? It may be thou art taken for a man of gteat knowledge , and a forward man in godlineffe;it may be the godly dare not judge otherwife of thee, but the queftion is, What is the judgment ofconfci- ence ? Doth not thy confcience tell thee thou art but a proud fool, conceitedof thy knowledge , and loveft to hear thy felfe talk ? And fo for thy performanceofgood duties, what tefti- monyBoth confcience give of the manner of doing of them ? The teftimonial of confcience is above all teftimonials in the world : all the good opinions of the world are not worth a rufh without this : Ifconfcience can fay that in our ways we feek to pleats God, and allow not our selves in any evil way, this teflimony is full and fatisfadory, and only this. Yet furtherconcerning this judicial witneffe ofconfcience : It is either about thingsto bedone or omitted, or things alrea- dy done or omitted. The judicial witneffe of confcienceabout things to be done or omitted is double : i. To judge out of Gods law whether it begood or evil ; 2. To counfel out of our own judgments, either to do it or forbear it according as the nature of the action is ; If it be good, confcience will counfel us to do it; if bad, to forbear it. The judicial witnefl'e of con- fcience about things already done is four -fold To approve ; 2. To abfolve ; 3. Tomiílike ; 4 Tocondemne, I begin with the fiat, the judicial witnef aof confcience about things to be done

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