.d treatife of C'onf ientce, 3. Becaufe confcience is Gods book. Now no creature can adde to Gods book or diminifh from it. Ye may remember that dreadful( anathema at the end of Gods book ; If any man Rcvl -zz, fall adde to this book, God fhall adde to him the plagues that axe written in this book : And if any man fhall dimin:fh from this book, Godshall take away his part oat of the book, of life. Now conscience is allo Gods book wherein his law is written, Nay, confcience is called God law : For it is faid, that when the Gentiles which have not the law do the things contained in the law, they having not the law are a law unto themfelves : that is, Their confcience is Gods law, unto them. Like as the Bible conteineth Gods law for us Chriftians, fo did their confci- ences concein the law of God to them : yea, to us Chriffians much rather : For we are not to let Gods law be written on- ly in our Bibles, but we mutt get it written in our confciences : our confciences are to be Gods books wherein his laws are to be written. And therefore if it be a Gnae to adde anew law in the material], book to bind men, then it muff needs be a Gnne for any creature to p ut a new law into confcience, which is the fpirituall hook of God. It is God finely who can write laws in this book : his book is above all the laws in t! e world ; and none but God can put in and put out : and therefore none but he can bind confcience. J fpeak Bill of this abfolute and fupreme bond of confcience : For Mabiflrates may bind re- latively , but not as they are their laws, but by the I tw of ":od before made. This ye fee the necefficy of this truth, That Gods law is the abfolute and fupreme bond of confcience. Pre s. z, This ferveth to direst Minders how to convince the re t confciences of their people. If Minders delire to worke upon their hearers, they mutt fpeak to the confcience ; they muff thew them Gods authority, that it is Gods will and rods command. Tell conscience never fo much. that we fhould do thus or thus upon other grounds and inducements, it ftsreth G f not J 143 t f1,i 9 Rom.z.tq
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=