The Duty and Blessing of a Tender Conscience: Plainly Stated and Earnestly Recommended to All Who Regard Acceptance with God and the Prosperity of Their Souls with an Appendix of Several Sermons

by Timothy Cruso, Don Kistler (Contributor)

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The duty and blessing of a tender conscience plainly stated, and earnestly recommended to all that regard acceptance with God, and the prosperity of their souls / by T. Cruso.
Cruso, Timothy, 1656?-1697.
[8], 148 p.
London: Printed by J.R. for J. Salusbury, 1691.
Wing / C7437
English
Reproduction of the original in the Cambridge University Library

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Unknown Binding

Published May 1, 2020

About the author

Timothy Cruso (1657-1697) was a Presbyterian preacher in London in the late 17th century. As the preface to his Three Last Sermons says, he was "well known for his Eminency in Ministerial Abilities, and his great Faithfulness and Diligence in the Exercise of them,...He was as eyes to the blind, and by his diligence in the use of it, he consum'd himself (like a taper) by giving light to others..."

It's supposed that, as Cruso and Daniel Defoe were schoolmates, that Cruso leant his name to Defoe's famous novel Robinson Crusoe first published in 1719.

Although Cruso is best remembered for the Discourses Upon the Rich Man and Lazarus (1697), The Three Last Sermons (1698), and Twenty-Four Sermons (1699), his first few sermons were printed about the time of the Glorious Revolution and have some historical value:--

'The Mighty Wonders of a Merciful Providence. In a sermon preached on January 31, 1688-9, being the day of publick Thansgiving to God for the great deliverance of this kingdom by his Highness the Prince of Orange.'

'The Excellency of the Protestant Faith as to Its Objects and Supports, in a Sermon Preached November 5th, 1689.'

'The Churches Plea for the Divine Presence to Prosper Humane Force, in a Sermon Preached June 5, 1689, being the Day Appointed for a General Fast and to Implore the Blessing of Almighty God upon Their Majesties arms.'

Today all of his sermon pamphlets are exceedingly scarce. The British Library holds the most complete collection, followed by very few private collectors and institutions.

His funeral sermon was preached by Matthew Mead, published by the then well-known Presbyterian Thomas Parkhurst in 1698. One Joseph Stennett wrote 'A Poem to the Memory of the Late Timothy Cruso' which was published by Andrew Bell in 1697.

Reviews

[Raymond Benitez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here is a quick excerpt from this book that I found to be helpful; the author is listing The Evidences and Tokens of a Tender Conscience:

“A twelfth evidence is a very sober and temperate use of lawful things. It is fitting that our moderation should be known unto all men in our greatest visible abundance. They who go to their very utmost bounds are too likely to run beyond them; because then there is but a step between them and sin. If we always take as much freedom as we may, it is a thousand to one that we sometimes are transported to take something more. If we never deny ourselves in any measure of that which we might enjoy, we shall find it a harder province than otherwise it might be to keep ourselves unspotted from the world. Memorials of the mischief of abused prosperity should be with us to restrain and regulate our use of it. If there were that inscription over the table in every house of feasting ("When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless, and beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God" Deuteronomy 8:10-11), and if the guests were duly awed by it so as to feed with fear, there would not be so many filthy brutes oftentimes in the shape of reasonable men. Holy Job was suspicious of the miscarriage of his children at their merry entertainments, and therefore, when those festivals were gone about, he sent and sanctified them, and offered severally for them all; because (said he) "It may be that my sons have sinned" (Job 1:5). There is too great a probability of our exceeding in such cases, and consequently it is the more safe and prudent course (which every tender heart will choose rather to abridge ourselves of what we are permitted and allowed.”

I was hoping that this book would talk more about the conscience and what one should do if one feels it is overly sensitive but instead a “tender” conscience is actually something that he extols and argues that it finds favor before the Lord and one should seek to cultivate a sensitive frame according to His law. I often complain to myself of a conscience that is overly demanding but this book has admonished me and taught me to think differently instead of begrudge. Worthy read👍🏽