do so thunder out woes and curses against them, and so hurl about swords, firebrands, and death, that they dare not so much as once look within doors. But a Christian, whose conscience is clean and clear, finds it the best companion in the world: in his solitudes and retirements, with what delight doth he call his own heart aside! There he and his God, sweetly and peaceably confer together; and there pass mutual endearments and embraces: the soul embraces and clasps about God, with the arms of faith and dependance; and God embraces the soul, with the arms of his everlasting love. Here is mutual communication of secrets: the soul unlocks the secrets of its own conscience before God; and God, again, reveals the secrets of his own love to the soul. Here are mutual rejoicings: the soul rejoiceth in God, its Saviour; and God rejoiceth over the soul, to do it good. And, under these intercourses of love and favour, the soul is ready to faint away, and to dissolve with sweetness and delight. This is that continual feast, which a good conscience entertains a Christian with, where all is transacted with a noiseless mirth.

v. A Clear Conscience is THE BEST COMFORT AND SUPPORT, WHEN FEARS, AND TROUBLES, AND DANGers, are on eVERY SIDE.

It is a most blessed thing when trouble is without, to have peace within, in our own bosom; to be then at peace with God and ourselves. And therefore saith Christ, John xvi. 33. These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation. A Christian is a man made up of paradoxes: he is sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing: poor himself, and yet enriching many: he hath nothing, and yet possesseth all things: 2 Cor. vi. 10. And so, here, he hath tribulation in the world, and yet is at peace. When once that great and bloody quarrel between God and the soul, is taken up and compounded; when we are reconciled to God, and thereby our consciences become reconciled to us; all the enmity and persecutions of the world are but little pelting differences, which cannot disturb the solid and inviolate peace of a Christian. This is a peace, which as the friendship of the world cannot give, so neither can the enmity of the world take away. My peace I leave with you: my peace I give unto you. Let not your hearts be troubled. It is observable concerning Josiah, 2 Kings xxii. 20. that God promiseth him by the mouth of Huldah the prophetess, that he should be gathered into his grave in peace: and yet, in the very next chapter, v. 29. it is related, that he was

slain in the wars that he undertook against Pharaoh-Nechoh, King of Egypt: he was slain in war, and yet he died in peace: and no wonder; for whosoever dies in peace with God and his own conscience, dies peaceably, though he die in the midst of wars and tumults.

vi. A Clear Conscience AFFORDS SWEET AND UNSPEAKABLE COMFORT IN A DYING HOUR.

When all things must take their last leave of us, and we of them; when death sets all its terrors in array against us; oh what a blessed support will it then be to the departing soul, to be able to make its appeal, as Hezekiah did! Isa. xxxviii. 3, Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth, and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. Such a testimony, at such a time, is as much worth as heaven itself. This is to have heaven let down into us one hour, and to be ourselves taken up into heaven the next. Now, possibly, men may frolic away their days in sin and vanity, and live as though they should never give an account: but that day and hour are coming, wherein conscience will begin to open its eyes, when their friends stand ready about them to close up theirs: and then it will see those horrid shapes of death and hell and wrath eternal, which, while they were secure sinners, they never believed, and, now that they are awakened sinners, (and, alas! possibly too late awakened) they cannot escape. If, therefore, you would have peace and com, fort in death, be sure you cherish a good conscience in your life. You may now, indeed, bribe it to give in a false and flattering testimony; but, when eternity is in view, it will then speak truth. And, oh! thrice happy they, to whom a true conscience becomes then an excusing conscience.

And, so much, for the Third thing propounded, namely, of what concernment it is to labour, to keep consciences void of offence.

IV. The next thing propounded was, to give you some RULES and DIRECTIONS how you may get, and also how you may keep, clear and inoffensive consciences.

OBJECT. But you will say, "It is in vain to give rules for that, which is impossible to be done. Doth not the Wise Man challenge all the world upon this point, Prov. xx. 9? Who can

say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?"; Never did the raging sea cast up more mire and filth, than the heart of man doth; and, as soon may we empty the vast waters of the great deep, and scour the bottom of it from all its dirt and mud, as attempt to keep conscience clear, into which a sinful heart is continually emptying and pouring its filth and mire."

To this I ANSWER: were it impossible, yet there is no release to our obligation. We are commanded to be holy even as God is holy, whose infinite purity is such, as stains the heavens themselves, and puts the glorious angels out of countenance. This perfection is much more impossible for us, who are but lumps of dirt mingled and kneaded together with sin, than for a thick clod of earth to be as transparent as the sun that shines; but yet these excessive commands have a use in them, even to raise up our endeavours to a higher pitch and strain, than if we were commanded only somewhat that were within our own power; as he, that aims at a star, is like to shoot higher, than he, that aims only at a turf. Thus, though it were impossible to keep clean consciences, void of offence both toward God and toward men, according to the exactness of God's command; yet he, that is careful to avoid all pollutions, both of flesh and spirit, shall certainly have a much cleaner conscience by far, than he, that wallows in those sins. In a foul way it is perhaps impossible to keep ourselves from being bespattered with dirt; yet he, that walks warily and carefully, comes cleaner home, than he, that tumbles and rolls himself in it.

