The Soul's Preparation for Christ

First, labour to call in the help and assistance of conscience, that meditation may be more fruitful and powerful; conscience is a great commander, it is Gods vicegerent and chief officer, and God is the general overseer of all the affairs of the world, but conscience hath authority to execute Judgement according to the sentence God hath revealed, and hath a greater command with the heart, then bare meditation hath; understanding and reason are but the underlings of the will, & they are but servants & subjects to the will, and these only suggest and advise unto the will what is good, as a servant may suggest to his master what is good, and yet his master may take what he list, & refuse what he please in this kind. But conscience hath a greater command, Rom. 2.15. conscience is said to accuse or excuse a man, and conscience comes with a law and a command as the Apostle saith, 1. John 3.20. If our hearts condemn us; conscience makes the heart to yield. I comp••e it thus: look as it is happily with a man that is in debt, if a man have a writ out for him, he is not troubled greatly with that, he will not go to prison because of that, nay, though he show it him, yet he will not go, but if he brings the Sergeant •o arrest him, then he must go, and and then he must be imprisoned whether he will ⟨p. 124⟩or no: So it is here, meditation brings in the writ, and showeth a man his sins, layeth open all his duties neglected, so many hundred duties omitted, so many thousand sins committed, so many profanations of Sabbaths, so many oaths, so many blasphemies; but the soul saith, What is this to me? I have sinned, and others have sinned, and I shall do as well as others; but conscience is a Sergeant, and Sergeants do your office; these are your sins; and as you will answer it at the day of Judgement, take heed of those sins upon pain of everlasting ruin. When conscience begins thus to arrest a man, then the heart comes and gives way to the truth revealed, and conscience thus settles it upon the heart.

First, labour to call in the helpe and assistance of conscience, that meditation may be more fruitfull and powerfull; conscience is a great commander, it is Gods vicegerent and chiefe officer, and God is the general overseer of all the affaires of the world, but conscience hath authority to execute Judgement according to the sentence God hath revealed, and hath a greater command with the heart, then bare meditation hath; understanding and reason are but the underlings of the wil, & they are but servāts & subjects to the wil, and these only suggest and advise unto the will what is good, as a servant may suggest to his master what is good, and yet his master may take what he list, & refuse what he please in this kind. But conscience hath a greater command,