Two Treatises, Treatise 1 · Chapter 1
CHAP. I.
The Introduction of the Diſcourſe following.
THere is no complaint ſo generall as this, that the world is naught. His experience is ſhort and ſlender, which will not juſtifie the truth of this complaint. And what think we, may the Cauſe be of the generall wickednes of our Times? Surely nothing makes Ill Times, but Ill men, and nothing makes Ill men, but Ill conſciences. Ill Conſcience is the ſource, and fountaine Hominum ſunt iſtae non Temporum. Sonec. ep. 98.from whence comes all iniquities, which makes times here ſo ill. How well ſhould hee deſerve that could amend ill times? There is a courſe if it would be taken, that would do the deed, and ſo ceaſe the common complaint. Eliſha's courſe in healing the waters of Iericho muſt be taken. They ſaid of their waters, as wee of our times, The water is naught, and the ground barren 2 King. 2. 19. What courſe now takes Eliſha for healing of the waters? He went out unto the ſpring of the waters, and cast the Salt in there, ver. 21. So the waters were healed, ver. 22. The ſpring and fountaine of all actions good or evill is the Conſcience, and all actions & courſes of men are as their Conſciences. Out of the heart are the iſſues of life, Prov. 4. 23. the heart and Conſcience is the fountaine, every action of a mans life is an Iſſue, a little rivelet, and a water paſſage thence. Are theſe waters then that iſſue thence Naught? The way to heale them Nō erit fructus bonus niſi arboris bonae. Mutacor, & mutabitur opus, Aug. de ver. Dom. Serm. 12.is to caſt the Salt into the ſpring. Mend the Conſcience and all is mended. Good Conſciences would make Good men, and Good men would make Good Times. Lo here a project for the reformation of evil times.
Were this Project ſet on foot, and a good Conſcience ſet up, how ſhould we ſee prophanation of Gods holy Name, and Day, Injuſtice, Bribery, Oppreſſion, Deceit, Adulteries, and Whoredomes, and all other Iniquities, how ſhould wee ſee all theſe as our Savior ſaw Satan, falling downe like lightning from heaven? How ſhould we ſee them come tumbling downe like ſo many Dagons before Gods Arke, yea tumbled downe, and broken to the ſtumps? The onelyonly Arke that muſt daſh, and ding downe theſe Dagons, is a good Conſcience.
And if we would well weigh the matter, what is there equally deſirable with a Ecce quid prodeſt plena bonisarca cum ſit inanis Conſcientia Bona vis habere, & bonus non vis eſſe, tum quid eſt, quod vis habere malū? Nihil omnino, non uxorem, nō filium, non ancillā, villam, tunicā; poſtremo nō caligam, & tamē vis habere malam vitam. Rogo te, praepone vitam tuam, calige tuae (ſic Conſcientiam.) Aug. Ibid.good Conſcience? What is that men would have, but they deſire to have it Good? And yet amongſt all other things they deſire to have Good, what little care to have the Conſcience ſuch? Wife, children, ſervants, houſes, lands, ayre, food, raiment, who would not have theſe good? And yet that without which none of all theſe are good, nor will yield us any true good, that alone is neglected; and whilſt men would have all other things good, yet their cōſciences & themſelves are naught. Now alas, what good wil all other goods do us whilſt this one, and this maine Good thing is wanting! How excellent is this Good above all other good things. A good wife, good children, good land, &c. theſe Vbi ſupra. Ipſae ergo divitiae bonae ſunt, ſed iſta omnia bona a bonis & malis haberi poſſunt. Et cum bona ſint bonos tamen facere non poſſuut. Aug. de verb. Do. Serm. 5.may a man have, and yet he himſelfe not Good; theſe find men ſometimes Good, but make none ſo; theſe goods may a man have, and yet himſelfe be naught. Not ſo with good Conſcience, which no evill man can have, which whoſoever hath, it makes him and all he hath Good. So great and ſo good a Good, why is it ſo much neglected?
Try we therefore and let us aſſay if by any meanes, Gods good bleſſing giving aſſiſtance, we may be able to ſtir up men, and to worke them to regard ſo great and excellent a good. It may be at leaſt ſome few may be perſwaded, and may ſet upon this work of getting a good Conſcience. If but ſome few, if but one be wrought upon, the labour is not in vaine. If none, yet our worke is with our God, to whom we are a ſweet ſauor in Chriſt, in them that are ſaved, & in them that periſh, 2 Cor. 2. 15
This portion of Scripture then which I have choſen for the ground of the following Diſcourſe conſiſts of three parts.
