Treatise of Conscience Wherein Divers Secrets are Discovered, Chapter 8
CHAP. VIII.
Quhat things man aucht cheifly to eschew, and quhairin he suld be exercised during thè wanrest and trouble of his conscience.
VVAld thou not hauehave thy Conscience to bite, to accuse, nor to trouble thee? Then giuegive na matter to thy Conscience, quhairupon it may bite, or accuse thee, and be not the cause of thine awin troble. The matter or subject quhilk baith makes the Conscience to bite, & disquiets the spirit of man, is sinne. Thairfore, to pacifie and acquiet thy sprit and Conscience; thou suld flee sinne and follow richteousnes, quhilke brings peace and quietnes with it. And albeit, it be impossible to man, sa lang as he is in this tabernacle of fleshe, to be altogither without sinne, and to abstaine from doing euill: seeing the whole course of this life is but a continual falling, and a rising. Nevertheles, the regenerat man, is not oft seen to fall in the publick and notorious sins, quhilk are manifest to the warld; But wil be vnreproueable, & vpright in the sight of men; neither will sinne hauehave dominion, or the vpper hand in him. Herefore, thou aucht at all times, but principally now in this the time of thy inward trouble, and of the Lords visitation, to take diligent heed to thy waies: and at least to eschew al occasions of euil, whereby thy weake Conscience may bee wounded, on the other part, thou aucht to vse all convenient meanes, whereby thou may bee stirred vp to serue God, and to followe righteousnes, that the wounde of thy infirme conscience may be healed. First then beware, that during the time of thy vexation, thou vse no worldly means to put away the memory, and sicht of thy sinns; and to cause thee to forget them: As by drinking, banquetting, daunsing, singing sporting▪ or by hanting the ryotous companie or wanton and merry men: For in so doing, thou lulles thy selfe a sleepe, & like as the Serpent stoppes her eare with her tayle, least she should heare the voice of the inchaunter: So stoppes thou thine eare, that thou shouldest not heare the Lord calling, and knocking at the doore of thy Conscience; least by his holy spirite he should enter in, and convert thee. Beware thou seeke any vnlauchfull meanes to releeue thee of thy paine, and to content thy minde: as by witch-craft, by taking of thy warldly and fleshly pleasures, or by revenging on thine enemies: Considdering, that this sal at length augment thy paine, albeit it seeme pleasant for a season, and sall prolong thy trouble: Because thou seekes not to God, that is seeking thee; but turnes thy back vponupon him, & seeks help where it is not to be found. Beware thou continue not in thy woonted vice and wickednes, heaping sinn vponupon sinn, without regard what thou dois, or taking vp of thy self from thy vngodly course: For then in contemptible manner thou despisest the Lords correction, & will not be reformed by his discipline, but takes a plaine banner aganis him, & kindles his fearce wrath more and more agains thee, in sik sort, that thou sall at the last bring thy selfe to vtter desperation. Beware thou reuile not thy estate, and forme of thy trouble rashly to every man: neither craue thou the advise, and counsell of naturall & worldly men; meikle lesse, follow thou their opinion in the matter of the trouble and disease of thy Conscience: For then thou dois no otherwaies, nor if thou would craue the consultation of a jurisconsult, in the matter of thy health: or advise thy proces with a medicinar. There is neither helpe, nor true comfort to be found that way, in respect the natural and vnregenerate man; yea the vnregenerate part of the regenerate man (for there is no perfyte regeneration in this life) is altogither blinde in spirituall things, & wil ever giuegive a counsell direct contrary to the will and spirit of God. Mairover, bridle and refrain thy tongue, that vnruly member, as with a bit, from lying, slaundering, backbyting, mocking, railling, vpbraiding, and cursed speaking: For thereby thy Conscience may be grievously wounded. And for as much as the world is ful of temptations, and stumbling blocks, whereon man is daily in danger to fall: Therefore I would wish thee, so long as thy Conscience is diseased, not to entangle nor meddle thy selfe much with worldly busines: but to abstract thy mind from the solicitude of temporall affaires; and to withdrawe thy selfe from the societie of the prophane multitude: to the effect, that being free from al outward perturbation, thou may be the better disposed to serue thy God, to giuegive thy selfe to contemplation, and to be exercised in all spirituall and godly exercitions. Let then thy daily exercise, during the disease of thy Conscience, be this: If thou can read, giuegive thy selfe to the lecture of comfortable books composed by learned and godly men; and to the reading of the holy Scriptures: But in speciall revolue diligently the bookes of Genesis & Exodus, the history of Iob, the Psalmes of David, the Evangel of Iesus Christ according to Matthewe and Iohn, the Acts of the Apostles, and their Epistles. Where thou shall finde singular comfort in the wonderfull works, and divine providence of the Lord in delivering and preserving of his people; in his healthsome instructions & gracious promises made vntounto them; and in his exceeding great merciemercy, and loving kindnes towards his servaunts, quhilk hauehave bene in the like estate, that thou art now in. The company quhilk thou frequents, let it be of godly, wise, and learned men; of whose conference thou may receiue instruction and consolation. And if thou woulde communicate thy secreit vexation to any man; or wold be resolved of any thing whereof thou art in doubt. Addresse thee to some notable servant of God, approved in life and knawledge, to whome the Lord hath committed the dispensation of his word: To him disclose thy minde, & seek resolution of him, in those things quhilk concerns thy Conscience, and weill of thy soull.Isa. 56. 