they had payed their own debt and â—atisfied justice in their own persons had that been possible and if on â—his bargan and transaction all his sufferings are buâ—lt then sure there is in Christs death a most solid and sufficient ground of peace and quietnesse to the Conscience of a finner that hath fled to him and closed with his â—atisfaction even as solid and sufficient as if he had payed the debt himself For it were blasphemâ—e to imagine such a covenant so laid down and for such an end and not to be most real and effectual for reaching the end This covenant being most sure and this being the end of it as it is â— Cor. 5. ult viz. To make him sin for us who knâ—w no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him by the same covenant and good will of God Father Son and Spirit concurring to lay down this way of Salvation Christ was made sin for us not against his will but with his will for he was most willing to undergo the work as is clear from Psal. 40. compared with Heb. 10. And this was the reason or rather end for which he was made sin for us even That we might be made the righteousness of God in him That he being found the sinner and dealt with as the sinner we might be declared righteous not as if we had never sinned but that by imputation of his righteousness and Gods gracious accepting of it for us we are reckoned free as if we had payed the debt our selves in our own persons and if the covenant betwixt God and the Mediator had a real effect on Christ Jesus the Cautioner if he really took on our nature and in that nature suffered and payed our debt if our iniquities in the punishment of them did meet on him As it is Isa. 53. The Lord laid on him the iniquities of us all If he drank the bitter cup that we should have drunken and satisfied justice for us then sure the covenant must have a real effect on the other side as to us and we have good and sufficient warrand to believe that God will accept of that satisfaction for believing sinners that lay hold theron for making their peace and that he will as really keep that part of the bargane viz. To mâ—ke the application of Christs satisfaction forth-coming to them as he did the other in exacting that satisfaction from him as many as are now before the Throne are joyful witnesses and glorious Monuments of the reality of this part of the covenant and indeed there is no more legality to speak so in the impuâ—ing of our sin to Christ then there is legality in imputing his righteousness to us in giving us absolution and declaring us righteous through him for there was no ground for justice to have any claime against Christ but the will of God and the covenant of Redemption wherein Christ undertakes the debt and there is no other ground for making his purchase forth-coming to the sinner that by â—aith layes hold on him It s the same blessed design that carries on both parts of the bargan And now putting all these together may we not most confidently say that there is notably good ground for quieting of the Conscince of a sinner that by faith betakes himself to the blood of Christ and that such a sinner may with well-grounded Confidence hope for and certainly expect pardon and absolution as if in some respect he had never sinned We cannot now insist to speak to the Uses of this Doctrine only from this we may clearly see 1. How much sinners are oblidged to God and to the Mediator Jesus Christ and how poor sorry and miserable a life and how comfortless and cursed a death we should have had if he had not laid down a way for purging the Conscience from dead works even this excellent and wonderful way by his own most precious blood And therefore defiled and guilty sinners would endeavour to make this Doctrine very dearly welcome as Paul doth is 1 Tim. 1. v. 15. When in a transport of holy admiration he cryes This is a faithful saying worthy of all acceptation that Christ came into the world to save sinners O! Believers in Christ prize his grace highly and bless him heartily even with all that is within you that ever the thoughts of this way of relief for lost sinners were in his blessed heart 2ly Since it is most certain that naturally we all have evil Consciences through the debt of sin and defilement of dead works and that through the blood of Christ if we flee to it by faith and take hold of his satisfaction we may get our Consciences purged and our debt as certainly payed as any mans debt is who hath in his Charter-chist the discharge of a Sum he was once owing Then let me beseech you for the Lords sake to make this your great work to get the application of this blood made to your Consciences and to have it on good grounds made sure that ye have by faith made application of it that ye may not live and die in a conjectural and guessing uncertainty about it O! How mightily momentuous and concerning to you through all eternity is it to have your defiled Consciences sprinkled with that blood if it be of concernment to you to have access to lift up your heads with joy and your faces with boldness in that day when the hearts of many shall fall them for fear of those things coming on them and their knees shall smite one against another when their faces shall gather paleness and they shall weep and houl desperatly without all hope Then doubtless it is of your concernment of your incomparably greatest concernment to get your Consciences sprinkled with this blood otherwayes be assured live as ye will and die as ye may this defiled ill Conscience will cleave to you as a girdle doth to the loins of a man and it will yell and roar on you with unconceavable terror and torment It will then be known and acknowledged by many to their everlasting shame and loss and to their endless terror and torment that there was a greatly concerning truth in this Doctrine viz. That the only way how to get a defiled Conscience purged from dead works of sin is by the blood of Jesus Christ. A SERMON on Heb. 10. v. 22. Let us draw near with a true heart in ful assurance of faith having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water THe confident approaching of sinners to God is the great design of the manifestation of his Grace in the Gospel and that they may boldly though humbly draw near unto and have communion with him is the great fruit of Christs purchase the Apostle discoursing here to these Hebrews of the excellent advantages which they had in and by Jesus Christ whereof he gives a short summary and abridgement v. 19. 20 21. drawes thence a
Conscience for abstaining from such and such a practice only from long custome of doing so from the example of others or from loathness to displease them or only from dis-inclination to or aversion from the thing which they will not readily abide by if any considerable suffering whether of emergent loss or cessant gain be met with on account thereof whereby it comes to pass that Conscience and truly Consciencious persons are expoâ—ed to contempt and scorn Some standers by and lookers-on taking occasion to think and say that such persons have all the while been acted by no real principle of Conscience but only by humour or at best by the example of others to the great reproach of Religion and the holy profession there of and such as have a natural and unreasonable prejudice at all serious godlinesse and tendernesse of Conscience ly at the wait to fish and catch all advantages so fortifying themselves in their prejudice and are ready to draw their conclusions not only nor so much against the particular persons as against the whole generation of conscientious and godly people yea against godlinesse it self and tendernesse of Conscience their prejudice prompting them to think and say We alwayes thought that sort of men were not truly conscientious and godly whatsoever they professed and now we see and find them to be so and that we were not mistaken but in the right when we thought them to be such they are all such all of a piece acted by no true principle of Conscience but by humour peevishnesse or some such thing notwithstanding of all their high floun pretensions of Conscience for let them but be put a little to it and all their Conscience-pretensions will be quite relinquished and evanish and they will be and do like others which gives ground to sober and truely conscientious persons to think that it were better and more for the advantage and credit of Religion and of the real pleas of Conscience that it were never pretended in such things where it is only pretended I will not I dar not say but a truly conscienscious person may by the more closse approaches of trouble and suffering on the account of some particular debated practice or forbearance be put upon more narrow and exact inquiry into and examination of the grounds reasons of that practice or forbearance And may after such inquiry and examination come from more clear light to have different apprehensions about the thing from what he had before Though the clearnesse win at which is waited with the eschewing of trouble and suffering would be holily jealoused and suspected and brought to the light of the Word to be thereby scrutinously accuratly and impartially tryed least self-love in such a case bribe as it were and byass the persons judgement and light 2dly When Conscience is pretended in minute small petty and comparatively inconsiderable things while in the mean time little or no Conscience at all is made of but vast and unlimited latituds are taken in the most momentuous and weighty things of Religion as the Pharisees pretended Conscience in tithing the smallest herbs as mint anise and rue while in the mean time they passed over without making any bones of them Iudgement and the Love of God which is straining at gnats and swallowing of camels 3dly When Conscience is pretended for mens tenacious adhering to human traditions while in the meantime they make no Conscience of making void the Law of God as the same Pharisees did for which out Lord with holy severity inveigheth against them 4ly When Conscience is pretended for not shedding the blood of Innocents and yet notwithstanding the same things are adventured on and wickedly per-petrated when they come in competition with mens worldly wealth or preferment or with the gratifying of great ones in order to the former as it was with Pilat in the matter of condemning Christ of whose innocence he was throughly convinced and accordingly did thrice over hear publick testimony to it yet when he was told that if he did let him go and condemned him not to death he was not Cesars friend he forthwith proceeded to the condemnatory Sentence and delivered him to the persecuting and murdering Iews to be crucified and poor wretch he imagined that the silly shift of washing his hands in water would wash and purge his deeply â— filâ—d Conscience from the guilt and pollution contracted by shedding of that innocent and most precious Blooâ— buâ— it stuck faster to and was more stiffly barkned on his Conscience then to be so easily washed off with such poor and pitiful shifts do such men think or fancie to pacifie their Consciences and to purge them from the defilements of the greatest most clamant and horrid crimes If Pilat had any real demurr in his Conscience about the thing as very probably he had his counteracting it on so base and unworthy accounts and then foolishly fancieing that by such an empty ceremonie as washing his hands in water he could be washed from the guilt of so aâ—rocious a Crime were high aggravations of it 5ly When men pretend Conscience as the reason of their not committing the least sin nay of their not doing somethings that are very debateable whether they be sins or not while in the mean time they make no Conscience to stretch furth their hand to â—ay with an high hand to adventure on the commission of sins that are incontravertably very great and gross as the Pharisees pretended Conscience for their not going to the Iudgement Hall least forsooth they should be defiled and so unfitted to eat the Passover who yet made no scruple maâ—ciously to embrew their wicked hands in the blood of the person that was God and typified by the Passover 6ly When Conscience or a conscientious regard is pretended for divine institutions and ordinances meerly and mainly from pickque and prejudice at the most tender and conscientious persons as if their warrantable and consistent practices were the grossest violations and greatest viâ—ifyings of them and plain inconsistencies with a just regard for them How often thus did the Scribes and Pharisees quarrel with our Lord and his Disciples as breakers and profaners of the Sabbath because of somethings done by him and them thereon not in the least in-compatible with the sanctification thereof as if they themselves had been more tender of the due observation of the Sabbath then either the Disciples or their Lord and Master was 7ly to give no more instances when Conscience is pretended for keeping and not breaking of sinful engadgements vowes and oaths wherewith men have rashly bound themselves As suppose a man should rashly vow and swear that he will be avenged at the highest rate on another because of either an imagined or real a lesser or greater injurie done him and as Herod sware very inconsiderarly and rashly that he would give the dancing daughter of the incestuous Mother Herodias whatever she should ask of him even to the
