Conscience, Chapter 4
CAP. IU. Mans dutie touching conscience.
MAns dutie concerning conscience is twofold. The first is, if he want § 1. Mans first dutie to get good conscience.good conscience aboue all things to labour to obtaine it: for it is not giuen by nature to any man, but comes by grace.
For the obtaining of good conscience, three things must be procured; a preparation to good conscience, the applying of the remedie, the reformation of conscience.
In the preparation, foure things are required. The first is, the knowledge of the lawe, and the particular commaundements thereof, whereby we are taught what is good, what is badde: what may be done, and what may not be done.
The men of our daies, that they may hauehave the right knowledge of the law, must lay aside many erronious and foolish opinions, which they hold flat against the true meaning of the law of God: otherwise they can neuer be able to discerne betweene sinne and no sinne. Their especiall and common opinions are these: I. That they can louelove God with all their hearts, and their neighbours as themselues; that they feare God aboue all, and trust in him alone; and that they euer did so. II. That to rehearse the Lordes prayer, the beleefe, and 10. commaundements, (without vnderstanding of the words, & without affection) is the true and whole worship of God. III. That a man may seeke to wizzards and soothsayers without offences because God hath prouided a salue for eueryevery sore. IV. That to sweare by good things and in the way of truth, cannot be a sinne. V. That a man going about his ordinarie affaires at home or abroad on the sabbath day, may as well serue God as they which heare all the sermons in the world. VI. That religion and the practise thereof, is nothing but an affected precisenes; that couetousnes the roote of euill, is nothing but worldlines; that pride is nothing but a care of honestie and cleanlines, that single fornication is nothing but the tricke of youth; that swearing and blaspheming argue the couragious mind of a braue gentleman. VII. That a man may doe with his owne what he will, and make as much of it as he can. Hence arise all the frauds and badde practises in trafficke betweene man and man.
The second, is the knowledge of the iudiciall sentence of the law, which resolutely pronounceth that a curse is due to man for eueryevery sinne, Gal. 3. 10. Very few are resolued of the truth of this point, and very few doe vnfainedly beleeue it, because mens minds are possessed with a contrarie opinion, that though they sinne against God, yet they shall escape death and damnation. Dauid saith, The wicked man, [that is, eueryevery man naturally] blesseth himselfe, Psal. 10. 3. & he maketh a league with hell and death, Isai. 28. v. 15. This appeareth also by experience. Let the ministers of the Gospel reprooue sinne, & denounce Gods iudgements against it, according to the rule of Gods word, yet men wil not feare: stones will almost as soone mooue in the walls, and the pillers of our Churches, as the … hearts of men. And the reason hereof is, because their minds are forest…lled with this absurd conceit, that they are not in danger of the wrath of God though they o…end. And the opinion of our common people is hereunto answerable; who thinke, that if they hauehave a good meaning, & doe no man hu…, God will hauehave them excused both in this life and in the day of iudgement.
The third, is a iust and serious examination of the conscience by the lawe, that we may see what is our estate before God. And this is a duty vponupon which the Prophets stande very much, Lam. 3. 40. Man suffereth for sinne let us search and trie our hearts, and turne againe to the Lord. Zeph. 2. 1. Fanne your selues, fanne you, O nation, not vvorthie to be loued. In making examination, we must specially take notice of that which doth now lie, or may hereafter lie vponupon the conscience. And after … examination hath beene made, a man comes …o a knowledge of his sinnes in particular, and of his wretched and miserable estate. When one enters into his house at midnight, he findes or sees nothing out of order: but let him come in the day time when the … shineth, and he shall then …p… many faults in the house, and the very motes that flie vp and downe; so let a man search his heart in the ignorance & blindnes of his minde, he will straightway thinke all is well: but let him once begin to search himselfe with the light and lanterne of the law, and he shall sinde many foule corners in his heart and many heapes of sinnes in his life.
The fourth, is a sorrovv in respect of the punishment of sinne, arising of the three former actiōs. And though this sorrow be no grace; for it befalls as well the wicked, as the godly: yet may it be an occasion of grace, because by the apprehension of Gods anger, we come to the apprehension of his merciemercy. And it is better that conscience should pricke vsus and wound vsus and doe his worst against vsus in this life while remedie may be had, then after this life, when remedy is past.
