162 4 treatife of Confcience. thus much flail fuffice to be fpoken of other mens binding of c.nícience. II. We may bind our own confsiences. II. We our felves may bind our own confciences : And that is by thofe vows and promifes which we make to God of any thing lawful! and in our power. Thofe vows and promi- lçs which we make unto God according to the warrant of his . word they do bind our confcience. They are our. own before we have made them : as Ananias and Saphira their gift was their own before they vowed it to the Church : While it re- mained was it not thine own ? and when it was fold, was it not in thine own power? A&s 5.4. We need not vow unlef a we will but after we have vowed our vows are Godsbonds, and do bind the confcience to the performance of them. Nay, we lie unto God, as the text faith they did, if we do not (rand to the performance of them. Bur it may be demanded, What vows are they which are un- lawful!, and do not bind confcience ? J anfwer ? a, Such as we make of things impoffible and beyond our power : Thefe are unlawful!, and do not bind confcience. z. Such as we make of things unlawfull; when we vow to do that which is contrarie to Gods law : fuch as Davids tsam.a5, was -when he vowed the deflrudtionof Nabalsfamilie : This Both not bind confcience : nay, we are bound in confcience to break it. 3. Such as though they be of things lawfull and poffable, yet we want freedome in the performance of them : as for a wife or a fervant or a child to make a vow, when their relation to fuch as are over them will not fuifer them to perform it : "o/J.50.3 T his bindeth not confcience. Nothing bindeth confcience but that which. hath Gods real upon it- : but this bath not Gods feal on it ; and therefore it doth not bind confcience : indeed it bindeth us in confcience to repent of it. q.. Such as though they be lawful! and profitable and in our own freedome, yet if there fall a greater confequence before the zi
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