of all our carriage and particular actions and so it is looked on as some way different from us hence it is called a Testimony the testimony of our conscience Hence also a man will appeal to his Conscience and it doth when in any measure in exercise impartially and incorruptly bear witness and a manâ— Conscience will speak against him as if it were at all no part of him neither can he command it silence however then we call it It 's a power deputed in the soul of man by God taking orders from Him and fâ—om His revealed will and word and accusing or excusing the man as He directs It 's called Prov. 20. 27. The candle of the Lord it is above man in its sentencing and accusing and will not be commanded by him To clear it yet a little further there are in Conscience these Three things 1. There is the laying down of some ground such as the Law or the word of God by which it puts a man to tryal which is That we call the major or first proposition of the Argument As we may see in Iudas when his Conscience wakened it layes down this ground which is done by light he that is guilty of innoceat Blood hath broken the Law of God and may expect horrible Wrath. 2. There is an assuming which is the minor or second Proposition of the Argument or the Assumption if the man be guilty of such and such sin As thus But I Iudas am guilty of Innocent Blood and have broken the Command of God and this the Conscience by it's Testimony confirmeth Then 3. It draweth the Conclusion and speaks forth the mans Lot and gives out his Doom what he may expect as in the present instance thou Iudas mayest expect horrible Wrath from God this Conscience applyes and layes home unto him every Conscience hath these Three in less or more The way of Conscience its Reasoning and Concluding is different from a mans Knowledge and Light For a man may see Sin and not be touched with it It dâ—ffers likewise from the memory For a man may remember that which affecteth him not It differeth from Self-examination for that if it be meeâ— examination brings a man only to know that he lyes under such and such Sins so and so circumstantiaâ—ed though it make use of all these Three as it's Instruments yet it goâ— beyond them and hath a Pricking Stinging Paining Power It Accuseth Sentenceth Smiteth and sharply Censureth Whereas before Conscience act it's part a man may look often on his Sins and yet but overlook them And as to things that are right Conscience doth not only or barely look on them but it hath an approving Testimony which proveth comfortable there is such a thing as this in every one of you which will let nothing pass but more or less will take notice of it and either accuse or excuse you for it As to the 2d The use of Conscience or the Ends wherefore God hath put this in Men and Women which I shall draw to Three heads that may be as so many Reasons of the Doctrine 1. He hath done so for this end that by it he may keep up his Soveraignity Power and Terribleness and keep men under the awe and dread thereof For this which is called Conscience will make the stoâ—est to tremble it will Write and Impress so vâ—vely and deeply these great Truths that none shall be able to blot them out that there is a God that there is a Judgement to come and that all will be called to Reckoning which none will get eschewed It will fix and fasten such self-convictions on Sinners as will make them un-avoidably condemn themselves So Iohn 8. 9 10. When the Scribes and Pharisees bring a women taken in adultery to Christ intending thereby to trap and insnare him He sayeth He that is without sin amongst you let him cast the first stone at her Whereby their Consciences were made to bear such faithful Testimony against them and to carry such terror with it that they were all forced to steal away one by one and yet they needed not to have thought shame on account of any thing we hear men could have challenged them for But Conscience had such an awe and force on them that there was no resisting of it Scripture-history does also tell us that such is the power and force of Conscience when it is awaked that it will make the knees to smite one against another even of a Belshazzar and will make a Gouernour Felix to tremble A Second end is That God may hold Men and Women at their duty in going about these things which are commanded and prescribed by him and in abstaining from forbidden sins For if there were not some awe from Conscience what extravagancies would they loosly run into who have no fear of God and of his Word And thus Conscience hath a force to put men to duty in these respects 1 It discovers Duty and holds it before them when the Lord hath commanded to Pray read the Scriptures to keep the Church and wait upon Ordinances dispensed there to keep holy the Sabbath day c. Conscience puts a man in mind of these and when he neglects any one of them will say to him thou shouldest be in another place or about other work so when Davids heart smote him it helped him to see his Duty 2. There is an obligation to Duty laid on by Conscience so that the man cannot shift it he cannot he dare not say such a thing is not my duty for Conscience beareth it in and layeth it on him convincingly 3. There is an efficacy in Conscience to pouss to duty from this comes that restlesness and disquiet that is often in Men and Women when duty is omitted that they can have no peace till it be gone about 4. Conscience inviteth to duty by promising peace upon the performance of it On the other hand Conscience hath influence to restrain from Sin 1. By discovering such and such a thing to be Sin and though the Soul would notwithstanding endeavour to digest it yet Conscience makes a challenge to go down with it 2. By threatning the Sinner when it 's warning is neglected and not taken telling him that he shall repent it one day and that it will make him repent iâ— 3. By taking away the sweetness of Sin and leaving a sting in place of it as when Achab killed Naboth it said Hast thou killed and also taken possession And from this arise challenges and fears of the execution of threatned Judgements which quite mar the comfort the man expected in the enjoyment of such and such a thing in all which it keeps a majestick and stately divine way becoming Gods deputy and bears witness for him against the Sinner A 3d. end is To abbreviat as it were Gods process in judging men to justifie and clear him and to make way for his Sentence whatever it be 1. It conduceth 〈◊〉 it were to
their Religion in that being much darkened and insensibly prejudicat as to their Light when they come up the length or near the length of that light Conscience speaketh and giveth its Testimony accordingly and they have thence a sort of peace but it is not the peace of a truely good Conscience 4. A natural man or a hypocrite may come a great length in respect of the external duties of Religion and may have a kind of a good Conscience in that respect as he may pray and have some moral sincerity in it and â—o as he would â—ain have a hearing and would some way have his heart praying â—ay he may have a kind of delight in approaching to God as it s said of those hypocrits Isa. 58. 2. He would â—ain know what is Duty and what is Sin and he doth not deliberatly thwart with his light in this respect Paul sayeth of himself before his Conversion that as touching the righteousness of the Law he was blameless and Rom. 10. 1. He beaâ—eth the Iews record That they had a zeal of God but not according to knowledge and what I pray was this but Conscience un-informed in and ignorant of the righteousness of God from which ignorance of Christs righteousness and of the way of coming to him it came to pass that they went about to establish their own righteousness So then the natural man or hypocrite when he hath come the length of some honest meaning is disposed to think that he hath done very well and that he hath a good Conscience yet though he may have a good Conscience in some respect or in these respects mentioned and the like yet to have it simply and positively from solid and good grounds giving him a good Testimony is impossible and the reason is because he hath not the Word going along with his Conscience in reference to his whole carriage and in referrence to the principles motives ends and designs of his actions testifying for him and therefore I say he hath not the Testimony of a truely good Conscience For the next Question Wherein is this Conscience defective and what is the difference betwixt it and a believers good Conscience Or how may it be known as differing from an honest Gospel Conscience Answer 1. In respect of its rise there is a defect in the Judgment for if the eye be blind if the understanding be dark the Conscience must be so too They have saith the Apostle of the Iews a zeal of God but not according to knowledge and being ignorant of the righteousness of God they go about to establish their own righteousness However zealous they were of God or others such may be yet they are ignorant in three thingâ— 1. In the extent and spiritual meaning of the Law supposing for instance that a man keepeth the Sixth Command when he is not guilty of any gross act of Murther and the Seventh when he doth not actually commit Adultery or Fornication not knowing or considering that a look arising from the flame of lust within is a breach of that Command and so proportionably in other Commands Even as the Pharisees conformed the Law in the meaning thereof to their own practice and not their practice to the meaning of the Law 2. They are ignorant of the way of Gods righteousness and of that which giveth the Conscience solid ground to speak peace many if they have an honest meaning in their praying reading of the Scripture waiting on publick Ordinances if they put their bodies to some sort of pennance or be ready to give if it were the half of their estates to have their souls safe and if they have a sort of seriousness in all this think that all is well with them and that they have a very good Conscience if this peice of ignorance were well discerned never one soul out of Christ would have peace because none out of Christ have solid grounds of peace for none have their hearts sprinkled from an evil Conscience but these that are in him 3. They are ignorant of their particular case they know not what sins they are guilty of nor what Conscience sayeth of them they think it speaketh better things to them then indeed it doth some guess at it some mis-interpret it and some repeâ—l it whereas if they were soberly reflecting on and impartially looking to their manner of proceeding in every thing they would see that they mistake their Conscience exceedingly This then is the first defect viz. a defect in the Judgment The 2d Is a defect as to singleness and sincerity in the natural mans best condition such are never single when at their very best even when they are most serious in Prayer they are but going about to establish their own righteousness when they fast and give alms and the like it is that they may have some ground for a good opinion of themselves or that others may have a good opinion of them being always acted from selfy motives and for self-ends A 3d. defect Is the want of unbyassed Affections these being partial and byassed will put the man to reason and dispute for the silencing of his Conscience and this eye not being single the whole body is full of darkness Affections being inclined or sweyed to this or that side they will seek to â—way Conscience to that side they incline to This is it that maketh some to follow after and to haunt the company of those who are erroneous in their judgment notwithstanding that they have good reason to the contrary laid before them from the Word of God which they reject and that without challenge being quite byasâ—ed and prejudged in their affections thus many natural men lay this for a conclusion that so much only is Holiness and that no more is needful and what is more is but superfluous niceness and so they prejudge their Conscience by that 4. It is defective in this that it maintaineth not its peace nor answereth its challenges from Christs blood it is not sprinkled with clean but with foul Water to say so it may be it putteth the man to take on some resolution or to come under some vow as to somewhat that it may be is no commanded duty of Religion not hath any valuable influence upon it or he will as it were sprinkle his Conscience with his tears thus many will grant that they have sinned but withall they think and will be ready to say that they have a good heart or a good meaning or that such and such a man well esteemed of hath such a sin and is as guilty as they are or that many have had such siâ—s who yet have gone to Heaven on such and others the like pitiful grounds they found their peace and by such silly shifts they seek to quiet their Conscience yea sometimes from the consideration of the possibility of pardon many conclude confidently that they are actually pardoned We shall forbear to say any thing further at this time God
there is no healing of his wound till a word from God himself do it It is on the contrary an ill token when a Conscience seeth sin and can speak peace to it self on this ground that there is mercy in God and yet never applyeth the blood of sprinkling to purge it from dead works nor seeketh to have the Word spoken as it were from Gods own mouth and on the other side the legal Conscience will make amends to God will give him Sacrifices enough and perform many duties to him looking for his acceptance only on account of these and that is as ill a token but a good Conscience resteth not on any of these but though it hath the sacrifice of a broken and contrite spirit to offer to God yet it doth not rest on that nor on any duty but is put beyond these to rest on Christ and on his Sacrifice Purge me with hyssop c. saith David Psal. 51. And this is a clear and certain differencing mark even to consider well whereon Conscience resteth for peace after a challenge and to make sure that it resteth thus on Christ. A 3d. Character is That a good Conscience will both challenge and speak peace at one time it can stand up and defend it self against a challenge thus when the Law on the one hand comes and charges it with many defects in duty and denounceth wrath against it because of these it will humbly take with them and yet on the other hand in the very time it can betake it self to Christ and produce a word of peace that it hath ready at hand from him this we may see in Paul 1 Tim. 1. 13. I was says he before a blasphemer a persecuter and injurious but I obtained mercy It is an evil token when men either have only challenges and no peace or only peace and no challenges at all as it is also an evil token to offer to maintain peace by shifting challenges or to give over pressing after and maintaining of peace by giving way to challenges But it is a good token when Conscience can take kindly with and be humbled under challenges and yet debate against them so as to keep and maintain peace and can give a warrand for its doing so which is indeed a great practick in Religion we may see a clear instance of this in Ioâ— who saith chap. 7. 20. I have sinned what shall I do unto thee O thou preserver of men where he acknowledgeth that he hath sinned and cannot make amends and yet chap. 27. 4 5. he saith with holy boldness and peremptoryness My lips shall not speak wickedness nor my tongue utter deceit God forbid that I should justifie you till I die I will not remove my integrity from me When God speaketh or seemeth to speak wrath his angry countenance driveth him not away from him though saith he chap. 13. 