Thus much of preparation: now follows the remedie, and the application of it. The remedie is nothing else but the bloode or the merits of Christ, who specially in conscience felt the wrath of God, as when he said, my soule is heavy vntounto death: and his agonie was not so much a paine and torment in bodie, as the apprehension of the feare and anger of God in conscience: and when the holy Ghost saith, that he offered vntounto God praiers with strong cries and was heard frō feare, he directly notes the distresse and anguish of his most holy conscience for our sinnes. And as the blood of Christ is an all sufficient remedy, so is it also the alone remedie of all the sores and wounds of conscience. For nothing can stanch or stay the terrours of conscience, but the blood of the immaculate lambe of God: nothing can satisfie the iudgement of the conscience, much lesse the most seuere iudgement of God; but the onelyonly satisfaction of Christ. In the application of the remedie, two things are required: the Gospel preached, and saith: the Gospell is the hand of God that offereth grace to vsus, and faith is our hand whereby we receiue it.
That we indeede by faith receiue Christ with all his benefits, we must put in practise two lessons. The first, is vnfainedly to humble our selues before God for all our wants, breaches and wounds in conscience, which beeing vntounto vsus as a paradise of God, by our default we hauehave made as it were a little hell within vsus. This humiliation is the beginning of all grace and religion: pride and good conscience can neuer goe together: and such as hauehave knowledge in religion and many other good gifts without humilitie, are but vnbridled, vnmortified, and vnreformed persons. This humiliation containes in it two duties, the first is confession of our sinnes, especially of those that lie vponupon our consciences; wherwith must be ioyned the accusing and condemning of our selues: for then we put conscience out of office, & dispatch that labour before our God in this life, which conscience would performe to our eternall damnation after this life. The second dutie is Deprecation, which is a kind of praier made with grones and desires of heart, in which we intreat for nothing but for pardon of our sinnes, and that for Christs sake, till such time as the conscience be pacified.
To this humiliation standing on these two parts, excellent promises of grace and life euerlasting are made, Prov. 28. 13. He that hideth his sinnes, shall not prosper: but he that confesseth & for saketh thē shall find mercy. 1. Ioh. 1. 9. If we acknowledge our sinnes, he is faithfull & iust to forgiue vsus our sinnes, & to clense vsus frō all vnrighteousnes. Luk. 1. 35. He hath filled the …ūgrie with good things, & sent the rich emptie away, which are also verified by experience in sundrie examples, 2. Sam. 12. 13. Dauid said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan saide to Dauid, The Lord also hath put away thy sinne. 2. Chr. 33. 12. When Manasses was in tribulation, he praied to the Lord his God, and humbled himselfe greatly before the God of his fathers: and prayed vntounto him: and God heard his prayer. Luk. 23. 43. And the thiefe said to Iesus, Lord remember me vvhen thou commest to thy kingdome. Then Iesus saide vntounto him, Verely I say to thee, to day shalt thou be with me in paradise. By these and many other places it appeares, that when a man doth truly humble himselfe before God, he is at that instant reconciled to God, and hath the pardon of his sinnes in heauen: & shall afterward hauehave the assurance thereof in his own cōscience.
The second lesson is, when we are touched in conscience for our sinnes, not to yeeld to natural doubtings and distrust; but to resist the same, and to indeauour by gods grace to resolue our selues that the promises of saluation by Christ, belong to vsus particularly: because to doe thus much, is the very commandement of God.
The third thing is, the reformàtion of conscience, Good conscience a fruite of faith.which is, when it doth cease to accuse and terrifie, and begins to excuse and testifie vntounto vsus by the holy Ghost, that we are the children of God, & hauehave the pardon of our sinnes. And this it will doe after that men hauehave seriously humbled themselues, and praied earnestly and constantly with sighes and grones of spirit for recō ciliation with God in Christ. For then the Lord will sende downe his spirit into the conscience by a sweete and heauenly testimonie to assure … that we are at peace with God.
