A treatise on comforting afflicted consciences - The Digital Puritan

';AFFLICTED CONSCIENCES. 95most eminent hearers ; though he stood now before them inbonds at their mercy. He shrewdly galls the conscience ofthat great man, by opposing righteousness to his bribingcruelties, temperance to his adulterous impurities, the dreadfulnessof judgment to come to his insolent lawless outragesand desperate security. Had Paul endeavoured to havesatisfied their curiosities, as many a tempoiizing preacherwould have done very industriously, and to entertain thetime with a general discourse of the wonderful birth, life,and death of Jesus Christ, now so much talked of abroadin the world, with a pleasing discovery only of the manymercies, pardons, and glorious things purchased to the sonsof men by his bloodshed : not meddling at all with theirbeloved delights of filthy lust and other sins ; oh, then theyhad listened unto him with much acceptation and delightall things had been carried fair and favourably ; Paul hadnot been interrupted and so suddenly silent ; nor Felix sofrighted and distempered. But this man of God knew fullwell that that was not the way ; neither best for them, norfor his Master's honour, nor for the comfort of his own conscience; and therefore he takes a course to cause the tyrantto tremble, that thereby he might either be fitted for Christ,which was best of all, or at least made inexcusable ; buthowsoever, that in so doing his duty might be dischargedand his soul delivered ; holding it far better that his bodyshould be in bonds than his soul guilty of blood.Orthodox antiquity was of the same mind, and for thesame method.Austin, that famous disputer in his time, counselleth tothis purpose in this point* ^I express the sense and sum,and no more than may be collected and concluded from theplace. 1 will never confine myself grammatically and pedanticallyto the words precisely, and render verbatim, saveonly in some cases, as of controversy, or some other suchlikenecessity of more punctual quotation). " The conscienceis not to be healed if it be not wounded. Thou preachestand pressest the law, comminations, the judgment to come,and that with much earnestness and importunity. He whohears, if he be not terrified, if he be not troubled, is not tobe comforted. Another hears, is stirred, is stung, grievesextremely: cure his contritions; because he is cast downand confounded in himself.""After that John Baptist," saith Chrysostomt, "hadthoroughly frighted the minds of his hearers with the terrorof judgment and expectation of torment ; and with the name* On Psalm lix.t On Malt, iii, Honi. 11.