15. he should kill me yet I will trust in him but I will maintain mine own ways before him and vers 16. an hypocrite shall not come before him The Hypocrite or legal man giveth it over when he is thus put hard to it â— though it be easie for him to presume while the Law and Wrath break not in yet when the Law cometh Sin reviveth and he dieth as it is Rom. 79. it is easie to have peace so long as God speaketh not down-right against it but when he cometh to set all a mans sins in order before him he will with Iudas run and hang himself rather then abide that tormenting Conscience of his terribly denouncing war and wrath from God against him A 4th Character is That a good Conscience will love to entertain and welcome a challenge but an ill Conscience cannot abide nor endure a challenge and if it could it would have Conscience always silent and quiet when yet it should not be quiet neither hath it any ground to be so He who hath a good Conscience is glad to have sin discovered and Conscience kept waking he thinketh a sanctified conviction of sin a valueable mercy and the reason is because he aimeth not so much at this to have peace in himself as to have a good and solid ground of peace betwixt God and him and to remove what may mar it whereas the Hypocrites great design is to have peace on any terms and by any means and therefore when a challenge cometh closs and home to him it is quite marred It is on this ground that a tender soul will designedly aggrege sin and even foster a challenge as David doth Psal. â—1 Against thee thee only have I sinned whereas a Saul will defend his own sinful practice and seek to shift the challenge as we may see 1 Sam. 15. 10. yea I have keeped the commandment of the Lord saith that proud Hypocrite A 5th Character or Difference is That a good Conscience maintaineth its peace both from the Law and from the Gospel and will needs have peace in some measure in respect of both else it will not be satisfied The evil Conscience again taketh its peace from the one and not from the other and so taketh a wrong rule or ground for founding and trying of its peace An honest man that hath a good Conscience hath respect to the Law and will not thwart it yea the challenging and condemning part of it is welcomed and the threatnings of it have influence on him to make him fear and as he respecteth the Law so he respecteth the Gospel and looketh well to Believing Repentance Self-searching Examination Meditation and to his manner of performing these and of all his other duties that none of them come in the place of Christ or get any thing of that which is his due and though he seem to himself to have faith in Christ if he endeavour not to have Holiness going along with it he dare not speak peace to himself But on the contrary the legal man or law-conscience if it be in good terms as he supposeth with the Law it looketh not to the duties of the Gospel whether the man be indeed fled to Christ or be in good terms with God through him and on the other hand the presumptuous Conscience when it heareth the Law and the threatnings thereof it â—ome way tusheth at these and under pretext of betaking it self to Christ it teareth as it were away the Law and this mistaking halving and dividing of the rule maketh many men think that their Conscience speaketh good to them when it doeth not so but hath rather ground to speak evil and wo. And in the by ye who think ye have good Consciences try them by this mark if ye walk humbly under Conscience-convictions taking with them and if they be welcome to you as well as a word of peace A 6th Character or Difference is That a good Conscience is holily jealous and suspicious while an evil Conscience is presumptuously confident and bold we say a good Conscience is suspicious and therefore is often putting
up to strong delusions to believe lies because they receive not the truth in love why may it not also be just with him judicially to harden them in their unjust prejudice who without all reason take up and entertain the same against godliness and the godly by suffering some of them to slide sometimes into errors and mistakes by which they come in his righteous judgment to be so â—ar plagued as to think that now they have reason for their prejudicâ— and iâ— may be to say we thought them always to be such and such persons and now we see and find them to be so who 〈◊〉 more weight on the practice of any then on his Word and who will be ready to cry more out against an infirmity in a godly person then in others and more then they can be prevailed with to fall in love with their grace how many a corrupt and wicked man hath justified and maintain'd his own bad practice from some failing in the Saints not to excuse their sin but rather thereby to blind himself and to put out his own eyes more In the 4th place according to the method proposed take a word or two of use And 1. May not this instruct us that all Flesh is Grass that when we look to our selves we should be humble and that there is need great need of fear and trembling in our Christian walk whoever they be that dare to abuse this Doctrine anent the Saints infirmities mistakes and errors to foster themselves the more securely in their liberty of sinning God shall if continued in one day make it turn to the aggravation of their guilt and to the heightning of their judgment and however for the time they heighten their sin exceedingly in proposing the Saints faults to follow them and not their grace and vertues whereas this is the genuine and kindly use that all should make of them to be watchful to walk in â—ear aâ—d to take heed lest we also fall considering that if it hath been done â—o in the green tree what may we fear who in comparison are but dry trees if the Lord shall leave us as justly he may to follow our own councils it would become us to wonder that we go not wrong and further wrong and to look well that we be not vain of our own standing The 2d use serves to teach us that we should not take every thing to be right where of for the time we may have a sorâ— of perswasion neither that which many good people may think to be right God hath given us another rule that should be looked to and walked by as Soveraign â—nd infallibly regulating according to which we should regulate our own and the Consciences and Practices of others Therefore 3ly Learn hence so much the more accuratly and exactly to put every thing to proof and tryal that we may see whither it be so in very deed as Conscience dictateth By all means let Conscience be laid to the rule of the Word let us betake our selves and our Conscience to the law and to the testimony and if it speak not according to these it is because there is no light in it at least in so far and if even Believers may thus err and mistake O! how much more and more sadly may others who sleep on in their security without fear of being mistaken and of going wrong in matters of greatest and most lasting moment let be in lesser ones putting nothing seriously to the trial and will yet notwithstanding boast of a good Conscience The 4th use serves to teach Believers and all of you that ye have need to walk near God and in closs and constant dependance on him not simply lipning or trusting to your own council or Conscience but to him for direction and guiding The 5th use Serves to exhort Believers to be very thankful and to take it for a great and singular mercy when their Conscience challengeth them for sin and stricks in closs with that which is the Spirits work Iohn 16. 8. I will saith Christ send the spirit and he shall convince the world of sin O! but be it a merciful profitable and comfortable thing when God helpeth you impartially to search out sin to hear the Conscience it 's impartial verdict of it and to be kindly and deeply humbled for it and to flee to the blood of sprinkling for the pardon of it use 6th See here the necessity of knowing Gods mind better and of understanding his Word better otherwise we may err and go wrong and not know it Let me say in a word that it will be impossible to reach and attain the scope of this Text if we study not to know Gods Word and his mind in his Word better The ignorance that is amongst us may prove a great Rise Occasion and Cause of many sad mistakes and errors if the Lord in mercy prevent not Let God bless this Word and make it to have it 's own use for our edification and warning SERMON VI. ACTS 24. 16. Herein do I exercise my self to have alwayes a conscience void of offence toward God and toward men THe great Scope of these Words is to point out that holy Precisness Accuracy and Circumspection which was in Pauls walk and ought to be in the walk of all Christians And that is to endeavour to have alwayes a Conscience void of offence toward God and toward Men. The Doctrine that we insisted on last was this That Christians ought to endeavour so to walk that in nothing their Conscience may have a Challenge against them and when we came to speak of the use we proposed Four The 1. whereof was for Information and Direction how to carry in a Christian Life and it is in a Word so as in nothing we may thwart our Conscience either in ommitting any Duty or in comitting any sin The 2d use was for tryal as the Words bear out Pauls attainment and his comforting himself on this ground that he alwayes exercised himself to keep a good Conscience Whence we shew that it is a good Mark of Sincerity when a man is taken up how to keep a Conscience void of offence and several Doubts and Questions were occasioned in prosecuting of this use which we endeavoured to clear and answer But because we see that such Questions are almost endles and know not if it would be to your Edification to propose moe of them we have resolved to break them off abruptly and shall only speak somewhat in answer to an Objection or Question which cannot well be passed by and it is this Can that be a mark of Sincerity to endeavour to have a Conscience void of offence seing even Believers may often have ane evil Conscience How then I say can it be a mark of Sincerity and of a sound Believer to have a good Conscience In Answer to this we shall First shew how Believers may be said to have an evil Conscience 2. How it is not
to hazard on sin to neglect Prayer and other duties yet they would consider the terrour that followeth ane evil Conscience and how it breedeth and breweth a hell within their own Bosom There is then a necessity an absolute necessity of a good Conscience that quarrels be not and abide not betwixt God and us for ever 3ly For some Helps or Directions to keep a good Conscience and we wish we were all in a posture and frame of Soul to meet with to receive and make suitable Use of them 1. Endeavour to have light and clearness in the matters of God and what concerneth your own good Let every one be fully perswaded in his own mind as it is Rom. 14. 5. It is not possible that ye who are grossely or very ignorant can keep a good Conscience ye know not when ye sin nor when ye do duty aright yea although ye may do duties or things good on the matter the want of knowledge maketh you want the Testimony of that good Alace that many wise and rich men that can speak well of the things of this world should be quite ignorant of the things of God and many of you would think shame of it if we would point you out 2ly Advert and take heed to what Conscience sayeth The truth is most men take heed to what may further their designs in externalls to what their wit and reason carveth out to them and to what their own light thinketh or as it were overly sayeth is right and presently step to it and never ask what science well informed from the word sayeth This maketh many men say and do in their haste that which they repent of afterward Therefore ye should learn to put Conscience to speak consult not with your designs nor with your wit and reason only nor mainly but retire and consult seriously with your Conscience Commune with your heart and be still stand in awe and sin not as it is Psal. 4. 4. Consult not with Flesh and Blood let not their advice come in betwixt God and you and finally determine you but reason with your selves think this and this our inclination sayeth and this and this our overly light sayeth but we will put Conscience to it and hear what it sayeth and yet it 's but an inferior Rule and therefore we should not take every thing from Conscience without ground but hear what the Superiour Rule of Gods Word sayeth And this is a right circle wherein ye should turn your selves even to try your Light by bringing it to Conscience and then to try your Conscience by putting it to give a reason from the Word 3ly Be exceedingly aware to thwart with your Light in the least thing and abstain from every thing that seemeth to come in tops with it For Conscience is a very tender thing if we stand not in awe of Conscience we may provoke God to give us up to do what we will and to send us Like lambs to feed in a large place Therefore I say again beware of thwarting in the least thing with your Light and your Conscience 4ly As ye would hear what Conscience sayeth before ye do any thing so when ye have done it ye should consider how ye carried in it according to your Light and whether ye have had a good Conscience in such a thing both as to the matter and the manner and put your Conscience to speak to that and hear what it sayeth concerning what is done There would be in this much singlenesse for if the eye be evil it will make the whoâ—e body full of darkness Hence Paul putteth a good Conscience and Sincerity together 2 Cor. 1. 12. If we should speak never so many good words and do never so many good â—hings on the matter if we be not singly minding Gods honour in them they will not be acceptable The want of Sincerity will be as the dead â—ie in many a mans pot of Ointment of called for duties that will make it cast forth ane evil and stinking smel the savour of a good Conscience will sure be wanting where singleness is not or where Conscience is made subordinate to our carnal Interests Many may have a resolution to do such and Duties who yet make these to keep level with carnal designs and interests It 's impossible when men come not as new born babes to drink in the sincere milk of the Word that they can profit let be grow thereby 6ly Be frequent and serious in making humble and believing applications to the Blood of Christ to the Blood of sprinkling that thereby your Consciences may be sprinkled and purged from dead works for the great ground of your pâ—ace is not your seriousness and sincerity but his satisfaction many of our works and duties alace want life and if they be not sprinkled with the virtue of his Blood they will be but as so many dead weights on the Conscience and indeed there can be no truly good Conscience whatever else be if this be neglected Let then these that would be at a good Conscience make use of these directions and helps and they shall doubtless come the better speed Now we are sure that this is the Truth of God to wit That we shoold indeavour to have and to keep a good Conscience in all things and alwayes toward God and men which a very Heathen were he present with us would not contradict and it is very useful for you though it may be some profane wretches will be ready to say What needeth all this niceness And as it is a Truth and a most concerning Truth so nothing will make your life more truly cheerful and comfortable And if it be neglected or slighted all your Knowledge all your Disputs about Religion all your Tastings of the good Word of God all your Prayers or what else ye can name will be to no purpose And seing it is so very important and concerning a Truth we leave it on you before God and put it home to your Conscience to make it your exercise to have always a good Conscience void of offence toward God and toward men We mind not to come back again on this Text nor to touch on the rest of the Doctrines at first proposed from it what we have said being principally if not only designed and most if not all the other Doctrines being one way or other reached in the Prosecution of these that we have at length spoken to The Lord graciously blesse what ye have heard SERMON I. 1 PETER 3. 21. Not the putting away of the filth of the flesh but the answer of a good Conscience towards God COnscience is in it self a most excellent Gift of GOD given to Men having an excellent nature being waited with many Rare and choice Uses and Advantages throughout their whole Life and when it is rightly used it is one of the special Freinds that men can have on earth and one of the great things that this Gospel and the