But yet this duty is not impossible. It is, indeed, difficult to keep a clear conscience; but, yet, it is a thing that is feasible.

i. And, IN GENERAL, there are Two ways to keep our consciences clear: either, by preserving them from being defiled; or, else, by cleansing them when they are defiled.

1. We may keep our Consciences clear, by preserving them from being defiled.

You will say, "How can this be? Is there any man living, says the Wise Man, that doeth good, and sinneth not? And doth not every sin leave behind it a spot and stain upon the face of conscience? How then can we keep them clear?"

I answer: Sins are of two sorts: there are sins, that are Crimes; and there are sins, that are but Faults. Crimes, I call

those sins, that are branded for infamous both by God and man; as murder, adultery, blasphemy, and the like, at which even natural conscience recoils; such carnal sins, as affright conscience, and make it look pale and ghastly: a Crime, I also call any sin, that is consubstantiated by an access of guilt, by the dreadful aggravations of being committed knowingly and wil fully. By Faults, I mean sins of daily infirmity and surreption; such, as do frequently surprize the best and holiest Christians; from which no man's piety nor watchfulness can secure him. Now, though we be overtaken with Faults, and every day and hour contract new and fresh guilt upon our consciences: yet we may have clear and good consciences, while we are careful to keep ourselves from Crimes; from all sins, that are so in their own nature by the horridness of the fact, and from all sins that are made so by greatening circumstances of being deliberate and wilful while we keep ourselves from these we have good `consciences, notwithstanding sins of ordinary weakness: that man hath a good conscience, who preserves himself from all infamous and gross sins, and from all other wilful and deliberate sins. Now this clearness of conscience is a thing possible to be attained: men may, with care and caution, keep themselves free from all self-condemning crimes; and may live so evenly, that, when their consciences are most peevish and touchy, yet they shall have nothing to accuse them of, but what is common to all men. Of such men as these, this we may affirm, that they have been able with joy to reflect back upon their past lives in a dying hour; who, possibly, never knew any other guilt by themselves, than what the sins of common and daily infirmity have exposed them unto. This it is, to keep good consciences. “We live well," says St. Austin, " if we live without crimes: to live without fault is impossible; and he, that thinks he doth it, keeps himself not from sin, but from pardon.”

2. Another way to keep our Consciences clear, is, by cleansing them when they are defiled.

He keeps his garments clean, who keeps himself from falling; and, in the next degree, he, who, being fallen, hastes to cleanse himself from his contracted filth. And thus, at least, we may keep our consciences clear, both from Crimes and from Faults also, while we labour to cleanse them from their defilements, and to rub out and wash away those spots with which at any time we are occasionally bespattered. There is a twofold blot, which sin leaves behind it: there is a blot of Discredit, and a blot of

Defilement. The former is indelibles as the scar remains, when the wound is healed; so this blot remains upon the soul, when the guilt of sin is removed: it is a Discredit to a malefactor, though pardoned, that ever he should do that which deserved death: and, so, it is a kind of blot upon a Christian's name for ever, to have committed those sins that have deserved eternal death, though, through the free mercy and unspeakable grace of God, he hath obtained the pardon of them. But, then, there is another blot, a blot of Defilement, that renders men loathsome and deformed in the eyes of God; and, thus, every sin that we commit leaves a blot and a stain upon the soul; a stain, that defaceth God's image, and that defiles our own consciences: and, when this stain and blot is cleansed, then are we said to have Clear Consciences, when we have taken off that blot and defilement that sin hath left, whereby we are rendered deformed in the sight of God, and whereby the image of God is defaced upon the soul.

Thus you see, in general, that there are two ways to keep a Clear Conscience; the one, by preventing its defilement, and the other, by cleansing it, when it is defiled.

ii. Now to help you, in both these cases, I shall lay down

SEVERAL PARTICULARS.

1. If you would have your Consciences clear, get them rightly informed.

How can conscience be clear, so long as the fogs and thick mists of ignorance and error possess it? Labour, therefore, to let spiritual light into it, that you may see how to cleanse it. It is as much vanity to go about to cleanse an ignorant conscience, as it is in vain to sweep a dark room. An ignorant, conscientious man, that knows not the limits of sin and duty, may, after a great deal of pother with his conscience, leave it much worse than he found it; and cast out jewels, instead of rubbish. Indeed, it is impossible for an ignorant man to have a good conscience, whether we respect Duty or Comfort: in point of Duty, I have shewed you formerly, that ignorance will make conscience unnecessarily scrupulous, or daringly presumptuous: neither can an ignorant conscience be good in respect of Comfort; because, through ignorance, conscience oftentimes quarrels at that, which is a true ground of rejoicing. Conscience is that glass, whereby we may view both ourselves and our actions: now as a glass, when falsely framed, represents a beautiful face monstrous and