·' of Prejumptuous Sins. -------- There are cwo Things Wherein it appears chat all Sins againft Confcience, Tw• At,- _ . and againft Convittiom, are prefump~uous Sins. . · . ~j~~:~~;r firlt, Becau{e, in alt Juch Stn! fhere u a m~fl. horwl Conte"!p~ of the .Authonty 11g4 inft anJ Sovertil17JitJofthegreat God: And what htgher Prefumpnon can there be, Conjcmm. ehan for vi be Worms eo tee ac nought the At~thorit] of chat God at whofe Frown ' Jr 11 /J Heaven, and Hell, and Earrh tremble. .The Vt!ce .t1f Con{cience r~ghrty informe? ~,;;;;;n! by rhe Scrip_wre, ir is che Voice of, Go,d btm{tlf; u 15 God fpeaktng In a Mans rilJ of Bowels, and whifpering eo a M;an s very -H~arr. As Mufes was t~e Jnttrp_reter be- G~d. twixt God and the Jfrmdites, fo C(mfcimce 15 che Interpreter betWIXt God and us. Why now, would it not have ~cen, think .You, a mOH de[perate Prcfu~ptio.n, and a moll d.ring Affront agarnil the Ma)eily and Sovereignty of God, 1fwh1le he was with his own voice pronouncing the Tm Gomm4ndtnen't! with Thundering, and Lightning, and Earrhquake, fr?m MountS~nai, at .the fame time the /f7ae.--: lites to have been notoriouOv breakwg and finnmg agamft every on~ of thofe Commandments, as hefpake th.en;? Truly, yhough now God delivers hi~ Will and. Commands ro us not immedJately by hts own Mouth, as ehen he dtd, but by Cunfcitnce his lnt:rprtrtr, yet while we know that Con[cience fpeaks to us in the Name of Go~, it is as much f:arful Prefu.mption for us_ to flight the:: voice of Confciencc a.; zf we fhould flight the votce of God Jumfelf fpeaktng from He:wen imr;,edia~ely to us. And that's the firjl Thing. Secondly, BJ {inning againft .our Con/cimces, and 11glli11f1 Dttr ~rmVi8i61u, we z. . Iris~~~ 1nai:.e it 'Vfr} tVidmt that we jlmt4 m no awe or drMd r;f r.ny fiuh thmg 4f Hell tmd e·wdw eltrnai Dmn'flation U, and js not that Boidnejt.? Is not that l'refilmptioff? . YGU fcorn ~rgummt poffibly eo be fllch puling, whimpering Sinners, as to be aftrighceii ~ith fuch p;;d~·~ ~o :Pugbears aseverlafiing T.orments, and everlafiing Wrath and V cngeanO:e ts; Y,OU awe o(HdJ know the 1Va,ges of Sin iJ Death) and chac the Ways you cake, lead down to the "''d.Dnm. Cham,9.~rs of DefiruCHon; and yet · though God and Devil fianiLin the way,"atwl. you will eh rough: Are pot chefe, think you, hold and prefU:rnptuOlis ·Sihners:,. chat will go on in Sin, though Hell-Fire fla!hes in their Faces, who; tht'Jti~I1 1God lhould cleave the Ground upon which they walk, and rh rough that Chink lhould give them a view of HeJJ; thoUgh they fhould fee theDamned turrililin~up· and aown in thofe Torinencs, and hear their Yellings, and Shriekings~ dnd R.oari'ngs; yea, though God lhould point them out a place in Hdl, and tell them, Look Sinner.,yonder is a place kept void, antlheat.ed ~rotn the.begihnin'g of the·World for thee; yet are there fome fuch bold and daring Wr'Ctehes, tf1at they .would outbra~e a.lt ehis, and they wou~d fin in defpig~c. eit~er of Hea-vtn or HeJ/·; ' "j~, and whtch),S ~m oft fad and dreaqful confideractan, iorlle there are whofeConjcitncts are already . ~rim· full o~ extre~m horrou,r, -:iod ~.nguilh, and yet theY will tencurtf upon thote Sms-that have caufed tha~ horrou.r,and are not fuch prefumptuous Sinners ? T:l1ey give their Confcitnces ~ound upon wound ; and though fc<>metirnes they roar bitterly, yec they will .fin oucrageouOy, even then when chey roar and fmart fer Sin: So that this is a dear evidence of a prt}umpruotn Sin; when a Sin is . cpmmir~ed againft a Man's own Ctonfcien6e, agairrft Knowledge, a~d' againft Con'-:iction; this makeS a Sin to boa prefuin}>ruous Sin,1when Con!Gience crie!J out,_Murder, Murder, S!?Ul· Murder; whe)l it befeed1es with Tears of Bl.ood chaC' t~ey 4£<J-W from it,todefift froin their Sins; and yetH not heard nor regarde·d; ohis · is P.rtfp?"!P.J.Uftl's fi ., ,ti;;[,J )}m)ing with a _high hand, and with a brazen FofChead. .. · Sec<?:~q~y, TIJm a Mau Jim pre/ump;uppfi:Jr w.hen 1he fins upon long dtl-ibef.ation Tcfin utm a.,d jim_ci&jf, plotting .1md t:oml'i1ling wjt·h · hiTh{eif_ how 'he "!tiJ accomphfJJ. :h'i'l .~in.~:~~;:';;~ Sqme,.Sms are comm1~ted meetly throug? a fudden Sufpnie; a Tempcati6nj11 pr,fum~ comes upon the Soul pnawares_;and fin'ds IJ unproyided ro make anY retiffance ~~u~uJIJ. and' fait prevails? So ir was with the Apofile St. Peier.i his Apofiacy.and f"e1ju~ ry_was in4ee0 very dreadful; yethe•wasoY'ercomeb)'afudden Surprize; ht had. " no foreg~ing Tho"g~cs ~nd Purpofes to deny his Mailer; yea, his Refolutlon wa~ c eo 0\~m and confcls h!m 'to che very D.eath;. and thctefore though his Sin,,\J>e-Pen foul ?~~19, yet they cannoc be called prt[t1mpruous ·Sim; buD ra~het Sins at wiaknefs ' :md t.,nfirmity. And fo there are divers Chriftians .dr.tc are ovenaken With'.Fau lts ag:J.~nfl th~ir Refoiurions -and Prayers,yea,and.<i:ontrary to ~heir awnExpeltations;. nov.t. chc:: Sms of fuch ·Pe!f<>ns are not p_e[tnnpftu;us Sim; but .then a Sih·: bec0tnes pr· fumpcuous, w~en i~ 1s commined after long delib~racion, pre~msditationancl •: ~ fxccafi. There l;; -a r,wofold Deliberation that makes a ~in prcfurQ.ptudus.•. •·, .. -i-. ~t:l•l H h h h f irfl,
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