68 A Treatife o f Con f cience. hopes and conceits ; They are not guiltie of fuch and fuch great fnnes; or, They are not fo bad as fotne others: As the Pharifee's confcience was quiet ; why ?God,I thankthee, I am not as other men are, no drunkard, extortioner, nor like this publicane. Or per- haps from this ground their peace arifeth ; The Lord n very mer- cifu /l ; and, The Lord Jefus died for inners. Or perhaps this is their plea, They are good comers to Church, They have prayers in theirfamilies ;They have been prof e fforers of Chrifi 7e(ns fo many years : From hence they dream of peace upon falle grounds, whenas the mayof peace they have not known. When confcience flail be awaked, then it will tell them how they have by flattery deceived their own fouls,and that having no true righteoufneffe they could have no true peace. 4. The quiet of a good confcience arifeth from tenderneffe and from life. Therefore the Apoftie joyneth together, life and peace, Rom, 8.6. True peace of confcience arifeth from life: whereas the quiet of a wicked confcience arifeth from feared. neffe and benumbedneffe and deadnefle, when men being part feeling of (inne arc not troubled at the committing of it. Thus ye fee the fecond thing wherein the difference Beth, namely in the caufe. III. They differ in the effe& Firlt; The effect of the quiet of a good confcience is comfort and rejoycing : Being juffliflled by Rom. '5. r. faith, we have peace With God through our Lord Jefus Chrifi'. What followeth ?By whom We have accef fo by faith, rejoycing, &c. Mark; The peace of confcience bringeth forth rejoycing. And fu in other places peace and joy are joyned together. But l orr.T c. the evil confcience, though quiet,wanteth this rejoycing. If car- ' al 5, z2. nall men had no more mirth then what the quiet and peace of their confciences doth help them to, they would not be fo mer- rie as molt of them be. Secondly, Another effect of true peace ofconfcience is, It fanéîifieth the foul, it purgeth the heart, purifieth the life, and reformeth the whole man. It is the in_ firument whereby God fandifieth his people more and more : The God of peace fanïtifte you Wholly. Obferve the title which the Apelle there giveth unto God when he fandifieth his peo- ple, i Theff:5. 23.
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