A Practical Discourse OF Confession of Sins TO GOD As a Means of Pardon and Cleansing By JOHN WADE Minister of Hammersmith LONDON Printed for Iohn Salusbury at the Rising-Sun in Cornhil 1697. To His Grace WILLIAM Duke of BEDFORD My Lord THE kind Entertainment your Grace was pleased to afford to a former Discourse of mine Of the Redemption of Time and Your declared Approbation of it together with the obliging Expressions of Your Favour to it's unworthy Author embolden and encourage me not only to present this small Treatise to Your Grace's Hands but to make a publick Dedication of it to You. The Subject is of daily Use for we are taught by our Lord to pray daily for the Pardon of Sin This is * Heb. 8.12 One of the great Mercies of the Covenant of Grace and an eminent Branch of †Psalm 32.1 2. Blessedness This Tract shews the Way and Means how to partake of this Blessedness and how to obtain Cleansing from Sin as well as Forgiveness of it And fitly serves for the Healing and Recovering of relapsed Souls and tends to the promoting of true Repentance and Holiness and real Reformation of Heart and Life Your noted Sense of Religion and Favour to Goodness and good Men will dispose Your Grace to relish my plain and practical handling of it more than if it were embellish'd and embroidered with Gaiety of Language which would be apt to fix it in the Fancy and hinder it's Passage to the Heart as Painting of Glass hinders the Light Blessed be God that Greatness and Goodness are so happily conjoined in Your Grace Go on my Lord by Your wonted Piety and Prudence Fidelity and Integrity to live and act so as to be more and more beloved by God employed by your Prince and valued by all good Men. That God would command a Blessing upon Your nearest and dearest Relations and all the Branches of Your Honourable and Noble Family That your Days may still be prolonged to serve your Generation according to the Will of God and to perfect a rare Exemplar and finish a fair Copy of Vertue and Goodness to be left and transmitted that God may be glorified and others excited and provoked to a zealous Imitation of Your Laudable Life adorned with worthy and excellent Actions That You may continue to shine as a bright Light in this lower World and when You shall be translated hence to a higher Region and Heavenly Mansion may shine as a Star in the Kingdom of your Father for ever is his most hearty Desire and Prayer who is My LORD Your Grace's in all humble Observance John Wade THE CONTENTS OF THE Several CHAPTERS in the following Discourse CHAP. I. THE Introduction p. 1. The Division of the Words p. 3 4 5. The Doctrine and the Method for the handling of it p. 6. A Description of Confession given containing the Parts and Properties of Confession p. 6 7. CHAP. II. Of Self-Accusation p. 8. Of the Limitation of the Object The Sinner accuseth himself and none but himself not God nor the Devil nor Ungodly Men p. 9. to 19. CHAP. III. Of the Manner of Self-Accusation 1. He accuseth himself of particular Sins p. 20. Especially of his particular Sin p. 26. He acknowledgeth unknown sins in a general and implicit Confession p. 30. 31. CHAP. IV. Of Self-Accusation by Aggravation of Sin p. 33. Confession cannot be full p. 34. And there can be no thorow Humiliation without it p. 35. Several Heads of Aggravation propounded p. 38. One notable way of Aggravation commended which is To take those very things which are too commonly made Excuses and to turn them into so many Aggravations p. 45. How to Aggravate our sins from the Littleness p. 46. Commonness of them p. 47. Our Ignorance in sinning p. 47 48. Temptations to sin p. 49. And our sinful Nature p. 51. A notable instance of Aggravation of sin shewn in St. Austin p. 55. to 58. CHAP. V. Of Self-Condemnation p. 60. It does not at all consist in any willingness to go to Hell or contentedness to be Damn'd but only in a serious acknowledging our selves worthy of Hell and Damnation for our sins p. 64. Two Marks whereby we may judge of our Self-judging 1. We shall humbly submit to any present punishment p. 68. 2. Be willing to bear any further punishment here in this World p. 71. Particularizing and Aggravation have some place in Self-Condemning p. 72. CHAP. VI. The first Property of true Confession it is free and voluntary p. 75 to 81. CHAP. VII The second Property It is made with Hatred of p. 84. Shame p. 86. And Sorrow for our Sins p. 90. These holy Affections must be laid out more upon our Sin than any Punishment p. 91. And must bear some Proportion to the sins confess'd p. 94. The Penitent Sinner does often outwardly express his inward Affection by Weeping p. 95. Weeping is no infallible Sign of an Heart truly sensible of Sin p. 97. But not Weeping in some cases may well be suspected for a bad Sign p. 98. CHAP. VIII The third Property It is made with a full Resolution against our sins p. 101. The Hypocrite is Self-confident in his Vows p. 103. But the humble Confessor is distrustful of himself in his Resolves and seeks to God for strength and power to act his Purposes and perform his Vows p. 105 106. CHAP. IX The fourth Property It is made 1. with an earnest Desire of Mercy p. 108. 