Thus we see how good conscience is gotten: and because it is so pretious a iewell, I wish all persons, that as yet neuer laboured to get good conscience, now to beginne. Reasons to induce men thereto may be these: I. You seeke day and night from yere to yere for honours, riches, and pleasures, which ye must leaue behinde you: much more threfore ought you to seeke for renewed and reformed consciences: considering that conscience will be with you in this life, in death, at the last iudgement, and for euer. II. He which wants a conscience purged in the blood of Christ, can neuer hauehave any true and lasting comfort in this life. Suppose a man araied in cloath of tishue, set in a chaire of estate, before him a table furnished with all daintie prouision: his seruants, Monarches, and Princes; his riches the chiefest treasures & kingdoms of the world: but withall suppose one standing by with a naked sword to cut his throat, or a wild beast readie euer and anon to pull him in pieces: nowe, what can we say of this mans estate, but that all his happines is nothing but woe and miserie? And such is the estate of all men that abounding with riches, honours, and pleasures, carrie about them an euill conscience, which is as a sword to …lay the soule, or as a rauenous beast, readie to sucke the blood of the soule, and to rend it in pieces. III. He which wants good conscience can doe nothing but sinne: his very eating and drinking, his sleeping and waking, & al he doth, turnes to sinne: the cōscience must first be good before the action can be good: if the roote be corrupt, the fruits are answerable. IV. An euill conscience is the greatest enemie a man cā hauehave, because it doth execute all the parts of iudgement against him. It is the Lords sergeant. God neede not send out processe by any of his creatures for man: the conscience within man will arrest him, and bring him before God. It is the gayler to keepe man in prison in bolts & irons, that he may be forth-comming at the day of iudgement. It is the witnes to accuse him, the iudge to condemne him, the hangman to execute him, and the flashings of the fire of hell to torment him. Againe, it makes a man to be an enemie to God: because it accuseth him to God, and makes him flie from God as Adam did whē he had sinned. Also it makes a man to be his owne enemie, in that it doth cause him to lay violent hands vponupon himselfe, and become his owne hangman, or his owne cut-throat. And on the contrarie, a good conscience is a mans best friend: when all men intreat him hardly, it wil speak faire and comfort him: it is a continual feast, and a paradise vponupon earth. V. The scripture sheweth that they which neuer seeke for good cōsci…ce, hauehave terrible ends. For either they die blocks, as Nabal did; or they die desperate, as Cain, Saul, Achitophel, Iudas. VI. We must consider often the terrible day of iudgement, in which eueryevery man must receiue according to his doings. And that we may then be absolued, the best way is to seeke for a good conscience: for if our conscience be euill, and condemne vsus in this life, God will much more condemne vsus. And wheras we must passe through three iudgemēts the iudgement of men, the iudgemēt of our cō science, & the last iudgement of God: we shal neuer be strengthened against them and cleared in them all, but by the seeking of a good cōscience.
After that man hath got good conscience, his § 2. Mans second dutie to keep good conscience.second dutie is to keepe it. And as in gouerning the shippe on the sea, the pilot holding the helme in his hand, hath alwaies an eye to the compasse: so we likewise in the ordering of our liues and conuersations, must alwaies hauehave a speciall regard to the conscience.
That we may keepe good conscience, we must doe two things; auoide the impediments thereof, and vse conuement preseruatiues.
Impediments of good conscience, are either in vsus or forth of vsus. In vsus, on… owne sinnes and corruptions. When mens bodies lie deade in the earth, there breed certaine wormes in them whereby they are consumed. For of the flesh come the wormes which consume the flesh: but vnles we take great heed, out of the sinns & corruptions of our hearts, there wil breed a worme a thousand folde more terrible, euen the worme of conscience that neuer dieth, which wil in a lingering maner wast the conscience, the soule, & the whole man, because he shal be alwaies dying & neuer dead. These sinnes are specially three; Ignorance, vnmortified affectiōs, worldly lusts.
