XVI. SERM. here present, to set upon this great work in good earnest; I heartily wish they did so upon all, that all who have heard them would now "work out their Salvation with fear and trembling;" and if there be any, as I fear there are, who have not yet resolved upon it, I desire you further to consider: : 1. Consider, this is the most profitable work you can ever do; whatsoever ye do besides will turn to little or no account at last by your moiling and toiling about other things, you may perhaps, and but perhaps, get something considerable in the eye of the world, but ye must ere long leave it, and leave it to such as will never thank you for it, nor be ever the better, but the worse for having it; you yourselves, be sure, will have nothing of it, but eternal grief and torment in your minds, for having taken so much care and pains for nothing, for worse than nothing, for Hell and Damnation. Whereas, by "working out" your "Salvation," you may obtain all the good things that you can possibly desire, whatsoever can any way contribute to your being perfectly and eternally happy, to your living in ease and plenty for ever. 2. Consider, as this is the greatest good that ye can ever attain to, so it is the hardest matter that can be to attain it; there is a great deal of "work" to be done, before ye can "work out your Salvation," and therefore ye had need be always at it. Praying and hearing now and then, which is all that most men do, will never do the business; but ye must exercise yourselves continually both in those and all other means that conduce to it, or else you will never be able to accomplish it. And "whatsoever ye do, ye must do it with all your might," as for your life; for your life, your eternal life, depends upon it. And it is well, if after all, ye can attain to it; for ye will meet with a great many difficulties in it: which howsoever should not discourage, but rather make you more active and diligent, as knowing that Heaven will make amends for all. 3. Consider, how hard soever it may be, it is possible for every one of us to "work out our Salvation," for many have done it already. There are many "glorified saints" at this time in Heaven, who once were sinful mortals upon earth, as we now are. But when they were here, they could do this 4. Especially considering, that we have the power of Almighty God Himself always ready to assist us in it. His "Grace" is always sufficient for us, "His strength" is made [2 Cor. 12. "perfect" in our weakness. It is He who "worketh in us both to will and to do:" and what may we not do by Him, who can do all things by Himself? 9.] Let us therefore now resolve, by God's assistance to do this work, this great work, and do it thoroughly. Let others "labour," if they please, "for the meat that perish- [John 6. eth," let us make it the chief study and business of our lives 27.] to" work out our Salvation with fear and trembling." Let us leave no stone unturned, neglect no duty, no opportunity, no means that may help us in it: still keeping our eye fixed upon the Eternal God our Saviour, trusting and depending upon Him alone, to direct, assist, and carry us through the whole work, so as to bring us at last to live for ever with Him, who "ever liveth" and reigneth with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God blessed for ever. SERMON XVII. THE CONSCIENCE VOID OF OFFENCE. SERM. ACTS xxiv. 16. And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a Conscience void of offence, toward God and toward men. HAPPY is the man that can repeat these words after St. Paul, and say them as truly as he did: happier than any one else can imagine, or he himself perhaps at present may perceive. Be sure none can taste the sweetness, nor feel the pleasures of a "good conscience," but only they that have it they can tell you, that it is the only joy and comfort of their lives; and if they had it not, they should think it worth their while to give all they have in the world for it, and reckon it the best bargain they ever made: and therefore having once got it, they do all they can to keep it; it is their constant care and study, it is their daily, their continual exercise, as we see here in the Apostle, who exercised himself always to keep his "conscience void of offence." And so must all they do, who desire either to get it, or not to lose the best jewel they can ever have, a "conscience void of offence," a clear and a "good conscience," such a one as the Apostle here speaks of; they must employ and exercise themselves continually about it, as he did, otherwise they are never likely to have it, as he had. It is easy enough, I confess, to talk much of "conscience," to plead and argue for it, and to pretend highly to it, as many do, who nevertheless know nothing of it; for they that make the greatest noise about it, have commonly the least cause to do so, unless it be to make others believe that of them, which they themselves know to be false. But for any man : to keep his "conscience" always pure and " void of offence," is certainly one of the hardest matters in the world, by reason of our fall in Adam; whereby our whole man is disordered and out of tune, and that part especially that we call "conscience;" for that also, as the Apostle saith, is "de- Tit. 1. 15. filed." It is so horribly corrupted, that it very rarely executeth any part of its office aright: it is often fast asleep, and takes no notice at all of what a man doth, or doth not; and if it happen to be roused up and awakened, it often rages and grows furious, driving him headlong into horror and despair it commonly excuseth where it ought to condemn, or else condemns where it ought to excuse us it is very gentle and indifferent in the most important affairs: but in things of lesser moment, or of real indifferency, it frets and fumes, and so makes men mighty serious in trifling, but very trifling in the most serious things. Indeed the heart, or "conscience," of man is "deceitful above all [Jer. 17.9.] things;" there is no trusting to it, without extraordinary care and circumspection; which all must use who desire to keep themselves within the compass of their duty, and so their "consciences void of offence towards God and towards men." Hence it is that the great Apostle himself, notwithstanding his extraordinary parts and endowments, notwithstanding his extraordinary gifts and graces, notwithstanding the extraordinary assistances and influences of the Holy Ghost continually accompanying of him, yet he himself was forced to take so much pains with himself, as to make it his continual exercise to keep his "conscience" right; and if we would attain the same end, we must also use the same means as he did, by making it our continual exercise and employment. And verily, it is a great comfort and encouragement to us, that though it be difficult, it is not impossible to keep our "consciences" always in order: for we see that others have done it, and particularly St. Paul; for that he did it, we have not only his own word, but the testimony of the Holy Spirit of God Himself, by which he spake when he said, "Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience Acts 23. 1. before God until this day." And again in my text, "Herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of XVII. SERM. offence toward God and toward men." And why may not you and I do so, as well as he? We have the same obligations upon us to do it, we have the same means of grace, we have the same Spirit to assist us in the use of those means, and we have the same Saviour to intercede for God's acceptance of what we do, as he had: why then should not we keep Our "consciences void of offence," as he did? Certainly if we do not, the fault is wholly our own; for we may do it, if we will but set about it, as he did, in good earnest. Which therefore, that all here present may for the future do, I shall endeavour to give you the best instructions and directions about it, that I can, from these words: and for that purpose shall consider, I. What we are to understand by conscience, and what by a "conscience void of offence." II. How our consciences may be always void of offence toward God and men. III. What great reason we have to keep them always so. As for the first, that which we call "conscience," the Holy Ghost all along in the Old Testament calls the "heart;" as [Ex. 7. 14; where it is said, "that Pharoah's heart was hardened," "David's heart smote him," &c. And somet mes in the New; as where St. John saith, " If our heart condemn us," or "condemn us not." Which I therefore observe, because it will save us the labour of consulting the schoolmen and other learned writers, concerning the nature and seat of the "conscience," what it is, and where seated, whether in the understanding, or will, or both, or neither, but is a distinct power or faculty of itself? All which are needless questions; for "conscience" is a thing that is better understood by sense and experience, than by any definition or description that can be given of it. If a man doth but turn his eyes inward, and look into his own breast, he may there see and perceive something, as it were, putting him in mind of what he should, or should not do; and afterwards" excusing," or "accusing" him for doing or not doing of it; which is nothing else but his own mind or heart, as sensible of the difference between good and evil, and then reflecting accordingly upon what he doth, whether it agree with that sense he had of it, or no. If he doth that which he is sen |