Of Ab.ftaining from the Appearance of Evil. Though an Ad:ion be in it felf indifferent, yet if it appear t'tlil and finful eo we oughr.not in .any cafe,while char. rnif-p_erfwafi~n cominues, eo vemure uus: on the domg of u; no,though by domg ofu,we m1ghr avoid the greacefi Ev·). Yea, we are rathe~, ifPrD""~idtnce l:)ring us to that fad chqice,to lofeour very Liv~s · than eo do any thmg agamft the perfwafions of our own Cpnfciences though. in h felf it be not evil or finfu!.. The reafon ~f this is clear ; hecaufe we are rather ro chufe the grearefi Affiu~bon and Suffenng than eo commit the Jeaft Sin • bur now to go contrary to the Didatesand Perfwafions of our own Confciences' this is Sin, Rom. 14. 2 3· Wbatt".Jtr is.JJot of Ft~ith,is Sin; thatis, whatever a Ma~ d?th, if he be !lot fully pe!f wa~e,d ~n~ ~onvinced of die la.wful nefs thereof in hts own Confctence, charts a Sui fO turn t!\at ventures upon It while he is unfa. tisfied,though the Thing itfelf may be lawful. And he that d,ubwh, f<ys theA- 'P_CJjile,in the fame Verfe,isdamned if he eateth; that is,though there be no realdiff~rence betwixt m;e kind of Me~t and another,.but all are alike lawful; yet if a fcrupulous Confctence puts a dtfference betwtxc them,where there is none and if ic accountit unlawful to eac of fome forrs of Mear,if afcerthis, a Man ven:ures to eat them,hereby he fins,fays.the Apojlle, and incurrs damnation,by doing that againft his Confcience,thac yer,were his Confcience orherwife informed were lawful for him to do. AndfoinRom.14-20. For Mt:at dejlroynot the Worko]G~d · aD things art pure,but it is t11il for him who eateth with offence. Thefe and many 0~ ther places clearly prove that what is done againff a Man's own Confdence that is finful, to that Man. Confcience ha eh the privilege of a Negati\'C V or~ in the Soul ; nothing can lawfully be done by us but what hach the full confC:nt and approbation ·of our Confciences; and though every thing we think is lawful, cloth not thereupon prefemly become lawful to us, yet what we think is unlawful, doth thereupon become unlawful for us to do, and we ought what.. ever the cafe be, wholly to abftain from the doing of ir. ' Thirdly ,If the Action that we judge evil and unlawful to us, be our Duty, and fo becomes neceffary to us,chen are we under a moft fad entanglement; we fin ifwe do it,and we fin alfo unlefs we do it. This is the unhappinefs ofmany,that through a mif-informed Confcience they verily believe they ought to ab{tain from that which is indeed their Duty,and to do that wherein they fin indeed if they do it : And fo Chrift fpeaks of fome thatthought verily they did G,J good Serviwwhen they per{etuted and murderedhis Saints, in John I 6. 1. If they did not what they thought was good fervice to God, they finned on that hand; and yet if they killed the Saints, which they judged to be good fervice,they finned on that hand alfo ; fo that they were entangled on both hands. So is it in our days alfo ; we have feen and known many that thought it their duty to abftain from Ordinances; yea, who thought it their duty to perform no duty at all eo God : Now if thefe Men abftain from them, they fin in doing that which is comrary to what God commands; if they ufe them, they fin too, becaufe they do that which is contrary to what Confi:ience commands: So that it is indeed the greateft Plague and Punilhmenc in rhe World for God to give Men up to the power of an erroneous and mif-guided Confcience. Now it appears that whatever a Man doth againft his Confcience, be the Adion Indifferem,or be the Adion his Duty, and fo is neceiTary_; yet he fins: ~hie~ is eVide!"ltin ~w? Thi~gs. Firfl, Becaufe there IS no Man but th1nks h1s Confc1ence 1s nghtly mformed ; no Man thinks his Confcience erroneous ; every one judgeeh himfelf eo he in the right, and to be rightly informed. Now if he thus judgeth, and •C!s contrarily, he fins,becaufe he intends to fin; and therefore by croffing an erroneOus Confcience, though poffibly he doth well in the Action, yet he fins in Intention, fince he doth tlm that he himlelf thinks doth crols the Rule by which he lhould walk. Secondly, AnotherReafonis this; ·becaiife by acting contrary to Confcience, though mif-informed,and erroneous,we do contemn the Authority and Will of God; and therefore it is Sin. We are all to guide ourConfciences by the Word, that is, God's written Will ; and we are all to guide our Live~ by .our Confciences. No Man thinks his Confcienceto be erroneous; but thtnks It to be according to the Will of God. Now if we donor act accordingly, we fin as much . as if indeed it were informed according to the Will of God. Confcience is God"sDeputy and Vicegerent in the Soul, and what Confcience faith,we think "
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