ATreatife o f Confcience. I. Agodly mans confcience fmiteth him, and ftirreth him very kindly, fo chat he melteth beforeGod. When Davidhad numbred the Peo-ple, the text faith, His heart fmote him. The word fignifieth it lmotehimkindly, gave him a loving blow, made him fpread forthhimfelfbefore God, A wicked mans confcience giveth him a dead blow, a churlish and fullen blow. 2. A godly mans confcience flirreth him up reciprocally : He ftirreth up his confcience,and his confcience il:irreth up him; he fpeaketh to hisconfcience, and his confcience fpeaketh to him : The furring is reciprocal. Commune with your hearts, What haft thou done Omy foul ? Thus and thus have 1 done, faith the foul. Wheras a wicked mans confcience fpeaketh to him,but hecannot endure to fpeak to his confcience: his confcience flir- reth him but he hash no will to flirre his confcience ; nay, lac doth all he can tokeep it quiet :But the godly as his confcience fmiteth him, fo he fmiteth upon his confcience : I ['mote upon my thigh, faith Ephraim. The godly, when confcience flirreth therm,they flirre it and provoke it to fpeak out all it bath to fay, Commune with your ownheart, and beRill: They are flill to give it full audience, and call upon it to (peak on ; What haft thou more tofay confcience ? 3.A godlymans confcience flirreth him togood;and he is re- folved to go to the utmoft of what confcience flirreth him un- to : that with Job, his confciencemay not reproch himall his days fornot following it : Whereas it is otherwife with the wicked. 3. The third ufe is this ; Seeing confcience is appointed by God to be our guide and our counfellour, it íhould be our pra. nice in every thing we do to ask.counfell ofconfcience whether we were heft do it or no. I fay that confcience is Gods ora- cle : Whatfoever we are todo we Ihould (as David; enquire ofGodsoracle, May I go:this .way to .workor.;fhall .I takean- othercourte ? Hear counfel and receive infßru on, faith Solo- mon, that thou mayeff be wife atthy latter end. Confcience is a faithful counfeilo r; Agar sit..lt is the great ,mercie of. God that thou sail fuck, rotorfei :4iou canflgo no where F 2 but 35 Sam.z4. to. Pfa1.4.4. Jer.31.19 Job 27.6. vfe 3. I Sam.z;. Z. P rOv.19, 20,
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