2. With some good Hope in Divine Mercy p. 115. The necessity of Faith and Hope here because that unbelieving despairing Thoughts do 1. Greatly dishonour God p. 120. 2. Extreamly deaden and straiten our own Hearts in Confession p. 121. A necessary Caution to join all these Properties of Confession in PracticalVse together p. 123. CHAP. X. The Reasons of Confession p. 125. Two false Grounds rejected We must never confess our sins with any intention thereby to give God Information p. 126. Or make him Satisfaction p. 127. An Objection answered p. 128 129. CHAP. XI Ten positive Grounds 1. God expresly commands it p. 131. 2. Is greatly glorified and justified by it p. 131 132. 3. 'T is a thing in it self most reasonable p. 133. 4. Confession of Sin is indispensably necessary to Remission of Sin p. 134. How it 's unbeseeming the Majesty p. 135. The Justice p. 137. The Mercy p. 138. The Wisdom and Holiness of God p. 138 139. For God to forgive the Sinner before and without Confession 5. Confession is a proper Act of Mortification p. 140. 6. It testifies unto God And evidences unto our selves the Sincerity of our Repentance p. 141. And gives us good assurance that we are in a fair way of Recovery p. 142. 7. It eases our troubled Spirits c. p. 143. 8. It were unreasonable Folly in us to go about to hide any sins from God p. 145. And the wisest way to conceal them from others is to discover them to God p.
is convinc'd he has wrong'd God and is sorry for the Wrong he has done him and would fain be Friends with him Let 's bring our Selves to the Test here Let us try our Sincerity by this very Mark. We can go in Secret to commit Sin but do we get into Secret to confess it We can be vile and wicked in private but can we be penitent in private too Do we know what belongs to secret Confession I 'm afraid the most of us are practically ignorant of this Duty But if we can enter into our Closet and when we have shut the Door be free with our Father in Secret This is likely to be an Argument and Testimony of our Sincerity So much for your Direction concerning the Place where you should confess CHAP. XVII Further Directions respecting and ordering our Carriage and Behaviour after the Duty 1. Hast thou confess'd Then bless God who has enabled thee to confess 2 Hast thou confess'd and so perform'd the Condition Then apply the Promise to thy self and make good Vse of it in time of Temptation 3. Hast thou confess'd Then daily plead the Promise with God and carefully look after the Performance of it 4. Hast thou confess'd and found and felt the Benefit of it Why then give God the Praise that is due to him 5. Hast thou confess'd thy sins Then take great heed of falling into sin after Confession And here 1. Take heed of falling wilfully into any sin after Confession 2. Beware especially that you fall not wilfully into the same particular sins you have confess'd For 1. There is great danger of it Danger 1. To the formal Confessor in four respects 2. Danger too to the Penitent Confessor 1. From Satan 2. The greatest danger from our own Corruption 2. There is great Evil and Folly in it great Guilt and Danger by reason of it For 1. falling into sin after Confession does exceedingly aggravate the sin Sin after Confession a great sin in three respects 2. As this is a great sin so it brings along with it great Punishment both internal and external Punishments 3. Sinning wilfully after Confession will make you Self-condemn'd when God punisheth you 4. 'T will break our present Peace and dash our Hopes of future and further Comfort 5. Thou wilt thus cut out for thy self new Work and make the Severities of a New Repentance necessary 6. Falling into sin after Confession will make us the more unapt and unable to rise again and recover out of it it will strengthen Sin and weaken Grace in us 7. 'T will very much dishearten us when we would beg Pardon of our sin and hugely discourage us when we would renew our Resolution against it 8. 