'Voices From The Past' Vol. 1 — May 31

The little spark of conscience left after the sin of Adam is suffocated through a daily custom of sinning; its eyes are pecked out, its mouth stopped, and the very heart of it wounded and quenched. The conscience is an inbred faculty, a noble and divine power, planted of God in the soul. It is a judge: determining, absolving, and condemning. It is a recorder and a testifying witness. In the will and affections, it is jailer and executioner, punishing and rewarding. My conscience bids me, forbids me, smites me, checks me, and comforts or torments me. God has given it force and power. It is God's spy in our bosoms, a most exact notary of whatever we think or do. It is God's lieutenant and principal commander. There is no getting away from it. There is greatness and sovereignty in it. A good conscience comes by Christ's blood. If it rages as the sea, Christ calms it. In Christ there is no condemnation. Do you desire to maintain a good conscience? A good conscience extends itself to all areas, without a breach in one commandment. It extends to great and small duties as well. Most of all, it strains at gross sins, yet it does not swallow gnats. A good conscience not only avoids scandalous blemishes and stains, but blushes at the very appearances of evil. It does not just seek a safe conscience, but an excellent one. It desires not just the lawful, but the honourable. The conscience views each day as the brief of a man's whole life. It is bounded by night and the morning, as with birth and death, and seeks to not let slip one day's watch to have lived by a good conscience. The conscience is a vessel that needs to be kept pure and clean every day. We must daily seek to wash and keep it pure.

Devotional Readings taken from Puritan Devotional Readings 'Voices From The Past Vol.1.'
Samuel Ward, Sermons, pp. 94-112
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