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SERMON

ON THE

Teftimony of Confcience.

2. COR. i. 12. Part of it.

For our rejoicing is this, the teftimony of our confcience.

HERE is no word more frequent in the mouths of men, than that of confcience, and the meaning of it is, in fome meafure, generally understood: however, becaufe it is likewife a word extremely abused by many people, who apply other meanings to it, which God Almighty never intended; I fhall explain it to you in the clearest manner I am able. The word confcience properly fignifies that knowledge, which a man hath within himself, of his own thoughts and actions. And because if a man judgeth fairly of his own actions by comparing them with the law of God, his mind will either approve or condemn him according as he hath done good or evil; therefore this knowledge or confcience may properly be called both an accufer and a judge. So that whenever our concifence accufeth us, we are certainly guilty; but we are not always innocent, when it doth not accufe

accufe us for very often, through the hardnefs of our hearts, or the fondnefs and favour we bear to ourfelves, or through ignorance or neglect, we do not fuffer our confcience to take any cognifance of feveral fins we commit. There is another office likewife belonging to confcience, which is that of being our director and guide; and the wrong ule of this hath been the occafion of more evils under the fun, than almoft all other caufes put together. For, as confcience is nothing elfe but the knowledge we have of what we are thinking and doing; fo it can guide us no farther than that knowledge reacheth : and therefore God hath placed confcience in us to be our director only in thofe actions, which fcripture and reafon plainly tell us to be good or evil. But in cafes too difficult or doubtful for us to comprehend or determine, there confcience is not concerned; because it cannot advife in what it doth not understand, nor decide where it is itfelf in doubt: but, by God's great mercy, thofe difficult points are never of abfolute neceffity to our falvation. There is likewife another evil, that men often fay, a thing is against their confcience, when really it is not. For inftance : afk any of thofe, who differ from the worfhip eftablished, why they do not come to church, they will fay, they diflike the ceremonies, the prayers, the habits, and the like; and therefore it goes against their confcience: but they are mistaken; their teacher hatly put thofe words into their mouth; for a man's confcience

confcience can go no higher than his knowledge; and therefore till he has thoroughly examined, by feripture and the practice of the ancient church, whether thofe points are blameable or no, his confcience cannot poffibly direct him to condemn them. Hence have likewife arifen those mistakes about what is ufually called liberty of confcience; which, properly fpeaking, is no more than a liberty of knowing our own thoughts; which iiberty no one can take from us. But thofe words have obtained quite different meanings: liberty of confcience is now-a days not only understood, to be the liberty of believing what men please, but also of endeavouring to propagate that belief as much as they can, and to overthrow the faith which the laws have already, eftablished, and to be rewarded by the publick for thofe wicked endeavours: and this is the liberty of confcience, which the fanaticks are now openly in the face of the world endeavouring at with their utmost application. At the fame time it cannot but be obferved, that thofe very perfons, who, under pretence of a publick fpirit and tendernefs towards their chriftian brethren, are fo zealous for fuch a liberty of confcience as this, are, of all others, the leaft tender to thofe who differ from them in the fmalleft point relating to government; and I wish I could not fay, that the majefty of the living God may be offended with more fecurity than the memory of a dead prince. But the wifdom of the world, at prefent, feems to agree Q 5 with

with that of the heathen emperor, who faid, If the gods were offended, it was their own concern, and they were able to vindicate themselves.

But although confcience hath been abused to thofe wicked purposes, which I have already related, yet a due regard to the directions it plainly gives us, as well as to its accufations, reproaches, and advices, would be of the greatest ufe to mankind both for their prefent welfare and future happiness.

Therefore my difcourfe, at this time, fhall be directed to prove to you, that there is no folid, firm foundation for virtue, but on a confcience which is guided by religion.

In order to this, I fhall first fhew you the weakness and uncertainty of two false principles, which many people fet up in the place of confcience for a guide to their actions.

The first of thefe principles is, what the world ufually calls moral honesty. There are fome people, who appear very indifferent as to religion, and yet have the repute of being juft and fair in their dealings; and thefe are generally known by the character of good moral men. But now if you look into the grounds and the motives of fuch a man's actions, you fhall find them to be no other than his own cafe and intereft. For example: you truft a moral man with your money in the way of trade, you truft another with the defence of your caufe at law, and, perhaps, they both deal justly with you. Why? not from any regard they have

for

for juftice, but because their fortune depends upon their credit, and a ftain of open publick difhonefty must be to their disadvantage. But let it confift with fuch a man's intereft and fafety to wrong you, and then it will be impoffible you can have any hold upon him ; because there is nothing left to give him a check, or put in the balance against his profit. For, if he hath nothing to govern himfelf by but the opinion of the world, as long as he can conceal his injuftice from the world, he thinks he is fafe.

Befides, it is found by experience, that those men, who fet up for morality without regard to religion, are generally virtuous but in part; they will be juft in their dealings between man and man, but if they find themfelves difpofed to pride, luft, intemperance, or avarice, they do not think their morality concerned to check them in any of these vices; because it is the great rule of fuch men, that they may lawfully follow the dictates of nature, wherever their fafety, health, and fortune are not injured. So that, upon the whole, there is hardly one vice, which a mere moral man may not, upon fome occafions, allow himself to practise.

The other falfe principle, which some men fet up in the place of confcience to be their director in life, is what thofe, who pretend to it, call-bonour.

This word is often made the fanction of an oath; it is reckoned to be a great commendation to be a strict man of honour; and it

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