Good Conscience, Treatise · Chapter 14
CHAP. XIIII.
A third and a fourth motiue to a good Conſcience.
COme wee now to a third motiue, The third motiue to a good Conſcience.that may yet helpe to ſtirre vp our mindes to this neceſſary dutie of getting and keeping of a good conſcience. Beſides what hath been ſayd, it is worthy of our conſideration, that without a good Conſcience all our actions, yea, our very beſt ſervices to God are …o farre from goodnes and acceptance, that they are abominable and diſtatefull vntounto the Lord. The formall goodneſſe of every mans actions is to bee iudged, and eſteemed by the goodnes of his Conſcience, which being evill and defiled, makes all a mans actions to be ſuch, 1 Tim. 1. 5. The ende of the commandement is louelove. But what kinde of love doth the commandement require, will any ſhewes or ſhadowes of obedience ſerue the turne, will the bare dutie doing paſſe for currant? No, but ſuch louelove to God and man, and ſuch performance of obedience as proceedes from a pure heart and a good Conſcience. So that let a man doe all outward actions of obedience, yet i… a good Conſcience bee wanting all is nothing, For the ende of the Commandement is louelove out of a good Conſcience. As is a mans conſcienc…, ſo are all his workes, and therefore nothing acceptable that a wicked man doth, be cauſe he doth it with an ill conſcience. To the pure all things are pure, but to the defiled their Conſcience is defiled, and that being defiled, it defiles all it meddles with, as vnderunder the Law the Leper defiled all he touched. The beſt meate, diſht and dreſſed with defiled & dirty hands, is lo…n ſome to vsus.
The honeſt workes of a mans calling are good workes in themſelues, but no good workes to him that doth them without a good conſcience, Pro …1. 4. An high looke, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked is ſinne. The calling of husbandry is counted the moſt honeſt calling of all others, yet where a good conſcience is wanting, a mans very plowing is ſinne. Come to holy duties of Religian and Gods ſeruice, and how is it with a man wanting a good Conſcience in them? That curſe of Davidss Pſal. 109. 8. Let his prayer be turned into ſinne, lies vponupon the ſeruices of all evil conſciences. See Pro. 15. 8. The ſacrifice of the wicked, that is, of him that hath an evill Conſcience, is an abomination, but the prayer of the vp right, that is, of a man that hath a good and vpright Conſcience, is his delight. Obſerue the oppoſition, Hee ſayes not the prayer of the wicked, and the praier of the vpright, nor the ſacrifice of the wicked, and the ſacrifice of the vpright, but the ſacrifice of the wicked, and the prayer of the vpright. A ſacrifice had prayer with it, but yet it was more ſumptuous and more ſolemne then fingle prayer. Now who would not thinke but ſuch coſt ſhould make a man welcome, yet the ſingle prayer of the vpright is accepted, whileſt this ſacrifice is an abomination, yea, and that a vile abomination, Iſa. 66. 3. A man of evill Conſcience delighting in his abominations, makes his holieſt ſeruices ſuch. Let ſuch an one come to the Sacraments, and how will it be with him there? even as in the former, To the impure, even the pure Sacraments are impure. Simon Magus rather defiles the waters of baptiſme then they clenſe him, and it is not carnall baptiſme that avayles any thing without the anſwere and ſtipulation of a good Conſcience, 1 Pet. 3. 21. And for the Sacrament of the Supper whether doth it profit an vncleance Conſcience, or ſuch a Conſcience pollute it? It may be iudged by a like caſe, reſolued, Hag. 2. 11. 14. The vncleane p…ſon by a dead body touching the Bread, or Wine, or Oyle, makes theſe to be vncleane. The ceremoniall vncleanneſſe by the touch of a dead body, typified the morall vncleanneſſe of an euill conſcience, vnpurged from dead workes. God lookes ſpecially at the Conſcience in all our ſeruices, and if hee findes that foule and filthy, hee throwes the dung of mens ſacrifices in their faces, that come with the dung of their filthy Conſciences before his face. See therefore how Paul ſerues God, 2 Tim. 1. 3. Whom I ſerue from my forefathers with pure Conſcience. It is an impure ſeruice that is not performed with a pure Conſcience, as ſlight as the world makes of purity. How much more ſhall the blood of Chriſt purge your Conſciences from dead workes. Heb. 9. 14. But to what end are they purged? To ſerue the liuing God. Therefore mark, that till the Conſcience bee purged and made good, there is no ſeruing of God. So Heb. 10. 22. Let ve draw neere, that is, in prayer, and the like duties; But how? Hauing our hearts ſprinckled f…om an euill Conſcience. Otherwiſe it is but a folly for vsus to draw neere. for God will not be neer when a good conſcience is far off. And therefore we are bid to purifie our hearts, when we are bid draw nigh to God. Iam. 4. 8.
