2. EJJt'.f rroubld Confciente iPIOf4tJ evil Con# foitn'f, Of the Nature, Corraptio11 and an ill '¥ord before, f'hall on a fudden drag th~m before the Tribunal of God, and there bitterly accufe them of thofe horrid Sms that once they feem'd to take no notice of~ and call for the fevereft execution of divine Wrath and Vengeance upon them ? And poffibly many that fpeak of the Peace of their Confcicnccs do not find it f~ neither, they are as ~ar from a pea7eable Co~fcience, as the; are from a ravmg and a ragtng Confclence: A. ravtng Confctencc foon difcovers it felf in hellifh. Defpair, but there are many whofe Confciences do not rave and yet arc never quiet, they give them many a fecret twitc~ and guird ac the very Heart, not outwardly dtfcernable by others; as 'Thunder rumbles long in the Entrails of a Cloud, that never breaks forth into dreadful and terrible Cracks. fa a Man may have a rumbling and a grumbling Confcicnce, a Confciencc tha; may murmur and fcoul upon him, and yet he may carry it as if all were calm and ferene with him: However, though all within may be quiet, yet a quite Confcience ~~~nbft ~!fr~"~~ ft~~~}:;~~id a;i:r:r.anding Puddle may be as foul as the raging Sett, Secondly, .AJ every quiet Confcience U not a clear Confcima, fo every troubled Confcience U not an evil Confcimce. Hypocrites and wicked Men may indeed, and do often, fa judge: Would God ever fuffer fuch ftrange Terrors to feize upon Men were they not notorious Sinners? As thofe Barb;triam at Maitll, fpoken of i~ the .AEh, when they faw the Viper faften upon •the AI>Oftle's Hand, prefently th~ concl~ded that he was fame wicked Perfon, whom divine Vengumce would nor: fuJter r:o live. So thefe Men, wher they fee the Worm of Confcicnce faften upon others, prefently they judge them guilty of notorious Crimes, fuch Crimes for which the Vengeance and Wrath of God purfues them ; bnt this is a wrong Cenfure and moft unjuft. For the m oft part it is feen, that thofe that have the beit Confcicnccs are moft troubled, at leafl: for a time, untill the Holy GhofJ perfuade theta of t he Love of God, and of the,Pardon of their Sins. It is the greateft Fault of a.ten4er Confcienc~, that it mi~·t·~erprets every thing againit it _felf; .and _of· tentunes when God rCJoyccth over It . It apprehends he frowns utmn It, m1ftakmg the firing of a Bone·fire for the fir{n :.~of a Beae~m, and gh•e an Alarm when they fbould proclaim Peace and Joy; maliy times it is fa with them that have tender Confdences ; a Man nHy be long 1rroubled for thofe Sins that are already pardoned to hlm. N~t)Jan comes to Da'Vid, and tells him, upon his Conicffion, that he had finned, 2 Sam. I 2. I 3· I haw Sinned, fays he; and God by Nathan tells him, that he had put away hiJ Sin from him; and yet his Confcience, though it were clear in rcfpelt of any Guilt that God charged upon him, yet it was not clear in refpea of what he himfelf charged upon hiUJfdf; he thought himfelf guilty ia his own apprehenfion, as you may perceive by his penning of the Sift Pfalm, yet he was nflt guilty in God's Account, for he aJfures him, by his Prophet, that he had pardoned him. ~uefiion. Why now it being fo, that both a quiet Confcience may be impure, and that a troubled Confcience may be a clear Confcience, how fhall we know whether when our Conf.:h:.1ces are troubled, it be from the Guilt of Sin remaining upon them; or whether, ,V hen they be clear and quiet, it be from the removal of that Guilt? BPIDt% For .Anfwer unto this; firft it may be known when a .Man's Confcience is trou· Man ntaJ bled from the euilt of Sin remaining ~pan it, by confidcring the effects of this k~o1'l7wb:" Trouble: Loth he find, that when Confcience is difquieted, he is apt to ihift olf !~:~?[''· the Trouble by diverting it , _and doing what he can to lull C:onfcicnce afleep? 1r11uhled Doth he neglet\: Prayer, Rcadtng of the Word, and other Duttes and Means that from tbe God bath appointed to bring him to a t r ue Repentance for his Sin? If it be fo, guilt of this Man bath great caufe to fear that the trouble of his Confcience proceeds from Sin_ r.e.. the Impurity and Defilement of it. Where God will fave the Soul, this trouble of =::=';~gor Confcience works in another manner, and ftirs up a Man to Pray, to Hear, to Menq:. ditat e upon God's Word, where his condition will be ftated to his Hand, to follo~v God in all his Ways and Ordinances, making him reftlcfs lill he come to know that his Sins are pardoned, and his Wounds healed and clofed up by the Blood of Jefus Chrift. Now many there are in whom the troubles of Confcience never produ_ce any good effetts, but all their care is how they may divert all t~ou.blefome and di!- quieting Thoughts from themfelves, and fa they wear off ConviChons: Now this Trouble can never produce any faving etrea, and is it felf produced meerly from tbat
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