Apostle 1 Peter 2. 19. Or if he give a cup of cold water to â— disciple in the name of a disciple he shall not lose his reward Matth. 10 42. Thus two persons come to Church to hear the word the one out of Conscience in obedience to Gods command and from love to fellow ship with him in his ordinances and the other for the fashion and because its the custome or that he may eschew from his own Conscience the construction and accusation of his being a grâ—sly proâ—ane and it religious person or on some such other sinister account the one hâ—th in so far ground of peace and the refreshing Testimony of a good Conscience the other not 5ly Conscience must be satisfied in this Question in whose strength was the duty undertaken was it in the strength of Christ and was he depended on for assistance in the going about of it for it is not enough that the duty be gone about and he some way acknowledged in it unless he be also believingly depended on for strength to inable to the suitable performance of it 6ly What was your end in undertaking and prosecuting of such a duty or action whether was it some self-end or the glory of God and the edification of others as in your eating and drinking do ye eat and drink to satisfie your appetit only or mainly or to enable you to serve God and to do good to others in your station and capacity In your seeking such and such gifts from God by prayer whether is it that ye may bestow or consume them on your lusts as Iames sayes some do Chap. 4. 3. Or is it that ye may be helped to adorn the doctrine of God in all things The proposing of a right end is a main ingredient in every action and hath great influence on your peace We preach not our selves saveth the Apostle 2 Cor. 4. 5. bâ—t Christ Iesus the Lord We are as if he had said in our preaching not seeking our selves but him nor our own praise or applause to our selves but his glory and exaltation and this had much influence on his peace and joy Conscience must be also satisfied in this by any means 7ly After what manner was the action or duty gone about was it in sincerity and singlenesse in a spiritual way was the inner and new man exercised in it suppose the duty for instance to be prayer was it gone about in the Spirit was Grace acted in it and were ye serious lively humble tender reverend servent c. in it 8ly Was there nothing wrong in the action or duty no mixture of corruption with the actings of Grace no selfinesse mixed with your singleness or at the best was there not some mixture of other ends with the main end Which though it do not simply make the action or duty condemnable and to be rejected especially when taken with and mourned for and Christ made use of for the pardon of it yet it will considerably weaken Conscience its Testimony and the joy resulting from it in so far as these sinful mixtures aâ—e 9ly Were ye stretching your selves to the yondmost in the performance of such an action or duty to have it right as to all the former requisits Was there nothing left undone that might and should have been done Was ye not only aiming at the right end but according to your light endeavouring to take every way and make use of every approven mean for the compassing and bringing about of that end Now if we will all seriously reflect and look about us how few how very few are there to be found who can answer these questions affirmatively in any acceptable measure Who alace can say they have done all they should or even might have done as to matter and manner from right principles and motives to a right end That they have used all means without omitting any that they have given all dillgence That they have made use of Christs strength and been single and sincere c. in their performances And yet when all this is some way done ye must yet answer one or two Questions more ere ye can have solid peace and joy from the good Testimony of your Conscience 1. Whether were ye proud and conceity in the performing of such and such duties For if that dead Flee come in on the doing of the best duties it will make all to stink and yet oft-times Christians spoil their duties and very much deprive themselves of the joyful Testimony of their Conscience even when they have been right for matter and manner by their being vain conceity and proud of them 2ly Whether have ye washen your best duties in the Blood of Christ For if this be wanting it will greatly marr your peace and joy Now I would again ask you if ye can say that your duties have been conform to these requisits If not how is it that ye are so secure and can alleadge that ye have a good Conscience or how can you so confidently expect peace and joy from â—ts Testimony or think ye nothing to prostitute and as it were to make a bachel of this excellent thing the Testimony of a good Conscience as if ye could take it up in a manner at your foot Ah! is there nothing that can make a crack in or a breach upon your peace of Conscience ye will possibly say that ye have all sinned if so how can ye have peace to ly down in sin It is true the simple having of sin when it suitably affects should not quite marr and bereave a person of the Testimony of a good Conscience where Grace is in the truth of it and there is sincerity and singlenesse in endeavouring to be in case affirmatively in some measure to answer the questions before proposed but the utter neglect of these things a conniving at them and indifferency whether the requisits be or not a not wrestling and striving in the strength of Christ against sin and to get duties suitably performed in the same strength a not seeking to have mens best duties washen as I said in the Blood of the Lamb cannot but quite deprive of the Testimony of a good Conscience and altogether obstruct the peace and joy that flow from it A Believer indeed not allowing himself in his short-comings in these things called for and making frequent application to Christ for strength to do better and for pardon of what is wrong and walking humbly in the sense of his failings and short comings may have peace even though in many things he fail and come short and though there be some mixture of corruption going along with his grace and of hypocrisie with his sincerity in his best duties As we may see in the Apostle Paul Who had a law in his members which he most sadly bemoans Rom â— rebelling against the law of his mind Even when he had this Testimony of a good Conscience and much peace and joy resulting from it But a secure
honestly can never be separate from a good Conscience Neither would we have you thinking when a Christian miscarrâ—es in his Conversation that he can never recover a good Conseience There are two wayes whereby a Believer may come to quietness in his Conicience 1. By the exercise of Sanctification which prevents a Challenge and that is it which the Apostle speaks of here and Acts 24. 16. and it is that which we mean in the Doctrine 2. When he fails and miscaries there is a recovering of quietness and of the Testimony of Conscience by the exercise of â—epentance and Faith sprinkling the Conscience with the blood of Jesus Which flows not so much indeed from the mans holiness and tenderness for preventing of a Challenge as from Justification and the right that the Soul gets to pardon of Sin thereby wherein the Blood of Christ removes the Challenge and quiets the Conscience and a Soul may have the one of these when to its sense it wants the other or hath indeed but little of it It may have some comfortable clearness of interest or at least the faith of it when it has in some respect an ill Conscience as we may see David had Psal. 51. So upon the other hand we conceive it is not impossible for a Believer to have some tenderness and a testimony thereof from his Conscience when he is much in the dark as to his interest in God 2ly From Pauls knitting of these two together viz. A good Conscience and the qualification of it an honest walk Observe That such as would confidently assert and assume to themselves this Testimony that they have a good Conscience would do it on well qualified grounds and evidences therefore the Apostle here does not content himself simply to assert it and generally wherever he asserts this he holds out something of his practice shewing thereby that he was not mistaken nor presumptuous in his asserting of it If we consider the extremities that men are disposed to run into in this matter some too soon and too easily assuming to themselves this Testimony of a good Conscience others again in a manner shuâ—ing and shifting all things that may give them clearness as if it were impossible to be win at We will find that there is good reason to qualify it thus so as the golden mediocrity or raids betwixt these-extreams may be duly observed More particularly It may be asked here what is the qualification or evidence whereby a person may clear and prove that upon good and solid ground he assums to himself this Testimony of a good Conscience and may not scrupulously reject it The Apostle holds it out in these words willing to live honestly and ye may take it in this Observation That a firm and settled serious purpose of universal holiness and honesty in our life and walk hath great influence on the peace and tranquillity of our Conscience and is a good evidence of a good Conscience and withal a choice companion that waits continually on it I put these three together as included in the words in all things Willing to live honestly The latter words respect the former the design being as broad as the effect and the former prove the latter the study of universal holiness a willingness to live honestly 1 then we say That this universal honest design is the companion of a good Conscience it waits alwayes on it or a good Conscience and this go together he that hath a good Conscience is honest in his walk and he that is honest in his walk hath a good Conscience 2ly We say that it is an evidence of a good Conscience for if they only have this good Conscience who are honest in their walk then where this honest walk is there must be a good Conscience 3ly We say that it hath much influence on a good Conscience it s in some sort a procurer of it in which sense a good Conscience is an efect of an honest walk so that the more honest a man be in his walk the more quietness will he have in his Conscience Because the Doctrine is very broad and affords much profitable Use I shall first clear it Then 2ly confirm it and 3ly make some use of it and remove some practical doubts that may arise from it 1. Then for clearing the Doctrine by parts in it we take in these threeingredients to make up the evidence of a good Conscience 1. That a mans walk be honest 2ly That it be an universal honesty in all things 3ly That there be an willingness or hearty purpose towards universal honesty whereon the great stress of the quietness of a persons Conscience lyes viz. The sincerity of the purpose or a heart-willingness And we may consider all these either negatiâ—ely so that without this evidence there cannot be a good Conscience or positively so that where this evidence is there is a good Conscience For the First What is an hoâ—est walk 1. We conceive it is not that which most men count honesty viz. For a man only to think or fanâ—y himself to be honest a mans own apprehension is not the rule of his tryal but that which will abide the tryal before God 2ly Honesty here looks not to absolute perfection and such as hath no defect it is a thing that is not ruled and measured by our will but by Gods will revealed in his word though it come not up the full length of that which his revealed will calls for And we conceive that it doth more particularly consist in these four 1. That on the matter it be in things allowed and approven of God For there neither is nor can be any honest living except our supposed duties and our practices be allowed and commanded of God and here a good intention or an honest mind if the thing thwart the word of God will not prove honesty because as to the matter it is not right as Paul shews Rom. 10. Speaking of the Iews their zeal 2ly That there be an honest end else though the action be good on the matter if our end be sinister or selfie it will marr the honesty of the action Thus Christ sayes Matth. 26. 10. of that good woman She hath wrought a good or an honest work on me which he clears to be so from her end in that she poured this ointment on my body she did it for my burial It was not out of vanity and oâ—tentation but from an inward hâ—art-respect to me and at least in Gods design she hath been fore-signifying my burial 3ly Honesty takes in rectitude or straightnesse in the manner of our going about the duty For if the manner be not right as well as the matter the action will not be honest The word honestly as we shew signifies honorably pleasantly desirably worthiâ—y as that word Matth. 26. 10. doeth Now a thing cannot be commondable and worthy if it be not right for the manner it s but hypocritical Therefore it s said of the