1. Pauls ſober and ingenious Profeſsion, and Proteſtation, ver. 1.
2. Ananias his inſolent, and impetuous Injunction, ver. 2.
3. Pauls zealous Anſwer and Conteſtation, ver. 3.
1. The firſt is Pauls Proteſtation in theſe words, Men and brethren I have lived in all good Conſcience untill this day. With this Proteſtation of a good Conſcience Paul begins his Plea. And however to diſtinguiſh our ſelves frō Papiſts, we beare the name of Proteſtants, yet we ſhal never be ſound and good Proteſtants indeed till we can take up Pauls Proteſtation, that our care, indeavor, and courſe is to live in All good Conſcience. A Proteſtant with a looſe and a naughty Conſcience hath no great cauſe to glory in his deſertion of the Romiſh Religion. As good a blind Papiſt, as a halting Proteſtant. The blind and the halt were equally abominable unto the Lord.
Paul was here brought forth to anſwer for himſelfe before the chiefe Prieſts and the Councell: And his Preface, as I ſaid, to his intended Apology, if hee had not been injuriouſly interrupted, is a Proteſtation of the goodnes of his conſcience, and this his good Conſcience, or the goodnes of his Conſcience he ſets forth;
1. From his Converſation foreign, I have lived or converſed. A good converſation is a good evidence of a good Conſcience indeed, there can be no good conſcience, where there is not a Converſing in good. It is not ſome moods and fits in ſome good actions & duties, from whence conſcience gaines the reputation of goodneſſe; but a good converſation, godly and religious in the generall tenour thereof, proves the cōſcience worthy ſuch an honor, as to be holden good. He may be ſaid to have a good cōſcience that can be ſaid to live in a good conſcience. Many a man is frequent in the City, & yet cānot be ſaid to live there. There a man lives where he hath his Converſe & Reſidence. A mans life is not to be meaſured by ſome few actions, in which at ſometime he may be found, but by his general courſe and converſation. God will judge every man not according to his ſteps, but according to his wayes. It were over-rigid cenſoriouſneſſe to condemn a righteous man, and to queſtion whether his Conſcience were good, becauſe ſome ſteps of his have bin beſide the way. We know for the generall, his way is good wherein he walkes, and therefore according to his good way we judge his Conſcience good. Contrarily when we ſee a mans way for the generall to be evill, though ſometime hee may tread a right ſtep or two, and chance to chop into the faire road for a rod or two, for this to judge a mans Conſcience good, were a bottomleſſe and a boundleſſe Charitie: Every mans Conſcience is as his life is.
2. From the Generalitie of his care and obedience, In all good Conſcience. It muſt be All good, or it is no good Conſcience at all. There be that live in ſome good Conſcience; yea Herod ſeemes to have much good Conſcience, hee did many things gladly, but yet Paul goes further, and lives not in ſome, not in much, but in All good Conſcience.
3. From the Sincerity and Integrity of it before God. Before men how many have their conſciences exceeding good, & yet their conſciences are farre ſhort of goodnes, becauſe they are not good before God, the judge of Conſcience. Whilſt Conſcience is made onelyonly of the Capitals of the ſecond Table, or of the externals and ceremonials of the firſt, which duty is not done out of obedience to God and his Commandements; but a mans ſelf either in his gaine, or in his praiſe is ſought, and baſe ends are the firſt movers to good duties, here the Conſcience, what ever applauſe it hath from, or before men for it goodneſſe; yet, of God ſhall not be ſo eſteemed. For that is not a good cōſcience which is one outwardly, but which is one inwardly, whoſe praiſe is not of men but of God. And that hath its praiſe of God which is before God.
4. From his continuance and conſtancie untill this day. To begin a good life and courſe, and to live in all good conſcience, & that before God, are excellent things; but yet one thing is wanting to make up this goodneſſe compleat. To be ſo for a day, or ſome dayes will not ſerve, but when a man can ſay at his laſt day, I have lived in all good Conſcience untill this day, that man may be ſafely judged to have a good Conſcience indeed. Thus in theſe foure particulars doth the goodnes of Pauls Conſcience appeare. It is not my purpoſe to confine my ſelfe, and to keep mee within thoſe bounds alone: but to take a larger latitude, within the compaſſe whereof I will bring both thoſe forenamed, and all other materiall points which this Proteſtation doth afford.