Behold here then a ſpeciall motiue to make a good Conſcience beautifull in our eye. As we would be loath our ſervices of God, our prayers & holy performances; ſhould bee abominable in Gods eye, ſo labor for good conſciences. As we would hauehave comfort. in all our duties of obedience, ſo labour to make our conſcience good. It is a great deale of confidence that ſilly ignorant ones hauehave in their good prayers, & their good ſeruing of God, as they call it, yea it is all the ground of their hope of ſaluation, when they are demanded an account of their hope: Now alas your good prayers, & your good ſeruing of God! Why what doe you talking of theſe things? Hath Chriſt purged your Conſciences from dead workes? HaueHave you by faith got your Conſciences ſprinkled and wrinced in Chriſts bloud, and ſo hauehave ye made them good? If not, neuer talke of good prayers, and good ſeruing of God: your prayers cannot bee good whileſt your Conſciences are naught. An euill Conſcience before God, and a good ſeruice to God cannot ſtand together. But would you hauehave your prayers good indeed, and your ſeruice acceptable indeed? Then let your firſt care be to make your Conſciences good.
Fourthly, let this worke with vsus as aThe fourth motiue to a good Conſcience. maine motiue to a good Conſcience: That is the Ship and the Arke wherein the faith is preſerued. The faith is a rich commodity, a precious fraight, and a good Conſcience is the bottome, and the veſſel wherein it is carried. So long as the Ship is ſafe and good, ſo long the goods therein are ſafe, but if the Ship ſplit vponupon the Rockes, or hauehave but a leake therein, then are all the goods therein in danger of being loſt and caſt away. So long as a man keepes a good conſcience, there is no feare of looſing the faith, the integrity and ſoundueſle of the doctrine thereof. Conſtancie in the truth, is a fruit of good conſcience. Pſal. 119. 54. 55. I hauehave kept thy Law, he had not declined from, nor forſaken the truth of God, but what held and kept him? This I had becauſe I kept thy precepts. Keeping of a good conſcience will keepe a man in the truth: It is that which is the onelyonly preſeruatiue to ſaue from all errors, hereſies, and falſe doctrines. The better Conſcience, the ſounder Iudgement, the ſounder heart, the ſounder head. As the better digeſtion in the ſtomach, the freer the head is from aſcendent fumes that would diſtemper, and trouble the ſame. Iohn 7. 17. If any man will doe his will, hee ſhall know of the doctrine whether it be of God. How ſhall a man come to hauehave a ſound and a good iudgement, to bee able to iudge what is truth, and what is not? Let him get a good Conſcience, and make conſcience of doing the will of God, Iohn 14. 21. He that hath my commandements, and keepes them, &c. ſuch a man hath, and keepes a good Conſcience. And what benefit ſhall ſuch a one hauehave by keeping a good Conſcience? I will louelove him, and I will manifeſt my ſelfe vntounto him. And Pſal. 50. 23. To him that orders his converſation aright, will I ſhew the ſalvation of God. God doth communicate himſelfe and his truth to ſuch as make Conſcience of their wayes. The pure in heart ſhall ſee God, and the ſecret of the Lord is with them that feare him.
