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A

reatife

of

Confcience.

greateft.

It

is

impartial

in

its

office

:

Others,

it

may

be, dare

not

or

will

not

accule,

but

confcience

fpareth

none,

no

not

it

tiff:

Though

its accufations

do load and

burden

ant!:

torment

is

felf,yec it will

do

ics

office.

3.

C

on4cience

alto

is

faithful

in

its

office

and fincere,

Iÿ aI-

wayes

fpeaketh

of

us

as

is

thinketh

:

It

may

be

deceived and

miftaken

for

a

time,

but it never fpeaketh

contrary

to'

what

it

thinketh

;

It

is a

faithful and

fincere

witneffe

of

our

thoughts,

words, actions

and courfes,

whether they

be

good or

evill,

fo

farre

as

it

is

illightned

by

Gods word

.

It

ever giveth

evidence

aright

;

it never

flattereth nor condemneth

any

without

a

caufe:

It

is

a

faithful and

a

very

upright witneffe. Others

may dill

femble

with

us,

and commend

us

and

applaud

us

when

we

are

naught,

and

call

us

good

men

and

good women

when we

are

nothing

fo

:but

this will

tell

us

plainly

how

vile

and

finfiall

we

are

;

and if

we

fay

we are

good

when we

are

not

,

tt

will

tell

us

Joh,2.4. plainly we lie.

He

that

faith

I

know

him, and

k

epeth:no.t

his

commandments,

isa

lyer.

Mark, though

he

fay

it,

yet

his

con-

fcience givech him

the

lie.

It

is

faithful

again

in excufiri'á.

It

beareth

witneffe

of

every

good duty

we

perform,

and

of

what

foever

good

is

in

us. T

hough

all

robs

friends

fpake

evill

of

him,

and

God

himfeif

by his

outward judgments

feetned

to

con

:

-

demn

him

for

a

wicked man,yet

fti.11

his

confcience (like

a

faith

-

ob.

a3,

3.

full

witneffe)

did

not

forfake

him,

nay,it

offered

to

reafon with

God

himfeif,

I

would reafon

with God:

I

know

I'hall

be

juftifi-

ed,

and

I will

never forfake

mine

innocency

till

I

die.

Still

his

confcience

flood

for

him and

excufed him.

Thus

on both

fides

confcience

is

a

faithfull and

fincere

witneffe

:

it

will

not

be

cor-

rupted

to

fpeak

otherwife

then

it

knoweth the

matter

is.

4.

It

is

mote

privie

to what it

doth

witneffe.

It

is

more

pri-

vie

to

what

we have

done then

all

the

world

:

It-can

fay

more

for

us

or

againfi

us

then

all

the

world.

Thou

nowe

all

the

wickedne

fe

that

thy

heart

is

privie

unto,

faith

.Solomon

to

Shimei,.

a

King.2.44.

VP.

The

de

of

all this

is;

Seeing confcience

is

fo

fupreme,fo

im.

partial],

fo

faithful,

fo

privie,

we

fhould

take

keed how we

do

any