7 Haunt the Kirk;Mat. 21. 13 for it is the house of God: Haunt the Assemblies of the faithful convened to serue the Lord: And giuegive diligent eare to the preaching of his holy word: Nevertheles, while the darknes of thy minde bee driuen away, while thy heart and Conscience, be purified, and that by some mesure of faith thou apprehend remission of thy sins, and salvation throgh the death of Iesus Christ; I would not counsell thee to present thy selfe to the haly Communion, and supper of the Lord Iesus. Delight in solitair meditations of the wonderful works, the mightie power, the infinite merciemercy, and divine providence of God; in deliuering, gouerning, comforting, and preserving his Kirk, and the members thereof, from the beginning of the worlde. Rehearse & meditate likewise, on the office, life, and sufferings of our Saviour Iesus Christ. Remember the strange miracles wroght by him, his notable doctrine, his gracious advertisements,Read Iohn 6. 13. 14. 15 16. & 17. chapters. of tribulation and persecution to come, his own comming againe, and his comfortable promises made vntounto al them that beleeues in him, and looks for his returning. Call to remembrance his pacience, tender louelove, humilitie, and meeknesse, whereof thou should learne and labour to be a follower. Be euer cleansing thy heart, and rypping out the latent vice, & heritable corruption that lurks within thee: that thou may be a meet receptacle, and temple of the holy Ghost: For where the heart is polluted, and the Conscience defiled, the spirit of God can make no residence nor dwelling. Reconcile thy selfe, so far as is possible, with al men: Expell all malice, hatred, and envie. Be not a revenger of thine owne cause: For thereby thou sall renew and ranckle the wound of thy conscience: but remit the vengeance thereof to God, & craue justice of the Magistrat. Try and examine thy self, how thou profits in knawledge, faith, and amendment of life, by the reading & hearing of Gods word. Reduce in memory what dangers of body, of soule, or oflosing thy goods, thou hes ben in, during the course of thy life, and how the Lord hes delivered and preserued thee. Siklike, cal to mind what good gifts of the body, of the spirit, or of other temporall things, thy God hes bestowed on thee: Be thankful to him therfore, and therevpon thou may take assurance, that considering the constancie of the Lord, he wil neuer leaue thee altogither destitute of help; but wil euer hauehave merciemercy and compassion on thee, as hee hes had in times preceiding. Be alwaies occupied in well doing and exercise the workes of righteousnes: visite the sicke, comfort the sorrowfull, support the poor and needie, defend the poore oppressed, treate peace and concord among neighbours and brethren: Instruct the ignorant in the knowledg of Iesus Christ. Finally, let al thy actions, thy wordes, and cogitations tend to the glory of God, to charitie and meeknes. And every night, when thou goest to bed, or being in thy bed, take count of thy selfe how thou hast bestowed that day: If thou hes bene wel exercised, praise God for it, and trauel to continue: If thou hes bene euil occupied, sleepe not while thou repent, and craue God merciemercy for thy offences: Take purpose to do better the nixt day, and endevour thy selfe to amend, take newe resolution to reforme thy waies, and aspyre daily by the grace of God, to a greater perfection. But aboue all things, be diligent in fasting and praier: Pray continually; for thereby al good thinges are obtained: Pray in the Morning, in the Euening, at mid-day, & at al times when the spirit movis thee: yea, chiefly in the night when others are at rest, arise (if the commoditie may serue) or secretly in thy bed enter in familiar and earnest conference with thy God. And when thou findes a coldnes & sluggishnes in thy self to pray, and to worship God: The commemoration and remembrance of the woonderful works and mercies of God, of thy deliverance out of thy former troubles, and of his manifolde benefites bestowed on thee (which thou for that same purpose, should collect and keepe for a memoriall in write.) The memory, I say, of these things, shal kindle and inflame thy spirit to be fervent in praier, & zealous in the service of thy Creator. And albeit this forme of liuing may perchance appeare austere, painful, & tedious to thee in the beginning: (though nothing suld seeme painfull or fasheous to thee, considering thy dangerous estate, & the importance of the matter it self, quhilk concerns thy salvation & damnation) Nevertheles, by frequent custome, thou shalt find it most easie, comfortable, and sweet: For, like as thou hes now a sicht & sore feling of thy sin, & of Gods wrath kindled against thee for thy sin: So sall thou doubtles in short time, by this thy godly behaviour, get a sicht & feling of thy regeneration & newnes of life, of the remission of thy sin, & of the favour & merciemercy of God throgh the intercession of the mediator Iesus christ. Whereby thou sall obtain peace of Consciēce, with such contentment, & gladnes as cannot be expressed. And seing praier is the chiefe part of the true service and worshipping of God; and the principall meane & way, whereby we ought to seek to him, to obteine al good thinges at his hands: Herfore I hauehave also set down here to thee, a form of praier to be vsit, during the time of the trouble of thy Conscience, quhilk thou may read and consider, and thereafter collect thereof so much as agrees with thy present estat & may serue to thy purpose.