eats out the very life and feeling of the Conscience though it will be found to be a Conscience still and a Conscience that will speak and speak aloud one day albeit in Gods righteous Judgement it be silent now 3. We may also see here the reason why many persons are so very filthy that sin becomes a delight to them so that the sin that others could not sleep with they cannot sleep till they get it committed because thorow a custom of and continuance in sinning their mind and Conscience is defiled 2ly Observe That a man before he be purged by Christs Blood hath his Conscience wholly defiled Not only in part as we said of the Believer but wholly before he be in Christ and be purged by his Blood he is like that wretched Infant described Ezek. 16. 5. which description sets forth to the life what these people were before God entered in Covenant with them cast out in the open field to the loathing of their persons unsalted and unswadled with their navils uncut wallowing in their own blood and having no eye to pity them And thus are all men and women without exception before they be in Covenant with God they are wholly in a state of irreconciliation and enmity with God whose Law does not only condemn this and that work or deed of theirs but all of them as but dead works Their very state and person is condemned their peace if they have any is no solid peace none of Gods peace for there is no peace nor ground of peace to the wicked sayes my God Isai. 57. Their inclination is wholly depraved and corrupted all their Thoughts and Imaginations are evil only evil and continually evil as it is Gen. 6. 5. and as that often cited emphatick word is Tit. 1 15. To him that is defiled and unbelieving there is nothing pure Every practice of his the use of every thing is to him impure and his very mind and conscience is totally defiled And this will be yet more clear if we consider 1. The case that the man is in who is not in Christ he is without God without hope under his curse and the condemnatory sentence of his Law and can a man possibly have a clear Conscience that is under Gods curse and hath the Sentence of his Law standing over his head unrepealed Therefore he is said Iohn 3. to be condemned already and to have the wrath of God abiding on him 2. If we consider that a man in this condition is under the dominion of sin he is a captive of it and of the Devil at his will as it is 2 Tim 2. 26 So that there is scarce any motion or temptation to sin but he hearkens to it and complys with it his heart is open to swarms of lusts and as a Cage to unclean and foul Spirits Legions of Devils in a manner haunt him Now if such a man can have a clear Conscience ye may easily judge and yet such is the state and condition of every man by nature and therefore when Christ speaks of the Renovation of a man he sometimes calls it the casting out of the Devil importing thereby that every man in nature is a common receptacle as it were to Devils The 1. Use of this serves to teach us how we ought on the one hand to loath the state of Nature and how on the other hand we ought to love and long after a state of faith in Christ Jesus by whom only our natural state can be changed Is it not a wonder that so many rational men and women can live and ly still in their Natural state without minding or looking after a change Considering that this stands recorded of and against them That their very mind and conscience is defiled and that with dead works and that all who are not in Christ are so defiled vile and abominable that the most stinking dunghill is not so loathsom as the Consciences of such persons are O! What heaps and dunghils of Lusts what pudles and myres what kennels and sinks of pollution and noisome and poisonable filthiness are there What noisom and poisonable sins are drunk down with pleasure as so much sweet Wine all which are kept in retentis by the Conscience never one of them is forgotten though for the time the Conscience by its silence is supposed to have forgotten them yet it will set them all in order marshal them all as it were in rank and file against the persons who shall be found out of Christ in a most formidable manner it will not suffer one sin nor so much as one aggravating circumstance of any sin to be forgot It will bring forth all and charge them home furiously and irresistably This in Gods holy Justice will be the use of Conscience to all such persons It s not like a Conduit or Pipe that takes in at the one end and le ts out at the other but like a standing sink that still retains all that comes into it O! then what a foul and filthy bag to speak â—o is the Conscience of many a man and woman So that no Botch Bovl or Imposthume hath such vile filthy and abominable matter in it as it hath O! what a noisom and viâ—ely stinking smell will that putrid matter send forth when God pricks it This should make you all to loath living in your natural state and to long without lingâ—ing to be out of it It s like that many take it ill â—o have such things said or thought of them but I assure you all that are out of Christ whether ye have a more full or empty purse about you you have this filthy bag full of sin within you and while ye securely heap sins upon sins ye are treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath and of the righteous judgement of God The 2 Use serves to let us see what a poor and sory ground the most part have for their peace of Conscience we may in truth wonder how it comes to pass that many of you can have any peace having such a puddle of filthiness within you If it be true that your mind and Conscience is defiled which are the best things ye have and one day will clearly and convincingly make discovery of the truth of it O! how much hypocrisie and presumption will be found to be among you in stead of true and solid peace with which ye have nothing to do so long as these Whoredoms and Witch-crafts to say so of filthy sins are with you unpurged away by the blood of Christ. The 3. Use serves to demonstrat and clearly to hold forth the absolute necessity of Jesus Christ and the transcendent worth and matchless excellency that is in him that even when a man is thus defiled and polluted by sins these dead works there is access by his blood to get the Conscience purged and this is the thing that we would mainly point at from these words and which we intend God
house beside it We will not say but many filthy things may be in a pure Conscience but it does not comport wel with them nor digest them They are as lukewarm-water to a mans Stomach that he cannot keep but must needs vomit up again and he is sick till he do so 5. It s a good token of a pure Conscience when the man cannot endure to be at a distance from Christ but hath many errands to him would fain be near him yea would fain abide constantly with him as well as in him by Faith when he would ly beside him as beside the Fountain to be bleatched there so to speak because he kâ—ws that no sooner wil he go from him but his Conscience will be defiled and he loves so well to be clean and loves Christ so well that makes him clean that he likes well to be always near him This is a good token of a person that hath a pure Conscience Because as it betokens a great loathing of filthiness so it betokens a great respect to Christ on this account as to the maker and keeper of the Conscience clean and on the contrary it s a very evil token when persons will pretend to a pure Conscience when yet they will not go to the Fountain for a very long time if at all and when they go if we may speak so they scarce give their Conscience a dip or a little sprinkling or syning as we use to speak but they are away and gone again But a serious tender and purged Soul will no sooner perceive a â—oul stain or spot but it repairs quickly to the Fountain of Christs Blood to get it washed out And O! but its precious to him and he never thinks himself to be right and well but when he is there and near to him It s true he cannot alwayes be in Prayer or in other Duties of Worship yet he endeavours to be in the habitual exercise of Faith corresponding with him for attaining and keeping a clean and undefiled Conscience SERMON II. HEB. 9. v. 14. and 10 v. 22. How much more shall the blood of Christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God Chap. 10. v. 22. Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water IF we knew what sort of Consciences we naturally have and were suitably sensible of the evil state of them it would be to us as good News from a far Countrey to hear how they may be gotten purged and made good and how little soever men think of this now and how ever easie they fancy it to be to get their Consciences solidly quieted and calmed there is a day coming when sleeping and secure Consciences will be awakned and when it will be found more easie to endure the greatest toil and the most exquisit torment on earth then to wrestle with and to be closely pursued and constantly haunted by the terrours of an evil and awakned Conscience which will roar against men as a lyon and tear as it were the very caul of their heart Then O! then they who would never be perswaded before to believe what an evil and defiled Conscience is nor what the benefit and advantage of peace with God and in the Conscience is shall be made to their eternal prejudice to know the truth of both In both these places now read in your hearing the Apostles scope is to commend the transcendent worth and matchless excellency of Jesus Christ and the incomparable efficacy of his most precious blood from this noble notable and non-such effect of it viz. That when nothing else can lay or allay the storm and tempest of an evil Conscience nor purge it from these defiling dead works this blood can do it to purpose and effectually when applyed by Faith when no legal Sacrifice nor washings that sanctified only to the purifying of the flesh could reach perfyting the comer thereto as pertaining to the conscience as it s said Chap. 9. v. 9. Neither could deliver him from an evil Conscience and give him confidence and boldness in drawing neer to God over the belly of many quarrels and grounds of challenge the blood of Christ can as it is Chap. 10. v. 22. We left the other day at speaking somewhat to that natural pollution that throughly affects the hearts and Consciences of all men before they be by the blood of Christ purged and the Apostles taking such pains to hold out this shews plainly that it is a matter of greatest concernment to Christians to know the way how to get their Consciences purged from that deep defilement of sin wherewith they are polluted for is it not his manner to insist in any thing that is not of concernment to the people of God who will readily from the sad and doleful experience of their own pollution be induced to think that this truth is such and ought to be esteemed so by them 2ly Observe That there is nothing that Christians should more aim at and endeavour more to be in the practice of then to be following that way whereby they may get their Consciences purged and more particularly these who have had their Consciences again defiled after that they were once purged no main infected with the Borch or plague hath more need of cleansing from it then the man whose Conscience is infected and defiled with the dead works of sin needs to have it purged from them by the blood of Christ. We shall but very briefly to make way for that which we would mainly be at hint at two or three Observations from both these verses now read put together first then Observe from Chap. 10. v. 22. That a Conscience not purged by the blood of Christ is a very evil thing which we will find to be a very sad truth if we consider the unpurged Conscience either as it s awakned or as it s not awakned but asleep which is ill both ways It s ill if it be awakned and the terrours of God be fresh upon it who can express or adequatly conceive the terribleness of such a case The spirit of a man may sustain his infirmity and wrestle through many crosses but a wounded a wrath-wounded spirit or an ill Conscience rouzed by the terrours of the Almighty God who can bear This hath made some with Iudas the trai tour rather to choise death a violent death inflicted by their own wretched hands on themselves then life whereby they have desperatly run themselves under the wrath of God to the full O poor silly miserable shift and evasion to flee from some smaller fore-parties as it were of the wrath of God on earth into the very strength and main battel of it eternally in hell this is infinitely worse then to leap out of the water into the fire Nay some of the most eminent
Saints by the falling but of some hot scalding drops of Gods fatherly wrath and displeasure have been brought neer the length of wishing rather for strangling though mercifully keeped from it and made to abhorre it then life As it was with non such holy Iob who looked on death a violent death as an easie matter be what it was to be under the sense of wrath and to be set up as the mark for Gods arrows to be shot at the venome whereof to his apprehension drunk up his Spirits though all the while he was kept up in the faith of his interest in God and of his love to him To his purpose Human heavily complains Psal. 88. I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up while I suffer thy terrours I am distracted If it be sometimes done thus in the green trees even the greenest what shall be done in the dry Now the Conscience is in a special manner the receptacle of all the terrors of God it must therefore certainly be a very ill thing to have an awakned ill Conscience If an ill and unpurged Conscience be silent and a sleep it s in some respect worse for it hath this black and dreadful awakning abiding it and the longer it sleep and keep silence the the wakning will be the more terrible and its cryes the lowder It s all the while of its silence and sleeping treasuring up more wrath whereby the poor wretch will be payed home with multiplyed increase of terrour and horrour O! that ye knew how evil a thing how very evil a thing it is to have a Conscience not purged from dead works a Conscience not sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ as no stranger can intermiddle with the joy of a mans Spirit who hath a good Conscience a Conscience sprinkled and purged by the blood of Christ so no man can to the full represent to you the exceeding terribleness of the terrour of an evil Conscience when awakned by the wrath of God pleading and pursuing a quarrel with the Soul which quarrel he is infinitly powerful to avenge It would be very suitable to be often enquiring at our selves what is become of the quarrel and what solid ground of peace and confidence towards God is there We will all most certainly and inavoidably be put on this great tryal O! suffer not your selves to be so far deluded as to think that a silent and stupid Conscience is a good Conscience and hath no danger with it which is as great folly as to think that a feeless and