Book 1, Chapter 1: Confession and the Degrees of Goodness
Of the two first grounds of cases, confession, and the degrees of goodness.
The grounds or preambles are especially four. The first, touching confession. The second, touching the degrees of goodness in things and actions. The third, touching the degrees of sin. The fourth and last concerning the subjection and power of conscience. Of these in order.
Sect. 1.
The first ground is, that in the troubles of conscience, it is meet and convenient, there should always be used a private confession. For James says, Confesse your faults one to another, and pray one for another, thereby signifying that confession in this case, is to be used as a thing most requisite. For in all reason, the physician must first know the disease, before he can apply the remedy: and the grief of the heart will not be discerned, unless it be manifested by the confession of the party diseased; and for this cause also in the grief of conscience, the scruple, that is, the thing that troubles the conscience must be known.
Nevertheless in private confession, these caveats must be observed. First, it must not be urged, as a thing simply or absolutely necessary, without which there can be no salvation. Again, it is not fit that confession should be of all sins, but only of the scruple itself, that is, of that or those sins alone, which do trouble and molest the conscience. Thirdly, though confession may be made to any kind of men, (Confesse one to another, says James,) yet is it especially to be made to the prophets and ministers of the Gospel. For they in likelihood, of all other men, in respect of their places and gifts, are the fittest and best able to instruct, correct, comfort, and inform the weak and wounded conscience. Lastly, the person to whom it is made, must be a man of trust and fidelity, able and willing to keep secret things that are revealed, yes to bury them (as it were) in the grave of oblivion, for love covers a multitude of sins.
Sect. 2.
The next ground is touching the degrees of goodness in human things and actions. Goodness in things is twofold; uncreated and created. Uncreated is God himself, who never had beginning, and who is goodness itself, because his nature is absolutely and perfectly good, and because he is the author and worker thereof, in all things created. Created goodness, is that whereby the creature is made good; and it is nothing else, but the fruit of that goodness, that is essentially in God. Now the degrees thereof are these. There is a general or natural goodness in creatures, and a more special or moral goodness.
General goodness is that, whereby all creatures are accepted and approved of God, by whom they were both created and ordained. Thus every creature is good, partly by creation, and partly by ordination. By creation it is, that the substance of each creature, as of the sun, the moon, the earth, water, meat, drink, etc. is good, having the being thereof from God. Hence also the essential properties, quantities, qualities, motions, actions and inclinations of the creatures, in themselves considered, with all their events, are good. By the same general goodness also, even the Devil himself and his actions, as he is a substance, and as they are actions, having their being from God, are good. Things again do take to them the condition of goodness, not only by creation, but also by God's ordination, whereby they are directed and appointed, to some certain uses and ends. Thus the evil conscience, hell, and death are good, because they are ordained of God, for the execution of his justice, however in themselves and to us they be evil.
Besides this general and natural goodness, there is also a special or moral goodness properly so called: and it is that, which is agreeable to the eternal and unchangeable wisdom of God, revealed in the Moral Law, wherein it is commanded; and things as they are therein commanded to be done by God, are good morally. Now of actions morally good, there be two degrees: for they are either good in themselves alone, or good both in themselves, and in the doer. In themselves alone some things be morally good: for example, when a wicked man gives an alms, it is a good work only in itself, but not good in the doer, because it is not done in faith, and from a good conscience: and so are all the virtues of the heathen, morally good in themselves, but they are not good in heathen men: for in them they are but beautiful sins. The next degree of goodness is, whereby things and actions are both good in themselves, and in the doer also. Of this sort were the prayers and alms of Cornelius good in themselves, and in him also, because he was a believer.
Now opposite to things and actions morally good or evil, are actions and things of a middle nature, commonly termed indifferent, which in themselves being neither good nor evil, may be done or not done without sin; in themselves I say, for in their circumstances, they are and may be made either evil or good. And here we must remember, to put a difference between convenience, and inconvenience, which arises from the nature of indifferent things. Convenience is, when a thing or action is so fitted to the circumstances, and the circumstances fitted to it, that thereby it becomes a thing convenient. On the other side, inconvenience is, when the thing or action is done in unmeet circumstances, which bring some hurt or loss to the outward man, or stand not with decency: and therefore do make it to be inconvenient. And by this that has been said, we may discern, when an action is good, evil, indifferent, convenient, or inconvenient.