Touching the first, namely ignorance, it is a great and vsuall impediment of good conscience. For when the minde erreth or misconceiueth, it doth mislead the conscience, and deceiue the whole man. The way to auoide this impediment is, to doe our indeauour that we may daily increase in the knowledge of the word of God, that it may dwell in vsus plentifully. To this ende we must pray with Dauid, that he would open our eyes, that we might vnderstand the wonders of his law: and withall we must daily search the scriptures for vnderstanding, as men vse to search the mines of the earth for gold ore, Prov. 2. 4. Lastly, we must labour for spiritual wisedō, that we may hauehave the right vse of Gods word in eueryevery particular actiō: that being by it directed we may discerne what we may with good conscience do or leaue vndone.
The second impediment, is vnsta…ed and vnmortified affections, which if they may hauehave their swinge, as wild horses ouerturne the chariot with men and all, so they ouerturne & ouer carrie the iudgement & conscience of man: and therfore when they beare rule, good cōscience takes no place. Now to preuent the danger that comes hereby, this course must be followed. When we would hauehave a sword or a knife not to hurt our selues or others, we turne the edge of it. And so, that we may preuent our affections from hurting and annoying the conscience, we must turne the course of them, by directing them from our neighbours to our selues & our owne sinnes, or by inclining them to God and Christ. … example: choller and anger directs it selfe vponupon eueryevery occasion against our neighbour, and thereby greatly indamageth the conscience. Now, the course of it is turned, when we begin to be displeased and to be angry with our selues for our owne sinnes. Our louelove set vponupon the world is hurtfull to the conscience, but when we once begin to set our louelove on God in Christ, and to louelove the blood of Christ aboue all the world, then contrariwise it is a furtherance of good conscience.
The third impediment is worldly lustes, that is, the louelove and exceeding desire of riches, honors, pleasures. EueryEvery man is as Adam, his good conscience is his paradise; the forbidden fruite is the strong desire of these earthly things; the serpent is the olde e…my the deuill: who is hee may be suffered to intangle us with the louelove of the world, will straight way put us out of out paradise, and barre vsus from all good conscience. The remedy is to learne the lesson of Paul, Philip. 4. 12. which is, in eueryevery estate in which God shall place vsus, to be content; esteeming euermore the present condition the best for us of all. Now that this lesson may be learned wee must further labour to be resolued of Gods speciall prouidence towards vsus in eueryevery case and condition of life: and when we hauehave so well profited in the schoole of Christ, that we can see and acknowledge Gods providence and goodnesse, as well in sicknesse as in health, in pouerty as in wealth, in hunger as in fulnes, in life as in death, we shall be very well content, whatsoeuer any way befalls unto us.
The preseruatiues of good conscience are two. The first is to preserue and cherish that sa…g faith whereby we are perswaded of our reconciliation with God in Christ, for this is the roote of good conscience as hath bene shewed: now this faith is cherished and confirmed by the daily exercises of inuocation and repentāce, which be, to humble our selues, to bewaile and to confesse our sinnes to God, to condemne our selues for them, to pray for pardon & strength against sinne, to praise God & giuegive him thanks for his daily benefits. Now by the unfained & serious practise of these duties, repentance and faith are daily renued and confirmed. The second preseruatiue is the maintaining of the righteousnesse of a good conscience: which righteousnesse (as I hauehave said) is nothing els but a constant endeauor and desire to obey the will of God in all things. That this righteousnesse may be kept to the end, we must practise three rules. The first is, that wee are to carry in our hearts *Conse. bo… non …at … proposi… peccandi.a purpose neuer to sinne against God in any thing: for where a purpose is of committing any sinne wittingly and willingly, there is neither good faith nor good conscience. The second is to walke with God, as Enoch did, Genes. 5. v. 24. which is, to order the whole course of our liues as in the presence of God, desiring to approoue all our doings euen unto him. Now this perswasion that wheresoeuer we are, we do stand in the presence of God, is a notable meanes to maintaine sinceritie. Genes. 17. v. 1. I am God all sufficient, vvalke before me and be perfect: And the want of this is the occasion of many offences: as Abraham saide, Because I thought, surely the feare of God is not in this place they will slay me for my wiues sake. Gen. 20. 11. The third rule is, carefully to walke in our particular callings, doing the duties therof to the glory of God, to the good of the common wealth and the edification of the Church; auoiding therein fraud, covetousnesse, and ambition, which cause men oftentimes to set their consciences on the tenters, and make them stretch like cheverill.