benummed member of the body is thereby in â—o danger nay the danger is so much the greater 2ly Observe That though all men naturally be under thiâ— evil of an unpurged Conscience yet in the covenant of Grace God hath laid down a way how sinners may get their Consciences purged This is the Apostles scope in both these scriptures even to lay a solid ground for the consolation of Believers and for a high commendation of Gods grace viz. That by application made to the blood of Jesus there is as a real purging of the Conscience from sin win at as there was access made to persons ceremonially unclean by these sacrifices and washings under the Law to external Church-priviledges being ceremonialy cleansed thereby which is not so to be understood as if the sin committed had never really and actually been so as the purged Believer should neither remember it nor repent of it that is not at all the meaning of the Doctrine but it is to be understood legally that as to the removing of the guilt of sin and as to his having peace with God and in his own Conscience it is purged so as sin cannot stand in the way of his expecting Gods favour nor simply in the way of his delighting himself therein more then if it had never been though the man be the debitor yet there is a way laid down in the Gospel covenant to declare him free even as a man that has plaid the dyvour or bankerupt though he cannot simply and in all respects be made as if he had never been so yet by anothers paying of the debt he is before the Judge acquited and is reckoned free of the debt as if it had never been contracted or owing and as to any effect that might in law follow on it to his prejudice just so is it here with the sinner that flees to the blood of sprinkling and the word purging sufficiently holds it out especially when it is joyned with coming with boldness and confidence to the throne of God for if it should be said to such a sinner how canst thou how darst thou come to God with such confidence that hast an ill Conscience through so much sin He answers Let us draw near or come having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience So that as to a confident approaching to God and application of Christs righteousness persons who have made application of the blood of sprinkling may come to God with as much holy and humble boldness as if the Conscience had never been defiled and pollured and the experience of the Saints who in this way have found peace and confidence is a great evidence and confirmation of the truth of it 3ly To come a little nearer We may Observe in the negative That there is no way for a man that has once had his Conscience defiled and polluted with sin to be cleansed and purged from it but by the blood of Christ If we look through this 9th Chapter from the beginning and the following 10th Chapter We will find that the Apostles scope is to prove that it is not the blood of Bulls or of Calves nor any one or all of these ceremonial Sacrifices washings or purgations that can do the business as he more particularly cleareth v 9. of the 9. Chap. Where the Apostle insinuats That though God appointed many means and midâ—es of purgation yet if there had been no more but these they could never have effected the perfyting of a man as pertaining to the Conscience It s only the blood of Jesus that hath this effect And this one reason will confirm it viz. That there is no other thing but the blood of Christ that can satisfie Gods justice and remove the quâ—rrel that is betwixt him and the guilty sinner it s he only in whom God is well pleased he is our peace and there is no name under heaven given whereby a sinner can be saved but the name of Iesus And till God be satisfied the Conscience cannot be quiet seeing then that nothing can satisfie Gods Justice buâ— his blood there can nothing purge and satisfie the Conscience but it Therefore David prayes Psal. 51. Purge me with hysop and I shall be clean Where he allâ—ds and looks to the blood of Christ that was â—ypifyed by the sprinkling of Blood with a bunsh of hysop under the law as the Apostle doth here As the Use of this Doctrine
considering that the best and most disceâ—ning men may be mistaken in their application of these evidences to us neither is it the end of Conference to be a ground of peace when in the mean time there is no solid course taken how to get our debt payeâ— and the justice of God satified our main yea our first work would be to be take our selves to the Cautioner and to the blood of sprinkling under the conviction and sense of sin and guilt and then we may profitably reason our selves and admit of the reasoning of others for help to quiet our Conscience and unless there be actual fleeing to Christ and to his blood preceeding and going before words of comfort or direction spoken whether in private or in publick This word of God declares them to be null and voâ—d as to any advantage to us 4ly Observe That when nothing can pacify an evâ—l and defiled Conscience nor purge it from dead works the application of the blood of Christ by faith can and will purge that Conscience and give peace and quietness to it with holy and humble confidence and boldness in coming and drawing near to God as if in some respect it had never been defiled by these dead works of sin It s the Apostles great scope and design here to press these two which are the two branches of the Doctrine 1. The sufficiency of Christs blood as the price that â—atisfies divine Justice and quiets the Conscâ—ence for when the Conscience gets this blood applyed to it by faith it has no ground to crave any further satisfaction to the justice of God whose deputy it is as if something were owing that blood as a full and condigâ— price satisfies for all the debt How much more sayeth the Apostle here shall the blood of Christ purge your conscience from dead works The 2d Branch is that which followeth upon â—his as a native use of it That a Belleâ—er who hath fled to Jesus Christ after the committing of sin and hath actually applyed his blood to the Conscience may have quietness in it and go with boldness and confidence to God and may on this ground maintain his peace in some respect as if he had never sinned So â—uos the Apostles scope if we look to the 19. v. of Chap. 10. and forward Having therefore brethren sayeth he boldness to enter into the holiest by a new and living way â—y the blood of Iesus let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of saith having our hearts sprinkâ—ed from an evil conscience though it hath been polluted before This is one of the rarest pearls and richest Jewels of the Gospel one of the excellentest priviledges of a Belâ—ever and one of the noblest and notablest exprâ—ssions and evidences of the grace of God and withall the great prooâ— of the reality and efficacy of the satisfaction of our blessed Lord Jesus viz. That when the Conscâ—ence of the poor Believer is confounded and in a manner put on the wrack with many challenges for sin he may mâ—ke application of Christs blood and on that ground have sweet peace and tranquillity of Soul For further clearing of this We shall 1. lay down some grouâ—ds for its confirmation And then 2ly make some â—se of it As for the first of them to wit some grounds to confirm it Take these few shortly 1. If by the application of Christs blood there be solid peace made up betwixt God and the sinner it will necessarly follow that the application of the blood of Christ will â—urge the Conscience and ought to be ground of peace and quietness to it For sayeth Iohn Epistle 1. Chap. 3. v. 20. God is greater then the heart or Conscience and sayeth Paul 1 Cor. 4. 4. Though we know nothing by our selves yet are we not hereby justified but â—e that judgeth us is the Lord This is sound reasoning God hath nothing to say therefore the Conscience ought to be satisfied But it is clear that by the application of Christs blood solid peace is made up betwixt God and a sinner As Rom. 5. 1. Being justified by saith we have peace with God through our Lord Iesus Christ There is no standing controversie nor quarrel â—onger then by faith the blood of Christ is â—led unto and applyed Iohn 5. 24. He that heareth my word and believeth on â—im that sent me hath everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation He shall come to judgement to be absolved but not to be condemned for as it is Iohn 3. 18. He that believeth on him shall not be condemned And Rom. 8. 1. There is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ And 1 Iohn 5. 12. He that hath the Son hath life c. This being the over word of the Gospel it will follow that the Conscience of a poor sinner that is fled to Christ for refuge hath good ground of peace and that there is no ground to the Conscience â—ormentingly or anxiously to challenge And this is indeed no small matter and yet no presumption after a sinner hath fled to Christ to quiet himself and to be at peace on this ground A 2d ground of confirmation is the experience of all the Sainâ—s recorded in the Scripture after their faâ—lings and fallings into sin what hath quieted them may also quâ—et us for there is but one way of making peace with God and the taking of that way workes as to the main alike to all Now it s this way that hath quieted them it s the same faith in all and alike precious 〈◊〉 in all as to the kind because it hath the like precious substantial effects in all It is this therefore that must give quâ—etness and boldness to us That which quieted them was a look an often renewed look as guilt was of new contracted through all these types and shadows to Christ all of them had their original and actual pollutions whereby their Conscience was some wâ—y defiled and disquieted yet through application of Christs blood they wan to peace Purge me sayes David Psal. 51. with â—ysop and I shall be clean c. Even when the Conscience was writeing his lybel and he was under challenges for his guilt he had the faith of his interest and attained peace through application of the blood of Christ that was to come signified by purging with hysop For that ground stands sure which is laid down Act 13. 38 39. Be it known unto you therefore men and brethren that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins and by him all that believe are 〈◊〉 from all things from which ye could not be justified by the law oâ— Moses There is indeed as if he had said a large and long 〈◊〉 and Inditement that Sin and tâ—e Law and the Conscience have against you but be it known unto you that through Iesus Christ remission of sins is preached to you and that through saith in him ye are justified and fred
and repentance for sin nor of challenges on that account these may and should be where the blood of Christ is made use of and applyed by faith to the persons Conscience They will not marr this confidence and boldness nor full assurance of faith that we speak of but rather further it as is clear from the drawing near of the Saints to God recorded in the Scripture As for instance in that woman spoken of Luke 7. 38. who weeps and weeps so abundantly that she washes the Lords feet with her tears yet she draws near to him with confidence nay this drawing near with full assurance of faith doth not remove all fear looking on fear as it carries along with it the consideration of the infinit distance and dis-proportion that is betwixt the majesty of the great God and a finit seckless and sinful creatures nor that holy awe and fillal reverence that is due to him and well consistent with this full assurance of faith nay inseparable from the lively and kindly exercise of it But it supposeth these Four 1. That the Believer fled to the blood of sprinkling may boldly go to God in prayer as if his friendship with him in Adam had never been broken as the Apostle insinuats v. 19. while he sayes Having therefore brethren boldness to enter into the hollest c. There is a liberty and boldness as I just now said allowed him to call God Father as if the former covenant had never been broken by a Son turning a Rebel and Traitor The covenant of grace under the bond of which he is brought as Gods confederat making the relation to him as neer strait kindly firm and sure as it was in that other with considerable superadded advantages 2ly That he may meddle with and make use of the promises of pardon of sin of sanctification of throw-bearing in affliction of quickning of peace of comfort c. according as he stands in need with confidence and may draw near with full assurance of the faith of Gods faithfulness as to the performance of them in his own measure manner and time so that if the Believer could as fully and strongly exercise his faith on the promise as he hath warrand to do he might with as much confidence and fulness of assurance cast himself on them â—s Adam in innocency did on the promise of life in the first covenant because the blood of Christ applyed by faith giveth as real just and legal a right to the promises of the covenant of grace as Adam had to the promise of life by the covenant of works the condition of that covenant viz. perfyt holiness and obedience is fulfilled by Christ in our name and room 3ly That the sprinkling of the Conscience by the blood of Christ giveth the Believer a well grounded hope of heaven of eternal life and of glory even of all things that are contained in the promises Therefore Heb. 6. 