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treati

f

e

of

CenfcienCe.

143

3. Becaufe

conicience

is

Gods

book. Now

no

creature can

adde to

Gods book

or

diminifh

from

it.

Ye may remember

that dreadfull anathema

at the

end

of

Gods

book

;

Ifaalyman

Rcvq-zz.

Jhall

adde to

this

boo,

God

(hall

adds

to

hint

the plagues

that

i

8319.

ore

written

in

this

book,

:

And

if

any

manJhall

diminrfh

from

this

Goof`,

God

fsall

take

away

his

part

ant

of

the

book,

of

life.

Now

conicience

is

alro

Gods

book

,N'

herein

his

law

is

written.,

Nay,

conicience

is

called

God

law

:

For

is

is

fad,

that

when

the

Gentiles which

have

not

the law

do

the

things

contained in

Rom.:al...

the law,

they

having

sot

the

law

are

a law

unto

theinfelves

that

is,

Their

coiafcience

is

Gods law,

unto them. Like

as

the

Bible conteineth

Gods law

for us

Chrif}ians,

fo

did their confci-

cnces

concein

the

law

of

God

to them

:

yea, to

us

Chriftians

much rather

:

For we

are

not to

let Gods law

be

written

one

-

ly

in

our

Bibles,

but

we muff

get

it

written

in

our

confciences

:

our

confciences are

to

be

Gods

books wherein

his

laws

arc

to

be

written.

And therefore

if

it

be a (inne

to

adde

a

new

law

in

the materials

book to

bind men,

then

it

mutt

needs

be

a

Panne

for any creature

to

put

a new

law

into conicience, which

is

the

fpiriruall book

of

God.

It

is

God

onely

who

can

wri,e laws

in

this

book

:

his

book

is

above

all

the

laws

in

t1

e

world;

and none

but

God

can

put

in and

put out

:

and

therefore

none

but

he

can bind confcience.

J

fpeak

fill

of

this

abfolute and

fupreme

bond

of

conicience For

Magiffrates

may bind re-

latively

but

not

as

they

are their

1

ws,

but

by

the

law

of

Jod

before

made.

This ye

fee

the

neceffity

of

this

truth,

That

Gods

law

is

the abfolute

atad

fupreme

bond ofcvntcience.

T.

This ferveth

to

direa

Minif#ere

how to

convince

the

confciences

of their people.

If

Miuiiffers

delire

to worke

upon

their hearers, they

muti

fpeak

to

the

confcience

;

they

mufc

thew

them

Gods

authority,

chat

it

is

Gods will

.

and

Gods

command.

Tell

confcience

never

fo

much,

that

we

fhould

do

thus

or thus upon other grounds and inducements, it

tarceth

Gt

not