The Souls Looking Glass 2, Tract 2 · Proposition 3 · Part 5
Vſes.
Vſe 1 1. BY this we ſee what a miſerable thing it is to have ſuch a troubled conſcience. It is the greateſt miſery that can be: it is even a hell to men here upon earth: it is like a diſmall ghoſt to terrifie the ſoul: it is like a burning furnace in the boſome: it maketh the life bitter. In a word, the ſpirit of man is not able to bear it: The ſpirit of man will ſuſtein its infirmities: Prov. 18.14.but …a wounded ſpirit who can bear? As long as a mans ſpirit is ſound, it will bear any thing. Some have born agues, fevers, ſtones, colicks, convulſions, rackings, torturings: as long as a mans ſpirit is ſound he is able to bear any of them, all of them: but a wounded ſpirit who can bear? Never was there man that was able to bear a wounded ſpirit. We may ſee by many of Gods children how heavy it is: David rored with the anguiſh of it: a ſtrange phraſe. He man was ready even to runne out of his wits with it: While I ſuffer thy terrours, ſaith …he, I am diſtracted, Pſal. 88.15. Moſes putteth himſelf into the number; We are even conſumed by thine anger, Pſal. 90.7. Ethan complaineth that it was like a burning fever: How long, O Lord, wilt thou hide thy face? for ever? ſhall thy wrath burn like fire? Pſal. 89.46. If it be thus with Gods children, what may we think of the wicked? If we could ſearch into the boſomes of ſome wicked men who are enemies to God, then we might ſee and underſtand the true weight and burden of this troubled conſcience. Cain crieth out of more then he can bear. Judas thought to find more eaſe in hell then in his own heart: So terrible was the torture of his troubled conſcience, that he murdered himſelf, thinking verily that hell could not be worſe.
Vſe 2 2. See here what an infinite miſery every ſinner ſhall one day be in. Though he be not troubled with this harpye for the preſent, though he be not yet gaſtered with this furious hag; yet the day will come when he ſhall: I ſay, the time will come when all ye that are wicked ſhall be haunted with this helliſh agony of a troubled conſcience; either here before ye die, or when ye die, or at furtheſt when your ſouls are departed out of your bodies: This is unavoydable to all that live and continue in ſinne. Though for a while ye live in mirth and pleaſure and ſecuritie, and conſcience letteth you alone; though like Nabal to day ye feaſt and make merry; yet there is a conſcience within you, an Abigail which to morrow will tell you of it, and then your hearts will die within you and be like ſtones, 1. Sam. 25.37.as cold and as heavie as a ſtone within you. As Samuel met with Saul,1 Sam. 15.26. Becauſe thou haſt forſaken the Lord, the Lord alſo hath forſaken thee: ſo conſcience will find you out. However for a while ye ſlight and neglect it, or elſe perhaps ſuppreſſe it, yet it will find you out, as Eliah did Ahab, and then ye will ſay as he did, Haſt thou found me, 1. Kings 21.20.O mine enemy? yea, I have found thee: Thou haſt ſold thy ſelf to work wickedneſſe in the ſight of the Lord: thou haſt been a profane beaſt, thou haſt run againſt heaven, and againſt God and Chriſt; and thy life hath been full of rebellions, &c. now I have found thee out. The day will come when thy conſcience ſhall be like Jobs meſſenger. Ye know what news the meſſengers brought Job; firſt news of one great evil, and then of another greater, and then of a third worſt of all; cattel and goods taken away, ſervants dead, ſonnes and daughters dead, I onelyonly am left alive to tell thee: So, I ſay, the time will come when conſcience ſhall thus report, Thy pleaſures are dead; thy profits are dead; thy comforts are dead; thy heart is dead; thy ſoul is curſed, and muſt die for ever: and I onelyonly am left alive to tell thee: And then he ſhall crie our, Curſed was I that ever I was born: and curſed be the womb that bare me, and the paps that gave me ſuck. Then ſhalt thou mourn at the laſt, when thy fleſh and thy bodie are conſumed, and thy conſcience ſhall ſay, How have I hated inſtruction, and my heart deſpiſed reproof? I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor enclined mine ears to them that inſtructed me. Such dolefull meſſages conſcience will bring in one day; and then it ſhall hiſſe like a ſnake in thy boſome, Know now that for all theſe things thou ſhalt come to judgement. And ſo thy conſcience ſhall bray thee like a fool in a mortar, as it were with a peſtill, and it ſhall pounce thee and beat thee and diſtreſſe thee for evermore. This is the moth that getteth into the cloth, and doth eat it:Pſal. 39.11. When thou with rebukes doſt correct man for iniquitie, thou makeſt his beautie to conſume away like as when a moth fretteth a garment. This will make thy face gather blackneſſe, and thy ſpirit be overwhelmed for evermore.