So that he that hath a good Conſcience, hath the onelyonly Antidote, the moſt excellent Amulet, and plague-cake at his breaſt that is in the world, to ſaue him from the peſtilence, and infection of Popery, Arminianiſme, Browniſme, Anabaptiſme, &c. So long as the ſhip of Conſcience is whole, ſo long the Iewell of faith is ſafe. Paul would hauehave a Biſhop to hold faſt the faithfull Word, and to be ſound in doctrine, Tit. 1. 9. But yet marke it, that hee would firſt hauehave him bee a man of a good Conſcience, in the two foregoing verſes. And 1 Tim. 3. 9. hee would hauehave the Deacons hold the miſtery of the faith in a pure Conſcience.
Contrarily nothing ſo endangers the loſſe of the faith & truth, & ſoundnes of doctrine, as doth the loſſe of good Conſcience. A corrupt Conſcience ſoone corrupts the iudgement. 1 Tim. 1. 19. Holding faith and a good Conſcience which ſome hauing put away, concerning faith hauehave made ſhipwrack. If the ſhip of Conſcience cracke, how ſoone will the merchandiſe of faith wracke? If once the Conſcience cracke, the braine will ſoone proue crazie; and an vnſound Conſcience makes a fearefull way for an vnſound and a rotten iudgement. 2. Tim. 3. 8. They reſiſt the truth, there is their corrupt Conſcience: what followes vponupon it? Men of corrupt mindes, vnſound in their iudgement concerning the faith. How frequent a thing is it in experience to ſee men when they looſe good Conſcience, together with it either to looſe their gifts, as the vnprofitable ſervant his maſters talent, or elſe, to looſe the truth, and to fall into peſtilent and dangerous errors. So thoſe Prophets that made not Conſcience in faithfull and holy execution of their office, ſee what was the fruit of their evill Conſcience. Mic. 3. 5. 6. 7. Therefore night ſhall bee vntounto you that yee ſhall not hauehave a viſion, and it ſhall bee darke vntounto you that yee ſhall not divine, and the Sunne ſhall goe downe over the Prophets, and the day ſhall be darke …ver them, &c. Their darkneſſe in life ſhould bee plagued with darkneſſe in iudgement. To which purpoſe that is notable, Zach. 11. 17. Woe to the idoll ſhepheard that leaues the flocke. There is an vnconſcionable ſhepheard, a man that makes no Conſcience to attend his miniſtery. What becomes of him? The ſword ſhall bee vponupon his right eye, his beſt eye. And his right eye (ſhall not be pore-blinde, or dimmed, but) ſhall bee vtterly darkened. The loſſe of good Conſcience brings vponupon men of knowledge and learning, that reproach that Nahaſh the Ammonite would hauehave brought vponupon all Iſrael. 1 Sam. 11. 2. It thruſts out their right eyes. Ill Conſciences not onelyonly make men looke a ſquint, but it blindes them, and takes away their ſight.
