A Good Conscience the Strongest Hold, Treatise · Chapter 24
CHAP. XXIV. Of the Ʋſe of Examination.
HAving already ſhewed what good Conſcience is in general, what his Nature, what his Offices, what is the Excellency, Neceſſity, Utility, Benefit, Comfort and Happineſſe of it, what the ſeveral kinds of good Conſcience in particular are, and what their Marks and Characters, and what is the Miſchief and Miſery of an ill Conſcience, and what the Difficulties of getting and keeping the good and eſcaping the bad: Let it now be every mans care to Try and Examine himſelf, how much of Conſciis in him, and what the conſtitution of his Conſcience is? How much of Faith, Purity, Sincerity, Tenderneſſe, Quick-ſightedneſſe, Well-ſpokenneſs, Honeſty, Inoffenciveneſſe, Paſſiveneſſe, and Charity is in his Conſcience, that he may take his part in the Promiſes, Comfort, Happineſſe, and Priviledges belonging to the good Conſcience; or whether he never had yet any good Conſcience at all, or have loſt what he had? or whether that he takes for good be not bad? whether he be not the man that hath onelyonly a natural Conſcience, or an ill troubled, or an ill quiet? whether his Conſcience be not an erroneus, or ſcrupulous, or ſtupid, or Lethargick, or ſeared Conſcience?
And ſo, whether thoſe former Reproofs, Terrors, Threats and miſeries are not like to purſue and overtake him.
I ſhall not need here to come to any more new marks of diſcovery, if you have well attended what was ſpoken all along in handling thoſe particular good Conſciences with their properties, whereto I now refer you. Only let every one remember that of the Prophet Malachie, Therefore take heed to Mal. 2. 15.your Spirit, ſaith he, let evey one be well verſed in himſelf. There are three Books, well ſtudied and compared one with the other, which make the able Divine, or eminent Chriſtian, 1. The Book of Scripture. 2. The Book of Providence or Experience. 3. The Book of Conſcience. Theſe three, I ſay, muſt be ſtudied diligently and compared: Read any of the three alone, it profits not: Read any two of them without the third, thou wilt be imperfect.
1. Scripture knowledge alone, without Experience and Conſcience, makes not a Chriſtian. 2ly. Providence and Experience alone, without Scripture and Conſcience 3ly. Conſcience alone without the other two: No nor yet, as I ſaid, any two of them without the third. 1. Not Scripture and Experience, without Conſcience, 2. Not Experience and Conſcience without Scripture, 3. Not Scripture and Conſcience without Experience.
Conſcience is one of the chiefeſt volumes thou muſt read then, and ſelf Examination is a Chriſtians great Task; Therefore ſaith Bernard, Seek to be well acquainted with thy ſelf. Enter into thy ſelf. Run through thy ſelf, yet ſtay in thy ſelf. Begin with thy ſelf, end with thy ſelf, but Nulla ſcientia melior illa, quâ homo novit ſeipſum, relinque ergo caetera, & teipſum aiſcute, per te curre, & in te conſiſte. A te incipiat cogitatio tua, & in te finiatur, nec fruſtra in alia diſtendaris te neglecto, & poſtea. Si nondum dignus es intrare Tabernaculum primum, quâ fronte praeſumis ingredi ſecundum, id eſt Sanctum Sanctorum. Ber. de Int. domo, cap. 65. Enter into this firſt Tabernacle every day, if thou wouldeſt enter the Sanctum Sanctorum once in the end of the year, that is of thy life.leave not thy ſelf. As therefore the Orator ſaid of Tully, I may ſay of Conſcience, Ille ſe plurimum profeciſſe ſciat cui Conſcientia valde placuerit. That man may know he hath made a good proficiency who is more and more delighted in Conſcience.
Let each Chriſtian therefore try and conſider what an one he is, for Conſcience, I ſay, not for knowledge and profeſſion. All have knowledge, all make profeſſion: But how far doth a little Conſcience go among a great many Profeſſours? The number of the Rom. 9. 27.Children of Iſrael is as the ſand on the Sea ſhore; yet how ſmall a remnant ſaved? There are threeſcore Queens, fourſcore Concubines, Virgins without number; yet my Dove, my Ʋndefiled is but one, the onelyonly one of her Mother, ſhe is the choiſe one of her that bare her. The Daughters ſaw, and bleſſed her; the Queens and Concubines, and they praiſed her, Cant. 6. 8, 9.
