d treatife of confcience, this of the wicked people in Corinth : St Paul faith he com- mended bsmfelf and she Gofpel to every mans csnjcienee in the fight of God ; that is, He did to preach, and fo live, that every mans confcience could not choofe but say , Certainly Paul preacheth the truth, and Pawl liveth right, and we nsat live at he fpeaktth and doeth. He made their confciences fay thus, and to tell them they were not right if they did not. Bur mark what followeth : Some did not fee this : Why ? The god of this world, faith he, bath blinded their eyes. So the god of this world bltndeth the eyes of the wicked, that what their confci- ençes (hew them they do not fie ¡nor obferve it. So for clods people ; Though they be in a good and a bleffed eftate, and their confçiences can fay it, yet Satan oftentimes hindereth them that they do not perceive their own comfort. 3. Men do not love conscience. We Ihould love confcience better then the deareft friend we have under heaven. We would do much for a friends fäke : but we fhould do a thou - fand times more for confcience fake : Obey Magiftrates for confcience fake fuffer difgrace, reproches, any thing, for con- fcience fake. It is better then all the friends in the world. But the wicked, they do not love confcience : lec confcience speak, they care not to heare. They will heare friends, but they will not heare confcience. Let their lufts call, and their profits and pleafures call for this and that thing, they heart all : but they love not to heare confcience. Nay , many wicked men are angry to heare talk of it. When Paul had made mention of confcience, Ananias commanded he should be (mitten : Alen and brethren faith Paul, l bave lived in all good coufcience be- fore God sntill this day. Smite him on the mouth, faith the high Prieft Ananias. He was angry to heare him talk of a good confèience. This is moR certain ; men do not love confcience, nor to be curbed by confcience, nor informed by confcience : They had as lieve fee the devil as that their confciences fhould inform them of their eftates, and tell them thus and thus they are. They are told rightly, and yet they are miftaken, becaufe they do not lore to heare confcienee of that theme. Eez i39 a. corsi, Roas.: 3.1 ARs a3.r.
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