A rreatife ofConfcience. I 39 Secondly we anfwer, That an erroneous confcience what - I z. ever it commandeth (though the lawofGod commandeth the clean contrary) yet we cannot difobey it without (inne. For this is a conflane rule, we always finne when we difobey confcience : If confcience erre not, then in dii- obeying it we fin double, againfl the law and againfl confcience: ifconfcience do erre,and we d ifobey it, we (in too ; for though we do not (inne againfl the law,yet we (inne a ;ainfl confcience, and Co againfl the law too ; not as though we were bound to obey confcience when it erreth, and yet we (inne if we dif- obey it. Thirdly, Albeit it be always a (inne to difobey confcience 3, though it erre, yet it is not always a (inne to obey confcience when it erreth. Let us confider three Propofitions, and you flail fee what I mean. Firfl, Ifconfcience think that to be commanded which is abfolutely forbidden, or that to be for- bidden which is expreffelycommanded, then we (inne which fide foever we take: As if an ignorant man thinks in his con- fcience that he is bound to pray to Saints departed, which thing the Lord hath expreffely forbidden : if this man do pray unto Saints, he finneth, becaufe the Lord hath expreffely forbid him to do it ; if he do not pray unto Saints, he finneth too, becaufe his confcience telleth him he is commanded to pray unto them. The fecond Propoltion is this, If confciencehold a thing in- different to do or not to do, which yet is not indifferent, but abfolutely commanded, then it is always a finne not to do it, but it is no (inne to do it. The third Propofition is this, Ifcon- fcience hold a thing neceffary, which Gcdhath left indifferent, as if a man in confcience thought that he ought to pray foure cimes a day (which thing yet God hath left indifferent) in this he is bound to obey confcience though it erre. And it is no fin toobey confcience thus erring ; though it be a fin in confcience thus to erre. The rife of this is, I. To let us fee what a facred foveraign O fe i . thing a mans confcience is. It is always a fin to difobey con- fcience whether it erre or no, as it isalways a (in to difobey God.
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