26 ( A7 reatife o f Confcience. greatefi. It is impartial in its office : Others, it may be, dare not or will not accole, but confcience fpareth none, no not it felf: Though its accufations do load and burden and torment it felf,yet it will do its office. 3, Confcience alto is faithful in its office and fincere. It al- wayes fpeaketh of us as it thinketh : It may be deceived and miflaken for a time, but it never fpeaketh contrary to what it thinketh ; It is a faithful and fincere witneffe of our thoughts, words, anions and courfes, whether they be good or e7i11, fo farre as it is illightned by Gods word. It ever giveth evidence aright ; it never fiattereth nor condemneth any without a caufe: It is a faithful and a very upright witneffe. Others may dif- 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, it will tell us x Joh,z,4, plainly we lie. Re that faith i know him, and keepeth not hit commandments, tan l)er. Mark, though he fay it, yet his con- fcience giveth him the lie. It is faithful again in excufing, It beareth witneffe of every good duty we perform, and of what- foever good is in us. Though all yobs friends fpáke evil! of him, and God himfeif by his outward judgments kemed to con- demn him for a wicked man,yet Bill his confcience (like a faith- job. r3.3, full witneffe) did not forfake him, nay,it offered to reafon with God himfeif, l would reafon with God: I know I 'hall be juflifi- ed, and 173411 never for fake mine innocency till I die. Still his confcience flood for him and exculed him. Thus on both fides confcience is a faithful! and fincere witneffe : it will not be cor- rupted to (peak otherwife then it knoweth the matter is, 4. It is moll privie to what it loth witneffe. It is more pri- vie to what we have done then all the world : It can fay more for us or againft us then all the world. Thou knower? all the wickedneffe that thy heart is privie unto faith Solomon to Shimei, r King.2,44, vfe. The ufe of all this is; Seeing confcience is fo fupreme,fo im- partial ), fo faithful, fo privie, we fhould take keed how we do, any
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