Renewing of tbe Confcience. ·cd in Hell, whofe Worm never dies; and certainly that Confcience muft needs be very evil and very corrupt, that breeds in it this hellifoWorm, whil_ewearc hereupon Earth. And fo much for thefirft Thing, what it is that corrupts the Confdence. Swmdly, The next Thing propounded is to fhew you, What it is to htr.Je a clear Wh~t2ir ; 1 Confcienr:c. NJhttv!'!.s tkar Confiil!'"u, <tnd that in two 'fhivg1, Now there are two Things ·that demoninate a Confcicncc to be clear, when it is pure, and when it js peaceable; when it is ffe_e from all_ known. and wil~u~ Defile... ments, and when it is noc jufrly burdned with the g~ul t of Sm, then iS 1t a clear Confcicnce. (1.) Thm a Man bath a clear Confcience, whm it U free [tom all known 11nd wilful 1 . fins; 1 fay,~ from a!l known and wilful Si os ; for it ~s impoffible, while we are en- J[lmr it i; compaffcd about with Infirmities and oppr~iTed w.tth a h~avy Bod~ of Sin and ~~ul::, Death, LO, keep our felves free and p~re from .all Sin, For t11 many Thmgs we o/Jen_d 1 ndwil{ltl all, fays St. ']anus a. 2. But thefc Sms of dat ly We.1knefs and fuddcn Surreptt- Sins. on, as they arc ufua\ly fmall Sins and fcarcc difcernable, fo arc they no ObfirutT:ions to a clear Confcimct, no more than the Moats of the Sun-beams are ObftruCtions to a clear Day. As for thofe Quotidian Weakneffes and Sins of daily Infirmity, they neither leave Guilt nor Defilement upon the Confcience of God's Children ; but as their more foul Sins are done away by particular ACts of Repmtance, [o thefe arc done away by a general ftau of Repemance, which ftate the Children of God are always in; and there is alf(l a conftant our-flowing of the Blood of Chrift and of the Mercy of God upon the Soul, to remove the Guilt ::~nd Filth of thofc Sil'ls as we fall into them. Then is the Con{cience clear, when all former Sins being pardoned to us, we daily labour to pleafe God, though it be with manifold Imperfections and WeaknefiCs ; this dotb. not hinder hut that our Confcicnces mav be both pure and peaceable, wh ile we thus fincerely ftrive to keep our fclvcs ·from all wilfu l and from all prefumptu - ous Sins, our Confcicnces arC clear, JlOtwithftanding the Sins of daily Infirmi:- , ty. So fays the Pfalmift, Pfal. 19. 13. Keep back thy Servant from p~·efumptuous Sins, then/hall I be upright, ttnd I !hall be Innocent from the great Trtrn.f.gre!fion. That's the firft ~hing; Confcience is clear, when it's free from all known and wilful Sins. (2.) Then a Man bath a Clear Confcience when it tl not jufl!y burdned with the Guilt 2., of Sin; I fay not juftly burdned, becaufe fometimes we may burden our felves If/b~n it is without c.1ufe, when God bath alrettdy forgiven us. Many t irnes, through Temp- 'J/t~ufl~ rations and Defertions, God's Children refleG: back upon their old Sins with new w~~/~ee Troubles. and r ip up their old Wounds and make them bleed afrelb; they rem em- g,uilr of ber ar;ainft thcmfelves what God hath forgotten, and with grcat'Terrours acwfe Sin. and condemn themfelves for what God bath already remitted to them. Now here I fhalllay down two Things. (t .) Firft, That wery quiet Confcience U not a clear Confcimct. (2.) Secondly, That every troubled Covfcience is not an wil Confcimce. ~irft, Every quiet Confcicnce U not a clear Confcience. Some are lull'd afieep in fe~ cunty, and their Confciences arc quiet mecrly becaufc they are infcnfible; it may Eve;·quibe they have fo harraffed and wafted their Confciences by dreadful Sins, fo often et Crmfcimortally wounded 'hem, that now they have not Strengthenough to become quar- enre is noD r elfome and trOllblefome, and this they call Peace; i ndeed it is fuch a Peace as a rlea~ Galgarhus reproaches the Rvmans with in Tacirus, when they had laid all waft, then Conjcwue. they called it Pcttce: So thefe Sinners think they have good peaceable Confciences heca~fe they do not meanace, torment and worry t hem; and, alas, how can they? Th~1r Confciences are murdered, there is no Senfe nor Life left in them. This is no Peace, but a mecr Solitude and Defolation of Confcience; and yet, believe it too, th·e.fc quiet and peaceable Confciences will not be long fo; at the Hour of Death, or If not then, the next moment after Death, thefe ptaceabJe eonfcitnces will be ftartled'outof their Sleep, and with fearful Screeches fly in their Faces and roar fa loud, that Heaven and H ell fhall hear them . As in £till Weather many times Matter is gathering for a Storm; fo while Con{cience feems fo frill and quiet, it is only gathering Matter for a Tempeft, that will one Day pour upon your Heads; and 0! How grievous will it be when thofe Confciences, that never gave t hem an
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