a disturbed conscience
Another quote from Robert Traill, from p84-85 of the Banner of Truth edition of his works. This time he's basically talking about the cure for a guilty conscience.
The sin is committed, the guilt is contracted, the conscience is defiled, the defilement is seen, disturbance and trouble is felt in the conscience; what should such a sin-sick soul do? Will anyone say to him, Wash thyself where thou canst, and cast away the burden of thy sin the best way thou canst, and then come to the throne of grace? This would be strange gospel indeed.
We know no other course a person should take in this case, but coming to the throne of grace, to have the conscience sprinkled with the blood of Christ, the only cordial for a disturbed conscience, and the only purger of a defiled conscience.
Therefore Peter was quite out in his prayer; he prayed backward, when he said, 'Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.' ... He would have said better if he had prayed, 'Lord, come near to me, and abide with me, and let me always abide with thee, for I am a sinful man. Where better for a sinner to be, than with the Saviour of sinners?' But Peter's prayer is the natural prayer of every one that seeth his sinfulness, and is ignorant of Jesus Christ. The publican understood prayer and plied it better, when he said, 'God be merciful to me a sinner.' 'I feel my sinfulness, I see thy mercy, Lord, let them meet; thy mercy shall be glorified, and I shall be saved.'
Whoever therefore are distressed with the guilt of sin in their consciences, or with the power of it in their hearts and lives, must seek all their relief at this throne of grace. It is only the power of the grace whichis revealed and dispensed at this throne of grace, that is too hard for sin and all its powers.
In other words, a guilty conscience should have the effect of sending a person to the Saviour, to get the reason for their guilt dealt with. Nobody needs to struggle on through life with a nagging conscience, as if they were consigned to do nothing but add to the reasons for their conscience to be disturbed. There is an alternative, in the gospel, and it's summed up in the prayer which Robert Traill quotes: God be merciful to me a sinner. Couldn't that be the first step to a person getting rid of their guilty conscience?
The sin is committed, the guilt is contracted, the conscience is defiled, the defilement is seen, disturbance and trouble is felt in the conscience; what should such a sin-sick soul do? Will anyone say to him, Wash thyself where thou canst, and cast away the burden of thy sin the best way thou canst, and then come to the throne of grace? This would be strange gospel indeed.
We know no other course a person should take in this case, but coming to the throne of grace, to have the conscience sprinkled with the blood of Christ, the only cordial for a disturbed conscience, and the only purger of a defiled conscience.
Therefore Peter was quite out in his prayer; he prayed backward, when he said, 'Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.' ... He would have said better if he had prayed, 'Lord, come near to me, and abide with me, and let me always abide with thee, for I am a sinful man. Where better for a sinner to be, than with the Saviour of sinners?' But Peter's prayer is the natural prayer of every one that seeth his sinfulness, and is ignorant of Jesus Christ. The publican understood prayer and plied it better, when he said, 'God be merciful to me a sinner.' 'I feel my sinfulness, I see thy mercy, Lord, let them meet; thy mercy shall be glorified, and I shall be saved.'
Whoever therefore are distressed with the guilt of sin in their consciences, or with the power of it in their hearts and lives, must seek all their relief at this throne of grace. It is only the power of the grace whichis revealed and dispensed at this throne of grace, that is too hard for sin and all its powers.
In other words, a guilty conscience should have the effect of sending a person to the Saviour, to get the reason for their guilt dealt with. Nobody needs to struggle on through life with a nagging conscience, as if they were consigned to do nothing but add to the reasons for their conscience to be disturbed. There is an alternative, in the gospel, and it's summed up in the prayer which Robert Traill quotes: God be merciful to me a sinner. Couldn't that be the first step to a person getting rid of their guilty conscience?
posted by cath at
8:53 pm
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