11. The Apostle exhorts Christians thus Shew furth the same diligence to the full assurance of hope to the end and be followers of them who through faith and patience have inherited the promises The lively application of faith to Christs blood reaches to the full assurance of the hope of all that is contained in the promise and if the promise be a solid and firm ground and if faith lean realy and strongly to it hope may well expect the great things in it 4ly The Believer who hath his Conscience sprinkled with this blo◠〈◊〉 expect full and through publication of absolution and justification in the court and before the tribunal of God at the day of judgement as the divine historian gives ground of hope Acts 3. v. 19. And in the court of the word and of his own Conscience here in this life He hath ground with the Apostle Rom. 8. to say nay triumphantly to boast and bid an eternal defiance to all that would offer at it Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods elect It is God that justifies who is he that condemneth He may say that indeed he was owing and a debter once but they cannot crave payment of and satisfaction for the debt from him now because by the blood of Christ he is acquit For it is Christ who hath died yea rather is risen again who is at the right-hand of God making intercession for us The believing elect making the right use of this blood of this most precious blood of Jesus Christ may humbly and confidently expect all these things from and by it O! great and glorious expectation As for the 2d thing how or after what manner or by what means this unspeakably excellent priviledge of drawing 〈◊〉 with full assurance oâ— faith with holy boldness and confidence to obtain all these great things may be attained and win at It is answered in the words going a little before Having therefore boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Iesus let us draw near c. It s supposed 〈◊〉 That there be a fleeing to Christ for satisfying of divine justice 2ly That application be made to him for â—ging pacifying and satisfying the Conscience 〈◊〉 it is with the Conscience in this case as it is with the Sea after a great storm which after the ceasing of the storm will fro some time have its waves much tossed and 〈◊〉 in great agitation so after divine justice is pacified and â—almed â—o speak so by the Souls fleeing to Christ for satisfying thereof there may remain still for a while shorter or longer as he shall think fit some raging as it were some trouble tossing and agitation in the Conscience of the Believer as we may see in that instance of David who after the prophet Nathâ— had made intimation of pardon to him yet is still in considerable disquiet and agitation of his Conscience as the 51. Psal. gives us an account Now as for the attainin of calmness tranquillity and peace to the Conscience we would say that whatever is necessary and requisit ing the application of Christs righteousness for making of our peace with God the same is needful to calme and give peace to the Conscience What is that will ye say See Rom. 4. 5. To him that worketh not but believeth on him who justifieth the ungodly his faith is counted for righteousness which being joyned with the words in the text sayes that the way to this peace and calmness is first not for persons to staift or refuse their debt but to take with it 2ly To renounce and disclaim all possibility to satisfie divine justice themselves 3ly To flee to Jesus Christ and through virtue of his satisfaction and blood and the covenant of his grace to rest on him for pardon To believe on him tho someway ungodly who justifieth the ungodly For it is not enough to take with our debt and to quite and renounce the covenant of works except we actually rest on Christ by virtue of the covenant of grace This is it
which the Apostle holdeth furth Philip. 3. 9. Where he sayes That I may be found in him not having mine own righteousness which is of the law but that which is through the faith of Christ He supposeth justice to be pursuing him and that nothing he can do for himself will divert justice its persuit nor secure him against it That he is a lost and gone man iâ— himself he rests not on the discovery of his lost estate but seeks to be found in him not having his own rigâ—ousness which is by the Law but the righteousness whiâ— is by faith in him This is the ground that gives peace with God and should quiet the Conscience but wheâ— the sinner hath taken this way if the Conscience be not yet quieted and calmed there is something further necessary as first the actual renewing of that application to Christ to get not so much a new pardon as a new extract of that pardon which he received in his first fleeing to Christ that by this renewed application of faith to the blood of sprinkling he may also quiet the Conscience so that when the man is fled to Christ and at peace with God if he have not peace in his Conscience he is to cast a renewed look to the promise and to act faith of new on Christs blood to hold it furth as it were unto and to lay it before his Conscience taking with his sin yet holding still by it that he is fled to Christ and on that ground making use of the promise for the renewed pardon of sin through his blood in this respect faith is called Eph. 6. 16. A shield Take unto you sayeth the Apostle the shield of faith whereby ye may quench all the firy darts of the devil when the challenge is cast in on the Conscience it as it were burns the Believer even as a firy or poysoned dart thrown into a mans body burns and inflames it But faith goes to the fountain of Christs blood to the covenant and promises and draws out of these wells of salvation bucketfulls as it were to quench it or when a challenge comes in backed with temptation it makes use of the promise and blood of Christ to answer it and so faith is as a shield or targe to kepp the dart and beat it back it makes the Believer say I cannot satisfie for this sin but here is a promise of pardon to the man that is fled to Christ and to the blood of sprinkling as I am and makes use of Christ in the promise for renewed intimation of pardon or for renewed pardon as new guilt is contracted And thus he is keeped quiet that the challenge wins not in so sar nor goeth so deep as to sting him in his vital parts to speak so the heart of his peace and quietness is keeped still alive tâ—ugh he be in quick and sharp exercise under the challenge 2ly Because challenges will not soon nor easily be got removed nor the Conscience quickly and without difficulty calmed as we see in that fore-mentioned instance of David Psal. 51. There is need therefore of continuing in the fight and of drawing conclusions from solid and undenyable premises and grounds to quiet the Conscience and ward off challenges so as they may not wound and quite marr peace as Paul doth Rom. 8. 1 2. It might have been said to him Thou hast been complaining of a body of death and that with thy flesh thou servest the law of sin and is not that a grievous challenge against thee It is true as if he said But there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ That is the making use aright of the targe or sheild of faith But to put the matter out of doubt he goes on and subsumes and draws the conclusion for the words are applicative to himself and spoken with a considerable regard to his own particular exercise set down Chap. 7. I by faith am fled to Christ for resuge and so am in Christ and therefore there is no condemnation to me and indeed when ever challenges come in from sense and Conscience put through other or mingled together as it were blown upon by temptation which will pursue the Believer hardly It s needful to reason from the grounds of faith to ward off the blow and to queit the Conscience And this though it be a reflex act of faith which does not justifie yet it serves to reason the Conscience into peace and calmness and there is need of faith acting thus reflexly though not as I said to justifie yet to bring home the peace and comfort of Justification and renewed extracts and intimations of pardon 3ly It s necessary that Believers quiet themselves positively by comforting confirming themselves In the faith of what the promise speaks and in the hope of what they have to expect The difference betwixt the former and this is that in the former we draw home answers from the grounds of faith to ward off the dint and bitterness of challenges but that is not enough throwly to calme and settle the soul therefore the latter is also needful that the soul positively draw in peace and consolation to it self by believing Which as it is Philip. 4. is able to guard the heart and mind through Christ Iesus and we conceive this to be Davids exercise Psal. 51. Where by exercising his faith on the promises and on the blood of the Messiah to be shed and by wrestling for the intimation of pardon and peace he labours not only to get his Conscience calmed but even filled with consolation and because the promises are often somewhat wersh and tasteless to say so if not seasoned and quickned by Gods voice going along with them and putting favour and life in them This is the voice of joy and gladness which he would so fain hear Therefore the Believer insists with God thus to be-sprinkle his Conscience and as he looks to the righteousness and blood of Christ for Justification so he looks to it for calming of the Conscience and this is in effect to be beholden to free grace as for pardon of fin so for peace and calmness of Conscience without which any other thing will not do the turn As for the 3d. thing proposed to he spoken of viz. The times or seasons or the cases wherein the Believer may and ought in a special manner to make use of his liberty and boldness in drawing near with full assurance of faith There is no question but a Believer who hath made use of Christ for pardon of sin and Justification may also and should make use of him and his blood for the sprinkling his Conscience that he may come to God with boldness and confidence and there is no case wherein a Believer may not aim at this but more especially he should in these cases As first when he is fallen into more gross guilt as David was psal 51. 2ly When that gross guilt and grievous sinning is
waited with great aggravations as in that Ps. Davids sin is aggravated mightily by him and yet he makes application to Christ over all that guilt and all these aggravations of his guilt 3ly When the Believer hath through his folly relapsed in sin which is not spoken to give a liberty to sin God forbid wo to them that make so cursed an use of such blessed doctrine but to the commendation of Gods free grace and of the worth and efficacy of Christs blood and for the incouragement of lost sinners that would fain be at Christ for pardon and peace for as long as the blood of Christ hath efficacy and worth and as far as the promise extends it self as long and as far may the Believer reach his faith for coming up to boldness and confidence although for his humiliation and keeping humble he may possibly never win at not recover his former confidence and boldness yet looking to the grounds of faith and hope he may and ought to study to streach his faith to the attaining of it 4ly He may and should thus endeavour confidently to draw near to God when challenges are quick and very sharp yea when the challenges of Conscience are sharpest and most peircing though challenges were as so many troups of horses rushing in on him and the Conscience were like a Lyon rampant standing with his claws ready to to tear he may and should humbly taking with guilt step to confidently and make application of the blood of sprinkling and indeed this is the very time when in a special manner he should do it as it was in the case of the man-slayer when he was most hotly pursued by the avenger of blood that was the very time when he was called to flee and with greatest speed to the city of refuge and the allusion is made to this purpose Heb. 6. 18. That by two immutable things sayes the Apostle Wherein it was impossible for God to lie we might have strong consolation who are fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us When may they have consolation and strong consolation even when they are fleeing with the greatest haste to the clay of refuge it s then that the gates of the city are cast widest open to them when was it that David made his most earnest and humbly-confident addresse to God for the joy of his salvation even when blood-guiltiness was stareing him in the face and when his very bones were in a manner broken and when to his own sense his grace was very much if not altogether gone and when he had as is were forefaulted his right to consolation yet even then he comes foreward draws near to God humbly maintains his interest in him and pleads for former manifestations upon the grounds of graceâ— 5ly The Believer may and ought thus to make humbly-confident application to God throw Christ when he finds to the great grief of his soul an exceeding in-disposition to duty when his praying repenting hearing c. goe not with him as he would fain have them if there be a real fleeing for refuge to the hope set before him he may and should even in that case step forward and draw near with humble boldness hence David Psal. 51. Prayes not only for consolation but for the lively exercise of grace while he sayes to God Creat in me a clean heart renew a right spirit within me and uphold me with thy free spirit The sense of sin and exercise of repentance being real and serious the exercise of faith is then surely native and will readily looking to Jesus go over all that comes in the way of it In a word it s then when the humble Believer may draw near with full assurance of faith even when he hath the real sense of his sin and danger and flees unto Jesus Christ for refuge he is then warranted to run to the city of refuge and may confidently go on in his errand viz. To get pardon of sin renewed consolation restored and his spiritual frame righted It s no doubt a foolish conceit and a prejudicial mistake for troubled sinners first to seek after peace and then to make application to Christ or to think that first they must have all the requisits of a good spiritual frame and grace in the liveliest exercise before they adventure to draw near to God with confidence I grant these are very desirable and the souls desire after them very commendable yet if the Believer resolve never to draw thus near till he be as he would be when shall he do it What if David had stood and stuck at that Psal. 51 He might have been keeped a-back and so been unwashen all his dayes but knowing the way of Gods Grace and the nature of his gracious covenant made with his people he steps humbly yet confidently forward in the exercise of faith out over the sense of guiltinesse and all the aggravations of it over relapsing in sin over in disposition and over many sharp challenges all taken with and lamented over and makes all these together as so many earands to God The 2d Use serves to commend the bargan of free-grace and to hold out the excellency of this blood of sprinkling which may also mightily encourage the Believer to step forward In prosecuting whereof I shall 1. speak a word to the efficacy of this blood of sprinkling And then 2ly a word to the necessity of it as to us For the first To wit the excellency and efficacy of it it may be seen in these four 1. In the noble and notable effects that it produceth or that come by it even all the great things contained in the promises touched on before such as pardon of sin grace to subdue it friendship and peace with God fellowship with him conformity to him the hope of heaven and glory the sweet serenity tranquillity and peace of the Conscience it s as a hiding place from the wind and rain and a covert from the florm yea even as the shadow of a great rock in the midst of a weary land when the soul sorely beaten with the storm of challenges and of the apprehensions of wrath comes under the shadow and shelter of this it presently finds ease and repose what shall I say what can I say words here may be swallowed up from this proceed all the glorious priviledges of the people of God possessed and expected in hand and in hope 2ly It s excellency and efficacy appears in this That it hath procured these things to sinners to them that had an unclean and polluted Conscience for who is it I pray that may thus draw near to God with full assurance of faith It is not such as never had an evil Conscience but such as having an evil Conscience flee unto this blood and get it sprinkled therewith it s these who had their Consciences defiled with dead works and came to it and got them purged from these dead works 3ly The
