622 Praf!ical Cbriftianity. --------------------- lnPMrli Htlp1. 7be Diil<ttet of C'Onfoiewu, .R.om. 2 . [4. 15· of the Gofpel. And have ,..,.e not a\fo difplay'd je[us Chrift in all his Excellencies, fo far forth as his infinite Excellencies can be difplay'd with a few filorcbreath'd Words? Have we not fct \oyrh Holinefs in its Beauty and Lufl:rc, and done as much as we could do to reconClle you to the ways of Obedience and to remove the unjuft Prejudices that Men have taken up againft them? \Vhat could we have done more than we have done, to inform Mens Judgments, fo fatisfie th.eir C~nfci~nces, to anfw.er all their Doubts, ~o allay thc.ir Fears, to fupply them wlth qmcknmg Confiderat10ns to Duty, and w1th deternng Confiderations from Sin? \Ve appeal to your fel\·es; and yet we fpeak not this to ingratiate or to commend our fclves (we profefs we care not much for the good Opinion of any Man in the World, farther than it may be of fame advantage to do your Souls good;) but do you think God expeds rtot fame great Thing from you? Give me leave to deal truly and faithfully with you; if your WorJ<s do not in fome m~afur~ anfwer th~ Labours of God's Servants that have m~ny Years follow'd you with Ltne upon Ltnc, and Precept upon Precept here a hule and there a little frill warning and intrcati ng with all Bowels of Tcndernefs, a11uring you to pitY your own Souls, and to fave your felves from that Wrath and Vengeance that fhall lhortly overcome the difobedient World; They who have thus exhorted you believe it, !hall within a while be Witnelfcs againft you. Well then, fince youar; daily called upon and warned to flee from the Wrath to come; fincc you have fuch clear Conviftions of your Duty that a bribed Confcience can hardly evade; fince you have fuch abundance of Examples of others who have gone before you, and have done what God requires of you why will not you be hereby perfuaded and encouraged to wo:k? Thefc Th~ngs you muft a~knowledgc are great Helps to further your Salvation; and , belteve It, thH wtll prove dreadful Aggravations of your Condemnations, if they do not prevail with you. But thefc are only outward Helps. (2.) Secondly, There arc other Helps, and they are inward, and of far greater Force and Efficacy, of which I Jhall Name Two. · (r.) Pirft, the DiElates of your own Confciences, they are ftil/ prompting and exciting of you to work. Confcience it is God's Deputy and Vicegerent in the Soul, that rules and governs in his Name and by his Authority. Now of all the Faculties in Man this was the leaft corrupted by his Fall; though the Will be Wholly corrupted and perverfe that it will not obey the Commands of Confcience, yet Confcience !till continues the performance of its Office, !till it informs and urgeth, and threatens, and tormenteth; and thus may you fee it bufily working, even in thofe th.lt never had the Law of God to direCt Confcience. The Gm· tiles, fays the Apoftle to the Romam, that have not the Law, do ry Nature, that is, by natural Confcicncc, the thingr contained in the Law, their Conjciences bearing witnefs, and their Tf1ouglm, in the mean while, accujing and excujing tme auother. And becaufe they had not the Law> therefore Confcience in them was like an Officer walking in the Dark, apprehending the Innocent and letting the Guilty efcape: But yet this was from the Beginning fa deeply impbnted in the Heart of Man, that fomething muft be done and avoided for to obtain Happinefs, which could never yet be obliterated. Tho' our know ledge of what is Duty, an,d what is Sin, be in a great part defaced, yet this know ledge the ~cripturc doth abundantly fup· ply to us, and gives Confdence a perfeCt Draught of all the Duties that Go.d requires, and bids it be Overfecr and look that the Work be done. How? Is 1t not a great Help when you ha\'e fo~1ewhat within you t~at frauds for, a~d takes part with what is Good and what Is your Duty? Confcience fecretly bids you beware of fuch and fuch Sins that will bring Ruin, Deftruction, and Vengeance upon you; and perform fuch and fuch Duties, Pray, Hear, Meditate, and be more fervent and affeCtionate in all your Services ; this is the way that tends to Life and Happinefs. Thus Confcience daily and hourly is following of you, with Counfels and Chidings, and with Threatnings, denouncing Wrath and _Vengeance againft you; and though it fpeaketh thefe Things with fo low a Votce that others, though they lay their Ears to your So~l can~ot. h~ar i~, yet in your.Ea:s it fpeaks as loud as Thunder J and no lefs ternble ; 1t ts m vatn to .wound rt, It is in vain to Itop its Mouth, for that will but make it break out wtth the more violence and out-rage; nothing a n appeafe it but Duty and Work. Why fhould you not then, fince you have that within you that ttands for and prompts you to
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