I muſt adde another uſe yet: For all this is the law: and untill ye be in Chriſt ye are all under the law, the curſe of it, the rigour of it: And we are bound to tell you how ye ſhall find it if ye do not ſubmit to the righteouſneſſe of Chriſt. But though we do preach the law, yet we do preach it in the hand of a mediatour, ſaith Paul, Gal. 8.19. a terrible killing law, but yet in a mercifull hand, in the hand of a mediatour, to drive us to ſeek for merciemercy: and therefore
Vſe 3 The third uſe ſhall be, to call upon you to be humbled, and to ſee that there is no living for you in your ſinnes. Go and ſtoop to Chriſt Jeſus, who onelyonly can purge your guiltie conſciences by his bloud. I beſeech you, conſider, ye who yet abide in your ſinfull eſtates and are yet in the fleſh: I beſeech you, conſider what the event will one day be. If ye will not look out, your conſciences will find you out at the laſt, and then wo be to you. Your conſciences will make all things grievous and bitter to you, even thoſe things which in themſelves are moſt ſweet and good: When ye heare of heaven, of merciemercy, of the bloud of Chriſt, theſe will but encreaſe your miſerie: conſcience will ſay, You have no part in them. When you heare the word, any promiſe or comfortable paſſage in it, your conſcience will ſay, Yea, this is my miſerie, I have no ſhare in theſe things. This will be a hell unto you, and will torment you before your time. This will alſo make all outward good things bitter unto you: When you ſee wife and children and friends, then conſcience will whiſper and ſay, I ſhall not have theſe long: ere long I ſhall have none but damned companie. When you ſee your goods, eſtates, and the like, conſcience will mutter, Alas, ere long I ſhall be in a place where a drop of water ſhall not be afforded me to cool my tongue. When you ſee the light and other comfortable objects, O wo is me; I ſhall ſhortly be in a place where I ſhall ſee nothing but darkneſſe, utter and everlaſting darkneſſe. Conſcience will make your afflictions intolerable, your ſickneſſe intolerable, your death-bed intolerable, the face of death intolerable. I beſeech you, brethren, conſider theſe things, you that have not felt a troubled conſcience untill this houre. Ye hardly know yet what it is: ye will know it to your ſorrow, if you do not conſider it. There is a phraſe in Ezek. 30.24. where God ſaith he will make Pharaoh grone with the gronings of a man deadly wounded: So it will be with you, if you will not hearken and ſubmit to Jeſus Chriſt: conſcience will make you grone with fearfull grones; O wo is me, I am undone, without hope, without remedie. Conſider this therefore, and be wiſe, before the things which concern your peace be hidden from you.
And let me the rather exhortExhortation. you to this in regard of the danger of the times. The Lords wrath is gone out, and his judgements do flie through the earth, and his plagues do fall on every ſide of us: What will your guiltie conſciences do now? oh you can never endure them. Ye had need of purged conſciences now, leſt ye be quite comfortleſſe in the day of viſitation. How miſerable is their caſe who want the peace of conſcience in the time of diſtreſſe? When troubles and afflictions are without, then how grievous is it to want peace and comfort within? When Gods mortall arrows are in your bodies, then to have the arrow of his wrath ſticking in your ſouls, this will adde ſorrow to ſorrow, and make your eſtate much more uncomfortable and unſupportable. Beloved, peace of conſcience is good at all times; but it is moſt precious when calamities fall on us: Then to have the peace of a good conſcience that may bring us good news from heaven, that all is well within, all peace there, this is ſuch peace as all the world cannot give nor ſell nor buy. Never more need of the peace of conſcience then now.M. M. As one ſaid of the books of faith, There be abundance of books written of faith: buy them all up, ſaith he; ye will need every one of them ere long: So may I ſay of whatever may forward the peace of conſcience; Buy it, purchaſe it, get it, as much peace as you can poſſible: ye will have need of it all ere long. Take heed of troubling your conſciences or clogging them with guilt, leſt the Lord caſt you off, and leſt ye be hardned, and ſo ye periſh from the right way. Do not think thus, O we are believers, and have no need of ſuch threatnings. He who is certain of his ſalvation knoweth aſſuredly he ſhould be damned if he ſhould go on in ſinne without repentance; This If is true enough;Ezek. 18.26. If the righteous forſake his righteouſneſſe, all his former righteouſneſſe ſhall be forgotten. And, Wo is me, ſaith Paul,1. Cor. 9.16 if I preach not the goſpel. In the ſtate of innocencie there was uſe of threatnings: ſo is there now in the ſtate of grace. The Lord threatned Adam in innocencie, If thou eat thereof thou ſhalt die the death. Job was awed by threatnings not to lift up his hand againſt the fatherleſſe; for, ſaith he,Job 31.23 deſtruction from God was a terrour to me. My fleſh, ſaith David, trembleth for fear of thee, Pſal. 119.120.and I am afraid of thy judgements. Let us have grace, ſaith the Apoſtle,Heb. 12.28. whereby we may ſerve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. Why? for our God is a conſuming fire. For be it that Gods children (that is, all believers) ſhall never fall finally away; yet this threatning is one of Chriſts inſtruments whereby he keepeth them from falling: and they alſo may taſt of much bitterneſſe if they grow indulgent to their corruptions. O therefore take heed of this curſe, that your conſciences may not dog you with the guilt of ſinne and the apprehenſion of Gods wrath. You will never be able to bear it, much leſſe in the time of affliction. O it is good being in a drie houſe when a great tempeſt is up: and it is ſafe being in a good harbour when a ſtorm beateth hard. A good conſcience is good at all times; but O how ſweet then! When Jonah fell into affliction, the want of peace in his conſcience made him look upon his affliction as upon hell, as though he had been in the belly of hell: They who follow lying vanities, forſake their own mercies, ſaith he. Mark; his conſcience dogged him with his fleeing from God, and forſaking his own mercies. Ye ſee he was miſerably diſtreſſed by it till the Lord did deliver him. Be charie then of conſcience, and get it purged, that it may ſpeak peace to you in trouble.