'T will make God loth ever to take your Word again and will render him harder to Pardon you upon a new Confession I Shall in the last place direct you in your Carriage and Behaviour after the Duty And here I shall commend to you these following Directions 1. Hast thou confess'd Then Bless God who has enabled thee to confess who has put it into thy Heart to confess And tho' thou art not yet sensible of the Receipt of Pardon yet look upon it as a Sign and Token that God intends more good to thee in that he has inclined and enabled thee to confess 2. Hast thou confess'd and so perform'd the Condition Then apply the Promise to thy self and make good use of it in time of Temptation 1. Lay hold upon the Promise look upon the Promise as belonging to thee in particular reckon thy self really and truly interested in it and be bold to challenge a part and share in it as well as any one else 2. And further Make good use of it in time of Temptation If thou hast been truly sorrowful for thy sins and hast heartily confess'd them to God why then when Satan vexes and molests thy Conscience by laying the Law to thee it will be profitable and comfortable to oppose Satan to answer him and reply upon him as * Luther loc com de Paver Conse in Tentat p. 130 131 3. Clas Luther Counsels excellently and to say thus to him True I have done thus and thus but what 's that to thee Satan I a'n't thy Sinner What power then hast thou over me If I have sinn'd I han't sinn'd against thee I han't sinn'd against any Man against any Angel but only against my God have I sinn'd who is Merciful and Long-suffering Here 's enough indeed to answer all the Devils in Hell withal If the Devil object thy unworthiness to thee tell him That God does not Pardon any because they are Worthy or Deserving but because he himself is Faithful and Just If Satan tempt thee to distrust here take the course that †Lâ—â— â—itat p. 131. Luther advises to Say Tho' I am unworthy to receive so great a benefit yet God is not unworthy to be believ'd that he will Pardon sin as he has promised in his Word 3. Hast thou confess'd Then daily plead the Promise with God and carefully look after the Performance of it When Guilt affrights thee and Filth troubles thee then plead God's Promise with him Say with David * Psal 2.3 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity and cleanse me from my sin for I acknowledge my transgressions and my sin is ever before me Lord I confess do thou pardon do thou purge me Take away all iniquity Create in me a clean Heart O God Extend thy Grace and Mercy fulfil thy Word and make good thy Promise to me Plead hard the Gospel-Promise and diligently look after the Performance of it * Ps 85.8 Hear what God the Lord will speak for he will speak peace unto his people and to his Saints Say with the Church †Mic. 7.7 I will look unto the Lord I will wait for the God of my salvation my God will hear me Expect from God the making good of his Word Non-expectation argues great Carelesness and Vnbelief 4. Hast thou confess'd and after Confession found and felt that God has forgiven thee thy sins and in some measure cleans'd thee from thy unrighteousness Why then give God the Praise that is due to him break into Thanksgiving with holy David and take up his Doxology Say * Ps 1â—3 1 2 3. Bless the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me bless his holy name Bless the Lord O my Soul and forget not all his benefits who forgiveth all thine iniquities who healeth all thy diseases †Luk. 17.15 12. With the good Leper in the Gospel when thou seest that thou art heal'd turn back and with a loud voice glorifie God and fall down at his feet giving him thanks 5. Hast thou confess'd thy sins Then take great heed of falling into Sin after Confession all is lost without observation of this Direction If thou hast the true Spirit of Confession of Sin it will rest upon thee and abide in thee
from the Temptations of the Devil or any else yet they have that within their own Breasts would quickly hurry them on to sin without a Tempter This alas they don't lament they 'll bewail before God how they 're subject unto and compass'd about with divers temptations which even Christ himself was who yet was without sin If any will call this lying fair for temptation an Infelicity yet who can say it is a Sin Thus in effect and if we search it to the bottom we shall find it to be so they sondly and foolishly Charge even God himself with their sins who suffers them to be tempted and accuse the Devil that tempts them much rather than themselves But now the truly penitent Confessor he lays not his sin upon other Men he lays it not upon Satan but wholly upon himself It s said that Satan provoked David to number the People and yet you find David's heart smote himself sor't which was a tacit Confession of the sin and shewed that he was far enough from Charging Satan with 't his Heart 's smiting him was a secret and silent acknowledgment that it was the Lust the Pride of his own Heart that let in and gave entrance and admission to Satan's Temptation See the 1 Chron. 21. 