ace is no peace, let be perfect peace. A man's greatest enemy is within
his own house. And within indeed, when it is in his bosom and soul, when a
man's conscience is against him, it is worse than a world beside.
_Conscientia mille testes_,(293) so I say, it is _mille hostes_. It is "a
thousand witnesses," and "a thousand enemies." It were better to endure
condemnation of any judge, of many judges in the world, than to sustain
the conviction of a man's own conscience, when it accuseth, who shall
excuse? John viii. 9, Rom. ii. 15. "A merry spirit," saith Solomon, "is a
continual feast," Prov. xv. 15. And what must a heart be, which hath such
a gnawing worm within it, as an accusing conscience, to eat it out? This
is the worm of hell that dies not out, which makes hell hell indeed. This
indeed will be a painful consumption, "A broken spirit drieth up the
bones," it will eat up the marrow of the spirit and body, Prov. xvii. 22.
What infirmity is there which a man cannot bear? Poverty, famine, war,
pestilence, sickness, name what you will, but a wounded spirit who can
bear? Prov. xviii. 14. And there is reason for it, for there is none to
bear it, a sound and whole spirit can sustain infirmities, but when that
is wounded, which should bear all the rest, what is behind to bear it? It
is a burden to itself. If a man have trouble and war in this world, yet
there is often escaping from it, a man may fly from his enemy, but when
thy enemy is within thee, whither shalt thou fly? Thou canst not go from
thyself, thou carriest about thee thy enemy, thy tormentor.

But suppose a man were at peace within himself, and cried peace, peace, to
himself, yet if he be not at peace with God, shall his peace be called
peace? Shall it not rather be named supine security? If a man be at
variance with himself, and his soul disquieted within, there is more fear
than danger if he be at peace with God. It is but a false alarm, that
shall end well, but if he have peace in his own bosom, and yet no
agreement with God, then destructions are certainly coming, his dream of
peace will have a terrible wakening. A man may sleep soundly, and his
enemies round about him, because he knoweth not of it, but he is in a
worse estate than he that is in great fear, and his enemies either none,
or far distant. The one hath present danger, and no fear, the other
present fear, and no danger, and which of these think ye best? Sudden
destruction awakes the one from sleep,