Treatise of Conscience Wherein Divers Secrets are Discovered, Chapter 4
CHAP. IIII.
Of ane euill Conscience, the diuers kindes, and qualities thairof.
LIke as of weill doing, arysis the testimonie of a gude Conscience: euen sa of euill doing, arysis ane euill Conscience: For looke where sin, in any forme is committed; either in thocht, word or deid; whether sa it be wittingly, on ignorance, on rashnes, or on set purpose: Of force thair mon be ane euill Conscience, ane euill knawledge thair: And as thair is degrees of sinnes; euen sa is there degrees of Consciences: For the fewar, and of lesse waight the sinnes be, the better is the Conscience of him that committeth them: And the main number, or mair grieuous the sinne be, the worse is the Conscience, of the committar. Nowe, of the sins whereby the Conscience of man is woundit and made euill: There is a sin quhilk may be committed aganis knawledge: A sinne according to knawledge, and a sinne done vponupon ignorance. Al thir three kindes of sinnes are accessorie, and annexit to ane euill Conscience. As to the first, quhen man knawis, or is suirly perswadit with himselfe, quhat is wrang, and ȝit dois it: And quhat is richt, and ȝit leifis it vndone; he then sinnis aganis his awin knawledge: and this is a high degre of sin; and the worst kinde of Conscience, quhilk is guiltie of wilfull errour: In sik sort, that albeit the deid be gude, or indifferent of it selfe, If man esteeme, and be perswadit in his hairt that it is euill, and ȝit dois it: It is euill to him, and in doing thairof he sinnis and offendis: For all that is done aganis knawledge, or aganis the thinking and perswasion of the hairt, is sinne. The second sort of sinne is, quhilk is not done directly aganis knawledge, but rather according to knawledge, and ȝit it is sinne; and at length producis euer the testimonie of ane euill Conscience: As quhen man dois that quhilk is euill of it selfe, vponupon a false trust and perswasion that he dois weill: or quhen hee dois that quhilk is vnjust, vponupon a gude intentioun, to the effect that gude may come of it. This is also ane euill Conscience, quhilk flatters man in his awin sin: And thou (O man) that vsis sik a forme of doing, thy Conscience quhilk flatters thee nowe, sall ane day accuse and condemne thee for leaning sa meikil to thy awin waik wit and deceauable opinion. Bot you wil object and say, that thy Conscience mouis thee so to do, being suirly perswadit in thy hairt, of thy well doing; Indeede I ȝeild vntounto thee, that in doing the things quhilk are gude, or at the leist indifferent of them selues, a sure perswasion that thou dois na wrong, may be a sufficient warrant to thee: But in those things quhairby the doing or omitting of them, the Majestie of God may be offended, thy vaine perswasions and false witnes of thy flattering Conscience, can be no defence nor warrant vntounto the: For in all thinges quhilk may import sinne, thou aucht to hauehave the authoritie of the word, & command of God for thy warrant. Siklike wilt thou (O foolish man) do euill that gude may come of it? I pray thee tell me, where hes thou sik a commandment giuen thee of God? or thinks thou, that thou maist transgresse the ordinance of the most high, either by doing that quhilk he hes forbidden thee to do, or by leauing that vndone quhilk he hes commandit thee to do; & then cloke thy sinne with thy intention, by saying, that thou did al for the best, that thy purpose and intention was gude, and that man is iudged according to his intention? Na, na, thy intention sall be na releuant defence vntounto thee, in that respect: For thou perverts that gude sentence. I graunt, where thy intention agreis with the will of God, quhen thou intends, and endevours thy self to please God, and to keep his Commandements: The Lord, for his sone Iesus Christs sake, wil accept thy gude intention, and be well pleased with the gude affection of thy heart, albeit (throw thy awin fragilitie, or vther externall impediments) thou neuer execute nor performe thy intentioun. But quhair thy actions are repugnant to the ordinance of God, of necessitie thy zeale mon be blind, & thy intention euil, how gude soeuer it appeir in thine awin eies: neither sal it serue for a lawful excuse vntounto thee, but for a point of dittay to condemne thee, in the day of the Lords richteous judgement: For