1. v. you read there how Satan stood up against Israel and provoked David to number Israel but David tho' probably he might be sensible of his temptation yet he makes not the Devil to bear the burden of his sin he doesn't so much as mention or nominate the temptation to make his sin seem the less odious to God or heinous to himself no he plainly confessâ—s this sin he expresly owns it and derives all the guilt of it on himself in the 8 v. of this 21 of the 1 Chron. and in the 10 v. of the 24 of the 2 Sam. where you have the same Story set down and recorded It 's said there that David's heart smote him after that he had numbred the people and David said unto God I have sinned greatly because I have done this thing but now I beseech thee O Lord do away the iniquity of thy servant for I have done very foolishly And again in the 17 of the 21 c. of the Chron And David said unto God Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbred Even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed He seems here as it were wholly to quit the Devil and to lay the Action only against himself The Penitent Sinner in his Confession is loth to set any thing at all but abhors to set too much on the Devil's Score or on bad Men's he rather frees them and takes all to himself He says not by way of excuse or exoneration of himself I was tempted by Satan seduced by evil Men and who can be too hard for such subtile Enemies who can withstand such strong solicitations Ah Lord Satan that Arch-Enemy of Mankind or such and such insinuating bad Company have undone me no but he easily resolves his sins into no other Original than his own Lusts Lord says he my destruction is wholly from my self even I my self who am my own Grand Enemy have utterly undone my self I was assaulted by many Enemies but it was one only that overcame me my own Flesh The Fort of my Soul was storm'd indeed but there was a close Enemy within that yielded it up and betrayed it it had never been taken else I might have attended to the Divine Monitions when I chose rather to hearken to the Devil's suggestions I must confess I have not shunn'd occasions of evil I have run unwarily into temptation when I have been tempted I have not striven against the temptation when I have been assaulted I have not with the ravished Virgin under the Law so much as cried out that I might be innocent I must acknowledge I might have call'd to Heaven for help I might have resisted temptations to sin 't was my own fault to swallow the Bait that was set before me I was tempted indeed but it was to that which I was of my self naturally addicted and inclinable unto and ready to run into without a temptation Lord I was tempted but I was glad of the temptation I was tempted to that my very Soul delighted in I was tempted but how readily did I clâ—se with and give way to the temptation How presently did I join and comply with the Devil (b) Videre â—â—arres 〈…〉 non virâ—it nisi vâ—â—◠〈◊〉 Bernard whom had I resisted he would have flown from me I was tempted by Satan but * 4 Jam. 7. 1 Jam. 14. enticed by my own deceitful Heart and drawn away of my own ungovernable and unruly Luâ—â—s and Corruptions My secret â—ust was the Satan within me the Fâ—ve in my Bosom that has tâ—mpted and undone me The proneness and propeâ—sity to Evil which I bear about wâ—th me and carry in within me more occasion'd my sinning against thee than did the temptations of the Devil or the sedâ—ctions of wicked and ungodly Men. Thus he accuses himself so as that he accures â—o one eâ—se even so as that he lâ—ves himself quite without excusâ— reserving nothing at all to say for himself notâ—â—ing all to plead in his own behâ—lf nothing to mitigate alleviate and exteaâ—are his sin and trespass Thus mâ—chasâ—r the first thig namely the â—umitation or resâ—ri tion of the Objâ—ct in Conseâ—â—tional Self Aâ—cusation The inner châ—â—â—s 〈◊〉 with his sins himself 〈◊〉 CHAP. III. Of the Manner of Self-Accusation and 1. of particularizing of Sin He that confesses aright accuseth himself of particular sins and especially chargeth himself with his particular sin He acknowledgeth unknown sins in a general and implicit Confesion THE other thing we propounded to speak of touching Self-Accusation was the Manner of it which I told you was double and that it was made 1. by Particularizing 2. by Aggravating of those sins which we know we stand guilty of before God 1. He that confesses aright charges himself with his sins as particularly as he can Confession of sin made in general terms only either through a Man's ignorance or gross forgetfulness of his sins or with an intention to hide and conceal them such a general Confession is a sinful Confession indeed The sincere Confessor contents not himself with meer Generals but descends to Particulars And truly should he not do this he would even do just nothing Pray do but a little examine a General Confession search it a while but to the bottom and see but thorowly what is in 't once and then make the best you can of it you 'll be forc'd to tell me it 's a very poor empty formal thing such as perhaps some carnal hypocrite may put off his Conscience for a time with but yet such as an infinitely offended provoked God will never be put off with I 'll briefly shew you the vanity of it Suppose a Man to use no other than
