A rreatife of Confcience. 1 49 wheels unto him ? Or ever ! was aware my foul made me like the chariots of Amin adab, Returnsreturn, O Shulamite; return, return. Returni,return, faith confcience; and again, Return, return. Hath the Lord given thee fuch an importunate confci- ence as will have no nay, will not let thee alone in omitting good or committing evil!, will not let thee Bomber and fleepe in fecurity, but continually joggeih and awaketh thee ? Hath he given thee a feuere, a precife confcience,that will not favour thee in the leaf} evil) ? It is a mofl comfortake figne that the Lord meaneth well unto thy foul. III. Labour to be a friend unto confcience, that it may con- tinue faithful unto thee. True friends will deal faithfully and plainly one with another, and will be importunate to do one another good: Confcience will not deal thus with thee unleffe thou be a friend unto confcience. Now then are we friends un- to confcience when we do what confcience requireth. As our Saviour Paid to the Difciples,re are my friends if ye do whatfoe. ver loom-nand you: fo I may fay of confcience. For confcience ifit be truly illightned will command nothing but what Chrift commandeth. If we deal fo in our conftant courte with tonici. ence, be willing to hearken to it, and be ruled by it, then if we be out of the way now and then, confcience will be true io us, and be importunate with us for our good. IV. Be lure thou (land not out againft confcience when once it is importunate. It is a great finne to (land out againft confci- ence though it be not importunate ; but it is a finne a thoufand times greater to Band out againft it when it is importunate. The greateft (landing out againft confcience is the greateft fin : it is a thine which cometh nearefl that againft the holy Ghoft, which accompanied with fome other adjunas is the greateft handing out againft confcience. There is no thine that doth more harden the heart then to do evil) when confcience is im- portunate to difl'wade from it. This finne was the caufe why Saul was rejeaed of God ; I forced my felf, faith he : He for- ced his confcience; his confcience was importunate to have him flay according to the commandment of God , but he forced H him- Jfe 3. John t 5. 14. V fe 4. Maxima vietati® cenfcienti.e eli maximè peccatxm. o. Sam. 13.I2.
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