Sacred Therapy, Book 1 · Chapter 2
CHAP. II.
Of Cases of Conscience in general.
A Case of Conscience, taken in a large sense, comprehends every accident which any way affects or qualifieth the Conscience, And in this sense, the perswasion and certainty, which the Conscience may have, the soundness, health and strength of the Conscience, may be called Cases and good Cases of the Conscience.
So also, any effect which the Conscience doth work on the soul, such as are peace of conscience, comfort and joy in the heart, may be called Cases of the Conscience also.
But the Cases whereof we are to treat, are the ill Cases of the Conscience, whereby it is fallen from the soundness and streightness it should have, which we call by the name of wounds, diseases, and sickness of the Conscience: whereunto, that we may descend to speak more orderly, a twofold difference is to be observed.
2. First, we must put difference between a healthy and a sick Conscience. A healthy Conscience is that, which after examination of our wayes, according to the rule of Gods Word, doth justly absolve us, and speaketh peace to us toward God. Of such a conscience it is said by Solomon, A sound heart is the life of the flesh, Prov. 14. 30. by the heart he meaneth the conscience, which ordinarly in Scripture is called the heart And he saith, the sound conscience is the life of the flesh; because the body is so much in better case, that the conscience be at peace toward God. And this blessing is allowed upon every believer in Christ, in his orderly walking, 2 Tim. 1. 7. God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of a sound mind. A Conscience in this disposition needeth not medicine, but spiritual nourishment and exercise in all Christian-duties.
A sick Conscience we call, that which either is senseless of its own evils and dangers it is in, and sitteth down securely, and resteth without a warrand; Or, which is justly wounded, and labours under the sense of its pain; or, which is unquiet upon mistakes and ignorance of making use of the true remedy: of such a sick Conscience we are to speak, if possible, by Gods blessing, a word in season may be spoken, to waken a secure conscience, or to refresh the weary soul, that being recovered from its malady, it may be able to feed upon the bread and water of life, and work the works of God in the strength of Christ.
3. Secondly, we must put difference between a troubled Soul and a troubled Conscience; for, the Soul is more largely taken then the Conscience. The Soul comprehendeth all the powers and faculties of the man; but the Conscience, as we speak of it, is only one faculty of the mind, judging of the mans moral ill or well-being; and so all cases of the Conscience are cases of the Soul: but, all the cases of the Soul are not cases of the Conscience. For, the Soul may be troubled while the Conscience is not troubled at all; yea, a man may have a commendable trouble in his soul, when he seeth God dishonoured or His Church in hazard, whereby his conscience is so far from being troubled, that such a holy trouble strengthens his conscience in his address to God, as is in many places of the Psalms to be seen.
Again, a mans mind may be troubled by sundry natural or civil motives; while the conscience is allowably quiet, as in losses of things temporal, fears, pains or unexpected inconveniencies occurring; yea, there may be passions and perturbations of the mind in persons that are not capable for the time of the exercise of Conscience, as may be seen in young infants, and in the elder sort, in fits of feaver, melancholy and phrensie: and yet further, it is possible that passions, perturbations and troubles of soul, may be found without any disease of the Conscience; because our Lord Jesus, in the dayes of his humiliation, was a man acquainted with sorrows, but was not obnoxious to sin or any self-challenging; for, he knew no sin in himself. He had trouble in his soul, but could not have trouble of conscience, Iob: 12. 27. Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say? …ather, save me from this hour; but for this cause came I unto this hour. Of the cases of the Soul we speak not here, but of the sinfull diseases of the Conscience.
4. There is also a third difference to be observed between common cases of Conscience, and these that specially concern Regeneration. Common cases comprehend all these questions and doubts, wherein the Conscience is seeking light and resolution about the rule of faith and maners, that it may better inform it self about the sense of Scripture, and about the application thereof in the point of direction in faith and practice. These common cases are of as large extent, as the bulk of Divinity, as large as the Doctrine held forth in Scripture concerning faith and maners: for, there is not any one article of faith or duty prescribed, as a point of piety or righteousness, about which questions may not be moved and cases propounded, wherein the Conscience may seek satisfaction.
Of this hudge great tree, we take but only one branch to speak of, so far as maketh for our purpose concerning Regeneration.