according to their confcience. But this will appear to be a dangerous mistake, and of very pernicious confequence to the fouls of men, if we confider these twe things. 1. That men may be guilty of the most heinous fins in following an erroneous conscience. 2. And these fins may prove damnable without a particular repentance for them. Ift, That men may be guilty of the most heinous fins, in following an erroneous confcience. Men may neglect and abuse themselves fo far, as to do fome of the worst and wickedeft things in the world, with a perfuafion that they do well. Our Saviour tells his disciples, John xvi. 2. that the time fhould come when the Jews fhould put them to death, thinking they did God good fervice. Nay, the Jews murdered the Son of God himself through ignorance and a falfe perfuafion of mind: Father, forgive them, (fays our bleffed Lord, when he was breathing out his foul upon the crofs, Luke xxiii. 34.), for they know not what they do. And St. Peter, after he had charged the Jews with killing the prince of life, he presently adds, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did alfo your rulers, Acts iii. 17. And St. Paul, in mitigation of that great crime, fays, Had they known, they would not bave crucified the Lord of life and glory. And concerning himfelf, he tells us, Acts xxvi. 9. that he verily thought with himself, that he ought to do many things against the name of Jefus of Nazareth: and yet, notwithstanding that he acted herein according to the perfuafion of his confcience, he tells us, that he had been a blafphemer, and a perfecuter, and injurious, and a murderer, and, in a word, the greatest of finners. So that men may be guilty of the greatest fins in following an erroneous conIcience. And, 2dly, Thefe fins may prove damnable, without a particular repentance for them. Where the ignorance and mistake is not grofsly wilful, there God will accept of a general repentance; but where it is grofsly wilful, great fins committed upon it are not pardoned without a particular repentance for them. And an error which proceeds from want of ordinary human care, and due government of a man's felf, is in a great degree wilful :- as when when it proceeds from an unreasonable and obftinate prejudice, from great pride and felf-conceit, and contempt of counsel and instruction; or from a visible bias of selfintereft; or when it is accompanied with a furious paffion and zeal, prompting men to cruel and horrible things, contrary to the light of nature, and the common fenfe of humanity. An error proceeding from fuch causes, and producing fuch effects, is wilful in fo high a degree, that whatever evil is done in virtue of it, is almoft equally faulty with a direct and wilful violation of the law of God. : The ignorance and mistake doth indeed make the perfon fo mistaken more capable of forgivenefs; which is the ground of our Saviour's prayer for his murderers, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. St. Paul likewife tells us, that he found mercy upon this account: Nevertheless (fays he, 1 Tim. i. 13.) I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly, and in unbelief; that is, through a falfe perfuafion of mind, not believing it to be a fin and yet he did not obtain this mercy, without a particular conviction of his fault, and repentance for it. And St. Peter, after he had convinced the Jews of their great fin in crucifying Chrift, though they did it ignorantly, yet he exhorts them to a particular and deep repentance for it, as neceffary to the pardon and forgivenefs of it and therefore, after he had faid, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did alfo your rulers, he immediately adds, Acts iii. 19. Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your fins may be blotted out. So that it highly concerns men to confider what opinions they embrace in order to practice, and not to fuffer themselves to be hurried away by an unreasonable prejudice, and a heady paffion, without a due and calm examination of things; not to be overborne by pride, or humour, or partiality, or intereft, or by a furious and extravagant zeal; becaufe proportionably to the voluntarinefs of our error, will be the guilt of our practice pursuant to that error. Indeed where our error is involuntary, and morally invincible, God will confider it, and make allowance for it; but where it is voluntary, and occafioned by our own grofs faults and neglect. we are bound to consider, and rectify our mistake: for whatVOL. II. Ff ever ever we do contrary to the law of God and our duty, in virtue of that falfe perfuafion, we do it at our utmost peril, and must be anfwerable to God for it, notwithstanding we did it according to the dictate of our confcience. 3. A third rule is this, That in all doubts of confcience we endeavour to be equal and impartial, and do not lay all the weight of our doubts on one fide, when there is perhaps as much or greater reason of doubting on the other; and confequently, that we be as tractable, and eafy to receive fatisfaction of our doubts, in one kind as in another, and be equally contented to have them over-ruled in cafes that are equal; I mean, where our paffions and interests are not concerned, as well as where they are. And if we do not do this, it is a sign that we are partial in our pretences of confcience; and that we do not aim merely at the peace and fatisfaction of our own minds, but have fome other interest and defign. For it is a very fufpicious thing, when mens doubts and fcruples bear all on one fide; efpecially if it be on that fide which is against charity, and peace, and obedience to government, whether ecclefiaftical or civil : in this cafe I think, that a mere doubt, and much more a fcruple, may, nay, ought in reafon to be over-ruled by the command of authority, by the opinion and judgment of wife and good men, and in confideration of the publick peace, and of the unity and edification of the church. Not that a man is in any cafe to go against the clear perfuafion and conviction of his own mind: but when there is only a mere doubt concerning the lawfulness or unlawfulness of a thing, it feems to me in that cafe very reasonable, that a man fhould fuffer. a mere doubt or fcruple to be over-ruled by any of thofe weighty confiderations which I have mentioned before. 