when the Lord sal lay downe his Law, as a rule before thee, sall open the blinded eies of thy heart, & appeale thy Conscience: Thou sall then know, and confesse, that the Lord suld be served according to his holy statutes & commandements, and not according to thy foolish braine and conceits, nor ȝit after the traditions of men. The thrid sorte of sinne, quhairby the Conscience of man is damnifyit & hurt, is nether committit aganis knawledge, nor ȝit vponupon a perswasion and pretence of weil doing: But is done on mere stupiditie and ignorance. As when man either is in doute, whether the thing be gude or euill, that he dois: ather els is altogidder negligent and careles quhat he dois; nocht taking heed, nor trying whether his actions be just, or vnjust. Heir it wald appeare, that this kinde of sinne can nocht touch the Conscience: In respect, that Conscience is a knawledge of a deid done; but ignorance is opponit to knawledge; and therefore cannot concerne, nor corrupt the Conscience. The trueth is, that all kinde of sinne infects the Conscience and saull of man: And seeing that all iniquitie done vponupon ignorance, is sin: For neither ignorance negligence, rashnes, nor waiknes, can be a just defence and excuse to sinne: Thairfore, it mon follow, that sinne committit vponupon ignorance, corrupts and infects the saull and Conscience. Mairouer, albeit the wicked man wil be sumtime careles, and ignorant of the qualitie of his deedes, whether thay be gude or euil, and sa wil hauehave peace of Conscience for a season: Nevertheles, hee cannot be ignorant quhat he hes done, at the time when the fact is committed: Yea, although he were baith forgetfull quhat he had done, and ignorant of the qualitie of the deid: ȝit quhen it sall please the Lord to knocke at the doore of his Conscience, and to illuminate his dull vnderstanding: he sal then baith hauehave his deids recent in memory, & sall clearlie vnderstand, that thay ar euil and wicked, quhairvpon his awin Conscience sall beir witnes against him. Heirfore, to sinne vponupon ignorance, It is a dangerous thing. For wee aucht neither to be ignorant, nor to doubt of the qualitie of our actiouns; but suld hauehave assurance of our Consciences for all that we do; & our Consciences the assurance of Gods word: The quhilk assurance all men may hauehave, that delights to bee exercised in the Lawe of the Lord: For this is maist certaine, that there is nathing quhilk may serue to the salvation of man, but it is reveiled by the word of God, and set downe in the scriptures: And all that the Lord hath commanded vsus to do, is gude and richteous: All that he hes defendit, and forbidden, is euill and wicked: And all that is not inhibit and forbidden be the word of God, may be saifly done without sinne or offence: providing, that man do it vppon knawledge, & doubt not of his awin doing. Thus then we see, that by these diuers kindes of sinnes, the Conscience, and saull of man is infected and corrupted: And by the sicht & consideration thairof, is grievously wounded; quhairvpon there arrysis a great remors, and trouble, in the spreit and Conscience: For quhen it pleaseth the Lord to let man see the vglines of his own sinne, his Conscience then beginnes to accuse him, and to byte like a worme, inwardly in the heart: and for that cause is callit, a biting or remording Conscience: The quhilk remorse, gnawing, and biting, is perpetuall in the wicked, that hes not the grace to seik the remedie, as it was in Cain: But in the children of God it is temporall onelyonly, and is cured and taken away with blenks of heuenly comforte. Againe, the perversed Conscience that is opponit vntounto this, is not mooued with remorse, for any wickednes that man can commit: But as the flesh is persed and burnt vp with the cautaire quhilk the Chirurgien dois apply,1. Tim. 4. 2. and is thereby made sensles and without feeling: Euin sa the Conscience is infected with sin, and ȝit hes na sense nor feeling thairof: and therfore it is called, a cauterized, brunt vp, or sensles Conscience. This proceidis from ane obdured, obstinate, and hardened heart; quhilk continues in this obstinacie and blindnes, ay & quhill the Lord in his fearefull judgement, begins to strike the saul and Conscience with terrible terrours and torment: The form and maner quhairof, we hauehave nixt (be the grace of God) to declare.