Andrew Jones

“ Now what conscience is, I shall briefly shew you, and so conclude. Conscience a thing with which God endued the soul of man by creation, and is for our comfort, if we live as we ought to do; but will be a dreadful terror to them that live and die in their sins. For this conscience was in Adam before the fall, though not as a condemner till his fall; for where there is no sin, what needeth an accuser? So long as Adam kept the commandments of God, there was no cause of conscience to condemn him. ”

“ O but now many wicked men are there now, whose consciences tell them over and over, again and again of their sins, and yet for all that they stop their ears against conscience? how many times doth the beastly drunkard’s conscience, the profane swearer’s, the Sabbath-breaker’s conscience, tell them of their sins; yet notwithstanding for all the checks of conscience, they will go on in their sins, and fill up the measures of their iniquities, and so make conscience, to fill up the black scroll of indictments against them, whereby they are all everlastingly condemned. ”

“ Companions in sin, shall be companions in hell, and those that can sport and play one with another, shall in hell drag and torment one another, and curse the day that ever they saw one another, and cry out to one another, O what miserable wretches were we! to lose the heaven of heavens for a little vain delight, the love and favour of God, for the love and favour of wicked companions, in whose presence we were more delighted, than in the everlasting love of God, whose pleasures are pleasures for evermore. ”

“ When conscience speaks threatening language, to many, for such and such sins, they seek to turn conscience out of doors. But because they cannot possibly do this, they strive to stop his mouth, by running wilfully into sins, like men that desperately give up their souls to the devil, and so make shipwreck of faith, conscience, soul and all for ever. ”

“ Who but an almighty God could out of nothing create all things; and being created, rule and govern all things? As David says; It is nothing but the almighty power and providence of God that bears up the earth, and upholds the foundations thereof. And this book even the Heathens, who know not God nor his word, who never heard of Jesus Christ, or salvation, are acquainted with: They, I say, by seeing and reading the mighty works of God in the world, confess and say, verily, there is a God, and none but God could create these glorious creatures, the sun, moon, and stars. ”

“ A truly tender conscience will be truly tender of commiting sin, and will have a circumspect care over himself how he walks and how he lives, that so the name of God and Christ be not blasphemed; ‘But, in these laft and worst of times, wherein men,’ as St. Paul saith, ‘make shipwreck of faith and a good conscience;’ Men have not minded this at all, but have taken full liberty to commit all manner of sins. ”

“ It was my conscience, say they. As many of our Roman Catholics, and diabolical Ranters, Quakers and notorious libertines, in these our days, have laid all their impieties and horrid blasphemies upon their consciences. Ask them but the reason why they deny Christ and the scriptures, and cast off the ordinances and ministry of Christ and live as they list, and refuse subjection to magistrates, and in their actions become worse than beasts; why they do hold such damnable and devilish opinions, both against God and Christ; yea against humanity itself? ”

“ What pity is it, that persons that bear the image of God, and are, as it were in outside glory and beauty, gods above others: What pity is it, that such beauty should come to be embraced by ugly lothsome devils in hell. Thousands there are that court and sport, pine and pant away their time whose end is to be burned, and shall at last perish in hell. ”

“ And this conscience keepeth his court in the heart, and there sits upon the life or the death of the soul; and according as he finds every man's work, so doth he pass sentence of condemnation or absolution, for there is no bribing of conscience. Conscience will speak the truth of every man’s ways before the Lord, be they good or be they evil: ‘If our heart condemn us,’ saith St. Paul, ‘God is greater than our hearts.’ That is our conscience. ”

“ Wo unto us! we have rewarded evil to our own souls, we are banished for ever from the presence of the Lord, and have utterly lost that inward peace of conscience, the want whereof, addeth torments to our torments, and maketh us in our miseries more exceedingly miserable. ”

“ AS there are several books of God, which he hath written for the good of all the children of men, so there are two special books, by which the Lord will proceed in judgement against all the sons and daughters of men. The books which God hath given to the children of men, for their use and comfort of salvation, are these, first and chiefly, the books of the Old and New Testament; wherein Jesus Christ, in all his offices, as Prophet, Priest and King, for to rule us and guide us, by his Spirit in our hearts, is made known and declared unto us. ”

“ O! if men would be but convicted in their consciences of the evil, of their ways, when their consciences tell them of it! How many thousands might be brought home by repentance to life eternal, who now run headlong to their destruction! I am persuaded that many who cozen and cheat by undermining and overselling, by using false and light weights and measures cannot chuse, but meet with many checks from their consciences. And O that men would be convinced of their great evil. ”

“ The sighs and groans of dying men are often very sad; but the sighs and groans of the damned in hell can never be imagined or expressed. O! consider this, ye that sin away conscience, that quaff and drink away conscience, accompanying one another in sin; take heed you be not one day to weep over one another’s backs in hell. Certainly whole coachfulls of gallants will be tumbled down to hell ”

“ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. Read these two texts, all ye that take liberty to sin, because the grace of God hath abounded.— How will ye be able to look God and conscience in the face: certainly you will never be able to do it, unless you repent; for if men will sin willingly, notwithstanding all these checks of conscience, their consciences will condemn them before the Lord. ”

“ Think upon this, O ye great ones of the world, who live in pleasure! remember that there is a conscience, and that there is a God, and that thou hast a precious and immortal soul; which if thy conscience, witness against, shall be thrown into hell. You that eat the fat and sweet of the earth, and drink wine in bowls, and clothe yourselves in silk, remember this, that conscience takes notice of all thy ways, of the pride of thy heart of the vanity of thy life, and setteth all down in his Black Book.’ You that, like the harlot, Prov. ”

“ He that will not endure conscience to reprove him for his sins, certainly loves to go to hell without controul; and he that will not endure conscience to tell him of his sins here, shall, whether he will or not, suffer sufficient torment for his sins here-after; for an evil conscience is an hell to the soul here, and shall be the hell of hells hereafter. ”

“ And this conscience is only in men and women; for brute beasts, wanting reason, are not capable of conscience, and the beasts when they die, there is an end of them. But, it is not so with man, for conscience in man, followeth the man farther than the grave. For, if men might bury their consciences with them in their graves, they might be happy not withstanding all their abuses of conscience! For man oftentimes, against all reason, enquiry, or conscience, doth worse than the worst of beasts. ”

“ The godly man shall be delivered from the snare of the fowler, and from the noise of the pestilence, and because he hath made the Lord his refuge, there shall no evil befal: So, he shall give his angels charge over him, to keep him in all his ways, ver. 10, 11. The joys that are prepared for the godly, and the torments that are appointed for the wicked, are likewise set forth there in the book of the scriptures ”

“ And God hath given this power to conscience, because men would have no plea or excuse before the Lord. It was not Pilate’s washing of his hands, and saying, ‘I am guiltless of the blood of this just man,’ that could wash away the guilt of Christ’s blood from his conscience;— Pilate’s conscience told him, that Christ was a just man, and that he saw no cause of death in him at all, Luke xxiii. ”

“ And I pray God that this sin be not charged upon those, who, instead of restraining men from sin, and punishing them for sin, have tolerated them in sin, if not countenanced them to sin. But let men take heed how they sin, because grace abounds: For, saith the apostle. ”