Of the nature, Divine original, and authority of Conscience.

ACTS xxiii. 1.
-Men and brethren, I have
lived in all good Confcience before
God, until this day.

T

HE eternal Source of Being, SERM.
having formed a perfect plan III.
and model of the universe in
his infinite all-comprehending
mind, has executed every part

of his vast design with a wonderful diver

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fity,

SERM. fity, and yet a general uniformity: The III. effects of his power, though various, are all determined and regulated in that way which is most agreeable to the refpective natures, and jointly confpire to the univer fal beauty and use. This fcheme, which infinite wisdom at firft contrived,and omnipotent Creation established, Providence still continues, and will pursue to its final completion.

EVERY fpecies of Beings appears to have been ordained to fome determinate end; and the neceffary means, for obtaining this end, are provided and fettled in their very constitution. Thus we fee, in the inanimate material World, what are called laws of Nature; or a fixed and certain courfe of effects neceffarily produced, under the direction and impreffions of the Divine power: And from thefe laws refult the harmony and order of the material fyftem, fplendor, propriety, elegance, and innumerable falutary and beneficial influences, which illuftriously display the immense skill, and goodnefs, and glory of the Creator, and contribute neceffarily to the fubfiftence, comfort, and happinefs, of Senfitive and Intelligent

creatures.

creatures. If we rife higher to Animals, SERM. we find them excited by fenfe and instinct to III. felf-preservation, the care of their

young, and the several different ufes, for which each distinct fpecies was intended. - But when we come to Rational Beings, the necessary determination ceases. The affections and appetites are no longer, in themselves, blind and uncontroulable. The law of their nature is a MORAL LAW. And to fecure the obfervation of this law, in which the true perfection and felicity of each individual, and the common good of the whole invariably confift, the great Author of their fuperior frame hath endued them with a faculty, that, in the moft effential and confiderable branches, eafily difcerns, and ftrongly dictates, right and wrong, and the difference of good and evil; and thus appears to have been defigned to be a light in their minds, an intimate and perpetual monitor; and by its approving, and condemning, which causes either ferenity and felf-enjoyment, or fhame, remorse, and terror, it appears likewife to be conftituted, in a great degree, the natural rewarder of virtue, and punisher of vice. E 4

THIS

SERM.

THIS faculty, this inward light, and III. judge, is diftinguish'd and known by the name of Confcience, whofe decifions, with refpect to the grand points of moral duty, are generally exact and impartial; and its voice, when it is truly natural Confcience, (i. e. a right-judging and uncorrupted Confcience) is the foft, but authoritative, voice of God. In difcourfing farther on this fubject, I fhall,

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FIRST, Inquire, more particularly, what we are to understand by the principle ftiled Confcience; what foundation it has in Nature; what is its office, its real authority, and use.

SECONDLY, What we must understand by a good Confcience.

THIRDLY, (Which is an inquiry that the cafe of St. Paul, who fpeaks in the text, plainly directs to) I fhall examine, how far anerroneous Confcience can deferve the character of being a good Confcience; and efpecially, where it excites mento immoral practices, and approves of flagrant injuftice and barbarity as grateful fervices to the God of truth and mercy.- These are all questions, upon which the integrity of our

minds, and the rectitude of our manners, SERM.
effentially depend. They relate to the im- III.
mediate rule of life and conduct. And,
therefore, the determining either of them
wrong must draw after it very hurtful and
pernicious confequences.

THE FIRST thing proposed was to inquire, more particularly, what we are to understand by the principle ftiled Confcience; what foundation it has in Nature, what is its office, its real authority, and use. Confcience is that principle in man, which judges of the morality of actions; that shews us the course we are to purfue, and the errors we are to avoid; that points out to us the laws of Nature, the laws of God, the diftinction of good and evil, and the most important and obvious lines of our duty in all circumstances; that reflects likewife, and passes fentence upon our conduct, and the principles and motives by which we are influenced; checks, admonishes, and upbraids, when we do amifs, but justifies and applauds, when we act conformably to the standard of right, and the obligations of virtue and rational piety. It is the fame principle that is ftiled in fcripture the Heart,

H