4. The fourth rule is, That all pretences of confcience are vehemently to be fufpected, which are accompanied with turbulent paffion and a furious zeal. It is an hundred to one but fuch a man's confcience is in the wrong. It is an excellent faying of St. James, chap. i. 20. The wrath of man worketh not the righteoufnefs of God, that is, the fierce paffions of men are no proper inftruments to promote religion, and to accom plish any thing that is good. And therefore, if any man be tranfported with a wild zeal, and pretend confcience for his fury, it is great odds but he is in an error. None are fo likely to judge amifs, as they whofe minds are clouded and blinded by their paffions. Nubila mens eft, Boeth. And if men would carefully obferve themselves, they might almost certainly know when they act upon reafon, and a true principle of confcience. A good confcience is eafy to itself, and pleafed with its own doings; but when a man's paffion and difcontent are a weight upon his judgment, and do as it were bear down his confcience to a compliance, no wonder if this puts a man's mind into a very unnatural and uneafy state. There can hardly be a broader fign that a man is in the wrong, than to rage and be confident; because this plainly fhews, that the man's confcience is not fettled upon clear reafon, but that he hath brought over his confcience to his intereft, or to his humour and dif content. And though fuch a man may be fo far blinded by his paffion, as not to fee what is right; yet methinks he Thould feel himself to be in the wrong, by his being fo very hot and impatient. Art thou fure thou art in the right? thou art a happy man, and haft reafon to be pleased: what cause then, what need is there of being angry? Hath a man reason on his fide? what would he have more? why then does he fly out into paffion? which as it gives no strength to a bad argument, fo I could never yet fee that it was any grace and advantage to a good one. Of the great evil and the perpetual mistake of this furious kind of zeal, the Jews are a lively and a lamentable example, in their carriage towards our bleffed Saviour and his Apostles; and more particularly St. Paul, when he perfecuted the Chriftians from a falfe and erroneous perfuafion of his confcience. Hear how St. Paul defcribes himself and his own doings whilst he was acted by an erroneous confcience: Acts xxii. 4. I perfecuted (lays he) this way unto the death, binding and delivering into Ff2 prifons Ser. 38. prifons both men and women; and, in another chapter, Acts xxvi. 9. I verily thought with myself, that Lought to do many things against the name of Jefus of Nazareth. Here was his erroneous confcience. Let us next fee what were the unhappy concomitants and effects of it: y 10. 11. Which things (fay he) I also did in Jerufalem : and many of the faints 1 Jbut up in prifon; and when they were put to death I gave my voice against them, and punished them oft in every fynagogue, and compelled them to blafpheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I perfecuted them even to strange cities. When confcience tranfports men with fuch a furious zeal and paffion, it is hardly ever in the right; or, if it fhould happen to be fo, they who are thus tranfported, by their ungracious way of maintaining the truth, and their ill management of a good caufe, have found out a cunning way to be in the wrong, even when they are in the right. 5. All pretences of confcience are likewife to be fufpected, which are not accompanied with modefty and humility, and a teachable temper and difpofition, willing to learn and to be better informed. A proud and conceited temper of mind is very likely to run into mistakes; becaufe pride, and fulness of a man's felf, does keep out knowledge, and obftructs all the paffages by which wifdom and inftruction fhould enter into men. Befides that it provokes God to abandon men to their own follies and mistakes: for God refifteth the proud; but the meek will be guide in judgment, and will give more grace and wifdom to the humble. When men are once come to this, to think themselves wifer than their teachers, and to defpife and caft off their guides, no wonder if then they go aftray. 6. Laftly, Let us be fure to mind that which is our plain and unquestionable duty, the great things of religion, wherein the life and substance of it doth consist; and the things likewife which make for peace, and whereby we may edify one another; and let us not fuffer our disputes about leffer matters to prejudice and hinder our main duty: but let it be our great care, not to fail in thofe greater things, which are comprehended under the two great commandments of the law, the love of God, and of our neighbour. Let us be ftrict and constant in our pi ety |