And what is the reaſon that Popery gets ground ſo faſt, and ſo many turne Papiſts ſo eaſily? Surely it is no wonder, how ſhould it be otherwiſe, when men either hauing loſt all good Conſcience, or making no Conſcience of their wayes, but living looſely, viciouſly and licentiouſly, hauehave thereby prepared a way for Antichriſt and his religion, to enter with all ſucceſſe. No wonder that men turne Papiſts ſo faſt, when long ſince they hauehave turned good conſcience going. For that which Bellarmine ſpeaks is in the generallCum areae ventilari incipiunt, non frumē ta ſed paleae vento abripiente ſeparantur ab area▪ Ita prorſus cum Eccleſia per Ethnicorum perſecutiones, vel Haereticorum deccptiones, Deo permittente, cribratur, aut ventilatur à ſotana: non viri ſancti, & graues ſed improbi leves, curioſi, laſcivi ab Eccleſia a volantes ad Ethnicos h…reticoſue transfugiunt, nec fere ſolet accidere, vt ante circa fidem aliquis naufraget, quam naufragare▪ coeperit circa mores, Bellar. Orat. prefix. tom. 4. certainely true, though by him falſly and maliciouſly applyed, That they be not holy and graue men, but wicked, light, curious, wanton ones, that turne Ethnicks, or Hereticks, and that it ſeldome comes to paſſe, that any man makes ſhipwracke concerning the faith, that firſt makes not ſhipwracke concerning manners. See the truth of it in many of our backſliders to popery, eſpecially ſuch as hauehave beene zealous propugners of the truth. Where began the firſt declenſion, where the firſt flawe? Had not their Conſciences firſt bruſht vponupon ſome rocke? was not the firſt leake there? and when they had firſt put away good Conſcience, then there was a ſpeedy baniſhing of truth, and a ready entertainement of error. And for the common ſort of their converts, conſider if many times they hauehave not bin the very riffe-raffe of our Church, ſwearers, groſſe profaners of the Sabbath, vncleane and debauched drunkards, ſuch as our Church was ſicke of, and deſired even to ſpue forth, and then when they hauehave become a prey to all vicious courſes, through want of Conſcience, thorow Gods iuſt iudgement they hauehave become a prey to Romiſh locuſts, whoſe cōmiſſion is onelyonly to hurt ſuch, & not thoſe whom the ſap of a good Conſcience keepes freſh & flouriſhing as the greene graſſe, and trees of the earth. Apoc. 9. 4. For as Salomon ſpeakes of the bodily harlot, Eccleſ. 7. 26. ſo it is true of that ſpirituall whore of Babylon. Her heart is ſnares and nets, her hands as hands, her deluſions ſtrong; who ſo pleaſes God, and hath a care to keepe a good conſcience ſhall eſcape from her, but the ſinner, and hee that makes no Conſcience of his wayes, ſhall be taken by her.
Well, let vsus think well vponupon this motiue, we liue in dangerous & declining dayes, wherein men with a greedineſſe turne to their Romiſh vomit againe. Beſides, the factors of Antichriſt are exceeding buſie and pragmaticall to draw men from the faith of Chriſt, and the holy Ghoſt tells vsus they ſhall come with ſtrong deluſions. Now then all you that be the Lords people, ſaue your ſelues from this dangerous generation, all you that hauehave or would be knowne to hauehave the ſoale of God on your foreheads. Saue your ſelues from the ſeduction of theſe Locuſts. I, but how may that be done? The deluſion is ſtrong, and it may be, wee are weake. Loe then here is a remedy againſt their danger. Get, and keepe a good Conſcience, liue as Paul did, in all good Conſcience, and thou ſhalt be ſafe from all their deluſions. I hauehave kept the faith, ſayes Paul, oh! let it be the care of vsus, that that may be our cloſing voyce at our laſt day, and if we would keepe the faith, let vsus keepe a good Conſcience; Hee that in his life time can ſay, I keep a good Conſcience, he at his death ſhall be able to ſay, I hauehave kept the faith. Faith, and a good Conſcience are both in a bottome. Hold one, and hold both.
As therefore thou wouldeſt feare to turne Papiſt, or any other hereticke; ſo, be ſure to hold a good Conſcience, to hold on a good, honeſt, and a conſcionable man. So long as thou ſtandeſt vponupon that ground, thou art impregnable, and the gates of hell ſhall not be able to draw thee from the faith of the Lord Ieſus. Pro. 6. 20. 22. 24. My ſonne keepe thy Fathers commandement, &c. And it will keepe thee. So I may ſay here, Keepe a good Conſcience, and it will keepe thee, it will keepe thee ſound in the faith, it will keepe thee from being drawne away by the errour of the wicked, & it will keepe thee from the Wine of the fornications of the Whore of Babylon.