Why rather aggravate thy sins from the Commonness of them Say Lord this sin of mine was a common sin which therefore I should have hated and detested shunn'd and avoided but so vile and sinful a wretch was I that even in those things wherein all the prophane World rise up in Arms against God I desperately joined with them and sided with thy Common Enemy against thee Further yet 3. Is' t usual with Men and has it been so with any one of us to make our Ignorance in any degree a Cloak for our sins and to think that God would hold us guiltless because of our Ignorance Why let such an one now confess his sins to be so much the greater by how much his Ignorance was the grosser And certainly such Men as openly or secretly excuse their sins with their Ignorance are always a great cause of their own Ignorance and therefore have good reason to aggravate their sins from their Ignorance in sinning Let such an one therefore go to God on his knees and take such Words with him as these Lord I have committed my sins in Ignorance but has not most of my Ignorance been wilful and affected I have done many things ignorantly indeed but the fault was my own had I not been wanting to my self I might have had much more Knowledge than I have Had I had but a Will to seek the Truth how easily might I have got the Skill to find it But I would not take pains enough I would not do my best endeavours to be inform'd in my Duty I was ignorant but I * At first Man lost his Innocence only in hope to get a little Knowledge and ever since theâ— lest Knowledge should discover his Error and make him 〈◊〉 to Innocence we are content to part with that row and to know â—â—â—ing that may discover or discountenance our sins We call our selves Christians and love to be ignorant of many of the Laws of Christ lâ—st our Knowledge should foâ—â—e us into shame or into the troubles of a â—oly Life Bp. â—ayloâ— â— Serm. of the deceitf of the Heart p. 95. 97. voluntarily continued in my ignorance I was loth to get out of it I nuzzled my self in it I resolv'd to be ignorant that so I might sin the more freely I thought with my self If I knew this and that more distinctly then I should be bound in Conscience to act more strictly my ignorance greatly proceeded from the very intention of my corrupt Will which was so fully bent and set upon sinning that I was well content to suffer the want of Knowledge and to undergo the damage of Ignorance thereby to procure and enjoy a fancied liberty of sinning without guiltiness I 'm deeply guilty of my own ignorance and consequently wretchedly guilty of all those sins unto which my voluntary chosen delightful ignorance has betrayed me Again 4. Is temptation to sin a common and frequent excuse of the sin in the Mouths of Sinners And has this excuse sometimes lodged in thy Heart if not proceeded out of thy Mouth Hast thou with others excus'd thy sins because thou wast tempted to sin Why now rather aggravate thy sins even from thy being tempted to them Say Lord I was tempted to sin but was I not a Cause as well of the Temptation as of the Sin Did I not many times bring temptations upon my self Did I not * Qui silâ—â—tpâ—s occasiones quaerunt pâ—ecandi eleganter dicâ—ntur suscitare Diabolum See Caryl on Job 3. S. p. 374. 40. raise up the Devil by my earnest and busie seeking occasions of sin Did not I put Satan often upon tempting me Was it not the Tinder within me which Satan knew was so apt and more apt at some times than others to take fire that made him so ready upon occasion to Strike fire Was it not this naughty base corrupt treacherous deceitful yielding Heart of mine that not only tempted me but ev'n tempted and invited the Devil to tempt me Did I not hearten and encourage yea even provoke him to tempt me by giving him fair hopes of prevailing upon me Surely I had not been tempted to this or that particular sin had not it been for such and such a particular Lust in me which he could so fitly and seasonably sort and suit and apply his temptation unto Certainly I had not been tempted so often had I not been tempted so easily my f rmer yielding upon so light and easie temptations animated and emboldned him to set new and greater temptations on soot as well as with the same again and again to assault me 5. And lastly Is it the currant excuse of the World the plea of course And has it at any time been thy excuse and plea Alas it is my Nature to do thus and thus Hast thou ever thought that this did much diminish and take a great deal off from the guilt of thy sin Why rather now confess it is thy Nature thereby to add the greater weight unto thy sins aggravate thy sins even from hence because it is thy Nature Say O Lord this is my Nature I am not only guilty of single acts of sin but I have a natural inclination an habitual disposition to every sin I have a sinful nature which has more fundamental foulness in it than all the actual sins which arise from it a Nature which virtually contains the grossest abominablest sins in the World I carry within me a very Sink and