excellency and efficacy of it shines furth in the tenderness of the Person that applyes the remedy to such a loathsome sickness and otherwayes insutable desease or by any other hand but Christs Having sayeth the Apostle such an high Priest over the house of God â—et us draw near The Physician is Jesus Christ himself his blood is the cure and he also is the applyer of the cure and O! how very tender dexterous and simpathizing is he he even excells in such cures to admiration He is a high Priest that is holy harmless undefiled separat from sinners and higher then the heavens He is holy and harmless himself he loves these qualities and is able and willing to work them in these that come to him and such an high Priest became us He is one that hath compassion on the ignorant and such as are out of the way who was in all points tempted as we yet without sin That he may from his own experience the more kindly and strongly simpathize with his People and succour them in all their temptations an high Priest that is touched with the feeling of their infirmities The aâ—king of the least finger or toe in his mystical body stounds up as it were to the very heart of him who is the head thereof And Chap. 2. It behoved him to be made like to his brethren that he might be a merciful and faithful high Priest c. 4ly The excellency and efficacy of it appears in this even in the exceeding great freeness of his applying this cure There is no more required but to come and receive it to come however unclean and be sprinkled with his blood to confess the debt of guilt and draw out an extract of the discharge by virtue of his payment thereof And if there be any pollution in the Conscience any challenge or sore whatever it be he furnisheth the remedy and cure freely and frankly Now a Word to the 2d thing viz. The necessity of this blood of sprinkling If it be so as we have said if it be so virtuous and efficacious is there not here an encouragement for the guilty to flee to this blood and is there not a necessity to make use of it a very pressing and vehemently urging necessity for as it was not possible for the man slayer to stand with safety before the avenger of blood out of the city of refuge so no more can the guilty sinner stand before his own Conscience and far less before the Tribunal of God Who is greater then the conscience till this blood be fled unto and till he get his Conscience sprinkled with it And therefore seeing ye have Consciences and guilty Consciences many sins on your score and though the Conscience now sleep it will most certainly once awake and turn a hot and hard pursuer far beyond what ever any avenger of blood was and the longer that it sleep it will pursue the harder and seing Christ Jesus is as a city of refuge to whom ye may now flee and be sase Consider O! consider these words of the Apostle of the Gentiles Acts 13. 38 39. Which we in the name of the Lord say over again to you Be it known unto you men and brethren that through this man is preached unto you forgivenaess of sins and by him all that believe are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses And it is the great end and design of the Gospel â—o proclaim the mercat of grace and to make this offer unto you sinners freely seing I say all this is O! takewith and be humbled under the sense of your guilt from which ye cannot be pessibly delivered any other way and come forward and make use of it And be-think your selves seriously I beseech you if this day of salvation be sitten and if this offer of grace be despised your Conscience may and will certainly waken upon you yea warr upon you most terribly and ye will never get it quieted but if ye will now in time imbrace and make use of the offâ—r We dare confidently say to the commendation of Gods grace and of the efficacy of this precious blood of Iesus Christ that the sinner can never lay before Christ that sin with what ever aggravations of it nor the disease how filthy and loathsome soever it be but the blood of Christ applyed by faith can aboundantly satisfie Gods Justifie for it and pacify and purge the Conscience from the guilt and defilement of it And if God be pacified the Conscience being his deputy dar no more challenge and pursue to death no more then the avenger of blood could the Man-slayer when once got within the city of refuge or the destroying angel who smote all the first-born of Egypt could or did destroy the Israelits whose houses were be-sprinkled with the blood of the passe-over Lamb. The 3d Use is For strong consolation to Believers in Christ And it is threefold 1. Under the rise of a challenge when the Conscience pursues because there is here a city of refuge to run unto A Mediator for sinners A shield or targe to keep off such a Daâ— and to quench or ward off the deadly wound of it Let us make the supposition and blest eternaly be God through Jesus Christ it s but a supposition What if this had not been How dreadful would the very apprehension of a challenge let be of the vindictive wrath of God have been 2dly To the sinner that flees to this city there is strong consolation in this respect that he shall be made welcome and therefore the Believer needs not skar to make use of Christ nor to come to this blood of sprinkling for he waits for imployment and its the more to the praise of his exquisit skill the moe be cleansed and cured by him through the vertue thereof ye may therefore come and not only so but come with full assurance of faith of attaining whatever ye want and would have Come therefore Believers boldly to the throne of grace that â—e may find mercy and obtain grace to help in time of need as on this ground the Apostle exhorts Heb. 4. 3ly These that have fled to this City of refuge may quiet themselves they are at peace with God and with their own Conscience their peace is as sure as Gods Covenant that cannot be annulled nor altered is And as Christs purchase is of worth and efficacy if the covenant of grace be firm and sure and if this blood of sprinkling be of value and efficacy they have certainly solid grounds of peace and consolation and therefore we exhort Believers in Christ on all occasions to flee to this city to renew your applications by faith to Jesus Christ and after every defilement to be-sprinkle your Consciences with this blood and then comfort your selves in it and bless God who allows such large and strong consolation on you and the Mediator who hath purchased it for you by
this his own most precious blood But some tender and exercised Soul will belike here Object and say Is it not presumption for me to comfort my self under challenges for sin I answer no Thou taking with the challenge and being humbled for the sin that is the ground of it and betaking thy self to this blood of sprinkling for pardon and purging because the Apostle commands thee to comfort thy self and sure he commands none to presume To whom I pray is it that he speaks here Is it not to them that have an evil conscience at least in part and what sayes he to them Let us draw near in full assurance of faith and on what ground Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience When the Conscience through guilt challengeth we are called to flee to this blood and having sprinkled it there with we have warrand to draw near and it is not presumption to do so nay resting on Christ and comforting our selves in him under challenges taken with argues strong faith wherein he hath great complacency and whereby he is much glorified for presumption will never stand before an evil Conscience nor credit Christ when Conscience sharply challengeth So that if ye come by this new and living way it is not presumption to lean to Christ but that is presumption to lean to any other thing nay the more humble boldness and confidence there be under challenges it argues as I just now said the more and the stronger faith because it s the more sickerly founded on the covenant of God and on the blood of Christ and it gives God most glory when the difficulty is greatest It is no great practique to calm the Conscience when there is no storm but then indeed it is so when there are many waves and billows of challenges and discouragements rising and swelling high in the way to go over all these and to grip hard to this rope cast out by him and confidently though humbly and in fear to make use of this remedy which he hath graciously proposed It will never be accounted presumption by him for serious souls to take to themselves Gods allowance on them which is strong consolation to them who are hotly pursued and flie to this city of refuge but it may very readily be accounted presumption to cast at his allowance he knows well who hath the tongue of the learned when to give a word of consolation and to whom and we are not to be wiâ—er then he The 4th Use is for advertisement and warning to others who are not Believers but ly still in unbelief and slight our blessed Lord Jesus O! what a dreadful disadvantage and premunire to speak so will ye fall under your condition is fearful beyond what words can express or thoughts fully comprehend Though your Conscience sleep now It will up upon you and the longer it sleep it will to speak so waken the hungrier and gâ—aw the soreâ— This O! this is your great prejudice ye make your selves obnoxious to the fearce wrath of the Almighty God and to the biteing challenges and tormenting accusatsons of your own evil Conscience which will be more terrible to you then if hills and mountains did fall on you the one will be called and cryed for as a favour in comparison of the other it will in that day appear that an evil Conscience was and is a dreadfully evil thing and ye will have this aggravation of your guilt even the dispising of the Redeemer and of the dear price of his precious blood paved for the Ransome of Sinners of the Physician that offered perfectly at his own cost to cure you and of the Cautioner that offered freely and frankly to pay your debt â—nd this will wait upon you to make the prickings and peircings the woundings and stoundings the gaâ—lings and gnawinâ—s of the Conscience moâ—e deep and intoâ—lerable Therefore let â—e in the name of the Lord who is in earnest with you and we desire according to our measure to be in earnest with you warn you to flee from the wrath to come O! know that ye have Consciences and that they as I said before will once awake and when they shall begin to be rouzed O! but they will challenge and accuse in a dreadful manner lay your account to meet with such un answerable challenges and confounding accusations and if there be no other ground whereon ye can with safety bottom the eternal salvation of your immortal Souls but the righteousness of Christ If nothing can possibly purge and pacify cleanse and calme the Conscience but coming to and washing at this fountain of the blood of Christ O! come in time if ye cannot wash your selves put him to it as David doth Psal. 51. when he cryes wash me cleanse me purge me wash me throughly from mine iniquities It will be no excuse I assure you it will be no plea nor apologie for you in the great day to alleadge that ye could not do it since he offered himself as a fountain to wash at and to wash you all in particular that hear me this day and is doing so very seriously just now if you will imploy and put him to it Consider that sad word Ier. 13. 27. Wo unthee O Ierusalem wilt thou not be made clean when shall it once be it is not canst thou not make thy self clean but wilt thou not be made clean To wit by me who am able to do it and offer to do it freely if thou beest but honestly willing This will be the loud and terrible voice wherewith God and the Conscience will in that day cry to many a man and woman that lived under the Gospel and had this offer Wo to thee thou wouldest not be made clean Thou wouldest not make use of the blood of Christ of this blood of sprinkling when it was in thine offer Thou wouldest not come to him that thou mightest have life Thou wouldst not-take him for a Physician to heaâ— thee but chose rather to ly still wallowing in thy filthiess and to rot away and die in thy sores and wounds then to come to him to be cleansed and cured by him though he offered to do both very freely amongst all the wâ—es that will be denounced then and executed against sinners those against professing Christians who lived under this Gospel and refused to come to Jesus Christ for Life and neglected so great a Salvation will be the loudest and most terrible the woes of Choraâ—in and Bethsaida and of Capernaum will be more inâ—ollerable in the day of judgement then those of Tyre and Sidon yea theâ— those of Sodom and Gommorrah How yet more terrible and intollerable suppose ye will be the wo and judgement of them that live now under the clear and bright Sun-shine of Gospel-light Let me therefore once more earnestly beseech and obtest you in the Name of the Lord by the love you profess to bear to your own immortal Souls to take with your sin and to flee and speedily to flee to this city of refuge set open before you least the avenger of blood the great avenger of this despised and trampled on blood of the covenant this blood of sprinkling over-take you if you seek not to draw near to God by this new and living way but live and die under your defilement and at distance from him Wo upon wo wo upon wo will eternally take hold of you FINIS Exod. 22. 28. Ps. 82. v. 1. 6. Iohn 10. 34 35. Math. 22. v. 21. 1 Pet. 2. v. 17. Rom. 13. v. 1. 5. 1 Pet. 2. v. 13. 14. 15. Tit. 3. v. 1. â— Tit. â— v 1 2 It would be adverted here at what time the Author preached these Sermons least several of his instances should not seem so pertinent It was when temptations to these things were strong This was in a time when places of power and trust were sought after offered and embraced under the Usurper * The Black-stone is a Seat whereon in some of our Universities young Scholars use to be set ordinarily not without great botâ— reluctation and fear when they are to â—e examined publickly by all the masters anent their proficiency in learning