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AT
reati/'e
o
f
Cón
f
ience.
Ir
errone
otss
concience.
s.
An
er-
!
Econdly,
an
erroneous
confcience
is
when confcience
not
roncous
underftanding
Gods
law,
or
mifapplying
it,
doth
judge
a-
ccnfcience
mac
and
dires
amifíe.
So
lojephsconfciencefor
a
while
was
Mat
1,19
in
an
errour,
when
Mary
was found
with
child
:
His confci-
ence
informed
him,
that
he
mull
either
make her
a
publike ex-
ample
or
put her away privily.
Here
his confcience
erred a-
bout
this
particular until
the
Angel had
better
informed
him.
There
is a
queftion
here railed
by
Divines,
and it
is,
Whether
we
ought
to
follow
confcience
erring or
no
?
A
queftion
very
necefffary
to
be
handled,
partly
becaufe
of
mens
ignorance
in
this
kind,
and
partly
becaufe
of the frequency
of
the
cafe.
I
an-
fwer
thus;
Anfzv
Fitt},
we
mutt
not
obey confcience
erring orcounfelling
to
that
which
is
evil; For
our
errour of
confcience
doth not
make the
tranfgreflion
of
the
law
to
be
no
finne
:
though
an
er-
roneous
confcience lead
us
to
tranfgreffe
ir.
i.
Becaufe
the
law
of
God
is
above confcience
;
and
therefore
the
Command-
ment
of
Gods
law
ftandech
in
full
force, though
confcience
command
contrary to
it.
Suppofe
a
man fhould
think
in his
confcience he
might
not
take
an
oath, though
never
fo
lawfully
called
thereunto
by
the Magiftrate, and
in never
fo neceífary
a
cafe, when
as
the
word
of
God
commandeth
us
to
(wear
in
truth,
in
righteoufneffe,
and
in
judgment
;
I
mutt follow the
Commandment
of
God
rather
then
confcience,
becaufe
Gods
law
is
above
confcience.
2.
Because
if
I
follow
my
confcience
when
it
is
in
an
errour,
I offend
not
only againft
Gods
law,but
I
offend alto
my
confcience
:
For
though for the prefent while
confcience
is
erroneous
it
doth not
take
offence,
yet
when
it
cometh
to
fee
its
own
errour
then
it
will.
Therefore
this
is
our
lira
answer.
We
muff
not
obey confcience
erring, or
counfel-
ling
to
that
which
is
evil.
If
our
confcience
fhould
counfel
us
to
tell
a
lie
to
help our neighbour,
that
is
evil
and
againft
Gods
law,
and
therefore
if
in
doing
it
we obey confcience, we
fin.
Secondly
--