He who tries to quiet an awakened conscience is like the man who one night was unable to sleep because his faithful dog continued to bark under his window.  He went to the window and yelled at the dog for it to be quiet so that he might sleep, but the barking continued. After some time the man became angry, took a gun, and shot the dog in his anger.

The man ought to have known that the dog wanted to tell him that burglars were attempting to enter the house, and that the faithful dog was only trying to save his master’s life.  After the dog was dead and the man had fallen to sleep, the burglars entered the house, stole everything of value, and ended by killing the man himself.

The devil is trying to destroy many a sinner’s soul, the sinner’s conscience, like the faithful dog, gives the alarm, but the sinner cries to it: “Lie down”.  The quieting of an awakened conscience can only be rightly done by getting rid of sin, and to get rid of sin there is but one way, that is, to be washed in the blood of the Lamb.

Taken from The Friendly Companion