There were never more Saints, and never fewer Saints, ſaid one truly; Never more Nominal, and fewer Real; Never more Saints, and leſſe Sanctity: And never more talk of Conſcience heard, and leſſe of Conſcience ſeen. We can diſcourſe and diſpute better than our Fathers; they could and did live better. Liberty hath like Reuben climbed up into his Mother Conſcience's bed, and there hath defiled it, therefore loſeth the Preheminence and Birth-right, and ſhall not excell. And as for Purity, Charity, Tenderneſſe, Inoffenſiveneſſe, Sincerity, and the like, we have ſent them afar off, as Abraham did the Children of the Concubines. But if theſe things were in us, and did abound, we ſhould not be ſo barren, and frigid, and unfruitfull in the knowledge of Chriſt as we are, whereas for lack of theſe things men are blind, and doting about queſtions to no profit, but to the corrupting of the Speaker, and ſubverting of the Hearers.
As we are wont to ſay of a Scholler going to the Ʋniverſitie, if he do not as well profit Qui proficit in Dectina & deficit in moribus, non profitit ſeâ deficit.in his Ethicks (in his Behaviour and Morals) as he doth in his Logick, or in Arts and Tongues, he doth not profit but loſe: So may we well ſay of the Profeſſor, if he profit not as much in Conſcience as in bare Science and Opinions, his Proficiency is but a Deficiency.
Who doth not look upon the Toad as a hatefull creature, although it have a Pearle in his head, becauſe it is full of Poyſon within, and all ſpeckled without? what is that man to be valued, who hath a Pearle of knowledge in his brain, if another had it, but his inward parts are very wickedneſſe, he ſwels with poyſonous Pride within, and his life ſpotted abroad?
But here is the difference you ſhall alway find between the knowledg of an Hyppocrite, and the true Chriſtian. The Hypocrites knowledge is like the light of the increaſing Moon, which increaſeth in Light and bigneſſe onelyonly, not at all in Heat. But the light of the true Chriſtian is like the riſing Sun in the morning, or the Vernal Sunne in the Spring, where light and heat are conjoyned, the darkneſſe and coldneſſe of the night is leſſened, the heat of the day is increaſed. The Moon grows lighter and lighter, and bigger and bigger, but not hotter and hotter: Her Plenilunium or full is as cold as her Wane. But the riſing Sun we all ſee doth not onelyonly go higher and higher, but growes hotter and hotter. The Hypocrite hath onelyonly an increaſe in knowledge in his Plenilunium and full, he hath no heat in Conſcience and affections to be diſcerned, the true Chriſtian hath both light and heat increaſing alike together.
There is a four-fold knowledge in the world, a knowledge of Speculation, which is the hypocrites knowledge; a knowledge joined with diſlike and diſobedience which is the knowledge of the Devils; a knowledg joyned with delectation and complacency, which is the Angels knowledge; And the knowledge joyned with Conſcience and good affections, which is the Chriſtians.
The hypocrite with all his ſwelling knowledge is like thoſe children which have the Rickets, whoſe head indeed growes bigger than another childs, but their ſtrength leſſe, they fall into an Atrophy, they thrive not, but pine away and die. So the hypocrites head is unproportionable to his other parts, he is ſwollen big with notions and opinions, but thrives not in ſubſtantial graces, and grows not ſtrong in Faith and Conſcience.
Look therefore every one to his Conſcience, and hereby know thy ſtate; look well that if thou haſt not yet got a good Conſcience, thou mayeſt ſeek to get one; if thou haſt, then ſeek to hold and keep it; if thou haſt loſt it, ſeek to recover it; if it be evil, get it amended; if ignorant, get it informed, if erring, get it rectified; if dead, quickened; if hard, ſoftened; if aſleep, awakened; if corrupt, purified; if unquiet, pacified.