Thus we see how good conscience may be preserued. Reasons to induce vsus hereunto are many. I. Gods straight commandement. 1. Tim. 1. v. 19. Keepe faith and good conscience. And Prover. 4. 23. Keepe thine heart vvith all dili gence. II. The good conscience is the most tender part of the soule like to the apple of the eye; which beeing pearced by the least pinne that may be, is not onelyonly blemished, but also looseth his sight. Therefore as God doeth to the eye, so must wee deale with the conscience. God giues to the eye certaine liddes of flesh, to defende and couer it from outwarde iniuries: and so must wee vse meanes to auoide, whatsoeuer may offend or annoy conscience. III. Manifold benefits redound vntounto us by keeping good conscience. First so long as we hauehave care to keepe it, we keepe and enioy all other gifts of Gods spirit. Good conscience and the rest of Gods graces are as a paire of turtle dowes, when the one feeds the other feedeth, when the one likes not the other likes not, when the one dies the other dies: so where good conscience is maintained, there are many other excellent giftes of God flourishing: and where conscience decayes, they also decay. Againe good conscience giues alacrity vntounto vsus & boldnesse in calling on Gods name. 1. Ioh. 3. 21. If our heart condemne vsus not, we have boldnesse towardes God. Thirdly it makes vsus patient in affliction and comforts vsus greatly: and when by reason of the grievousnesse of our affliction, we are constrained to kneele on both knees & take up our crosse, regenerate conscience as a sweete companion layes too his shoulder, and helpes to beare one end of it. Lastly when none can comfort vsus, it will be an amiable comforter and a friend speaking sweetely vntounto vsus in the very agony and pang of death. IV. Not to preserue the conscience without spot is the way to desperation. It is the pollicie of the deuill to vse meanes to cast the conscience into the sleepe of security, that he may the more easily bring men to his owne destruction. For as diseases, if they be long neglected become incurable: so the cō science much and often wounded admitts no comfort. Neither will it alwaies boote a man after many yeres to say at the last cast, Lord be mercifull to me, I hauehave sinned. Though some be receiued to mercy in the time of death, yet farre more perish in desperation, that liued in their sinnes wittingly & willingly against their owne conscience. Pharao, Saul, and Iudas cried all peccavi, I hauehave sinned against God; yet Pharao is hardened more & more & perisheth, Saul goeth on in his sinnes and despaireth, Iudas made away him-selfe. And no maruell, for the multitude of sinnes oppresse the conscience and make the heart to ouerflowe with such a measure of griefe, that it can fasten no affiance in the mercy of God. Lastly they that shall neglect to keepe good conscience, procure many hurtes, and dangers, and iudgements of God to themselues. When a ship is on the sea, if it be not well gouerned, or if there be a breach made into it, it drawes water and sinkes: and so both men and wares and all in likelihood are cast away. Now, we all are as passengers, the worlde is an huge sea through which we must passe: our shippe is the conscience of eueryevery man. 1. Tim. 1. 19. & 3. 12. the wares are our religion and saluation and all other giftes of God. Therefore it stands vsus in hand to be alwaies at the helme, and to carry our ship with as even a course as possibly we can, to the entended port of happinesse, which is the saluation of our soules. But if so be it we grow carelesse, and make breaches into the shippe of conscience by suffering it to dash upon the rockes of sinne, it is a thousand to one, that we in the end shall cast away our selues and all we hauehave. And in the meane season, as conscience decayes, so proportionally all grace and goodnesse goes from vsus: Gods commaundements begin to be vile unto vsus; the knowledge thereof, as also faith, hope, and the invocation of Gods name decay. Experience sheweth that men of excellent giftes through the vsing of bad conscience, lose them all.
Faults to be amended thus.
Pag. 4. lin. 11. put in these words. Opinion iudgeth a thing to be probable or contingent. pag. 16. l. 12. III. Caution. p. 17. l. 19. the brother. p. 20. l. 21. least. p. 43. l. 25. weake. p. 45. l. 3. for be, read, it. p. 53. l. 19. Caug…. p. 127. l. 6. for invincible, read, …. p. 150. for seemes, read, serves. p. 156. in the margin, ….
End of the text · William Perkins, Conscience (1596)