Sodom of sin I have within me the Spring and Fountain the Root and Seeds and Spawn of all the sins that ever I have committed or possibly can be committed It 's my Nature to do thus and thus and it 's a wonder I have done no worse This is my Nature and therefore that my Actions in this kind are no worse than they are I cannot in reason thank my self for it who am prone and apt of my self to sin in the highest degree My Heart by Nature is an evil Treasure of Anger and that my rash Anger did not some time or other proceed to revengeful Murder My Heart by Nature is an evil Treasure of Lust and that my base filthy Lust never broke out in Adultery Incest Sodomy I 'm naturally given and addicted to idle Words and that my vain and idle speaking never grew to Swearing Cursing and Blaspheming it is not by reason of my better Nature The Lord knows I should be as wicked a Wretch as lives had I the like bodily Complexion and Constitution the like Temptations the like Opportunities to commit wickednesses which others have and did not the Soveraign Grace of God daily hinder and prevent me with-hold and restrain me By Nature I 'm as very a Tiger as very a Lion as very a Wolf as any is in the World and that I am not as outragious as others I humbly acknowledge it is because I am tied in or chain'd up by Providence or because my evil Nature is corrected by Common or
chang'd and renew'd by Regenerating Sanctifying Grace I naturally want the glorious holy Image of God as much as any other and am by Nature habitually converted to the Creature as much as any other I have Originally the same Root of bitterness in my self that the vilest Sinner alive has * Prov. 27.19 As in water face answereth to face so does the heart of man to man I may clearly see in any other Man's Heart the compleat Image deformities uncleanness of my own I have the same corrupt poisonous hellish Nature with others and I should have shewn and discover'd it long before now in the most horrid cursed monstrous effects of it had God but suffer'd and permitted me had the Lord but left me unto my self My Heart is naturally full as fruitful in Evil as any Man's and that I proceed not to the same compass and excess of Riot with the most dissolute desperate Sinners I cannot attribute ascribe or impute it to my self or any pureness and uprightness in my nature but especially to the rich and free Grace of Christ and his Spirit which has made me in any measure to differ from the very worst of Men. Lord this and that is my Nature and therefore I commit it so often therefore I act it with so much greediness pleasure and delight therefore I am naturally never weary of doing it no more than the stream grows weary of running or than the Sun grows tired in it's Natural motion Lord this is my very Nature I was born with it and I shall never get clean rid of it as long as I live I brought my sin along with me into the World and it will never quite leave me till I leave the World It is my Nature and therefore it adheres therefore it cleaves and sticks fast to me like Ivy to the Wall or as blackness to the Skin of an Aethiopian therefore it is ever present with me and dwelling in me This Leprosie won't cease till the House with the Stones and Timber and Mortar be broken down this natural corruption won't wholly out of me until my Tabernacle be dissolv'd Holy David would by no means omit this so weighty aggravation of his sins in his solemn Confession them he would be sure to rise thus high in the exaggeration of them Behold says he I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me Psal 51.5 He amplifies his sins from the very Original of them namely his natural sin wherein he was conceiv'd and born as if he should have said Lord this is not the first time that I have been a Murderer an Adulterer I have had it in my Nature from the very Womb I am by Nature a lump of sin and corruption a mass of all filthiness and uncleanness And lest it might be thought that he did cunningly alledge it to lessen his sin he immediately adds Thou desirest Truth no such deceitful Cloaking Thus have I given you some general Heads of Aggravation which if we be not wanting to our selves in the particular due application of them I 'm sure we may make a very good and profitable use of I shall not go about to instance in any particular sins and lay you down the various aggravations of them particular sins are most capable of receiving aggravation from those who are themselves personally guilty of them and so must needs bo most privy to and best acquainted with the several heightning Accidents and Circumstances of their own sins This Work therefore being sittest to be done by your selves and indeed impossible to be done so well by me I leave it to you to be Conscientiously discharged and performed by you Yet I shall set before you an excellent Pattern and Example for your imitation in this kind Take Example from that Holy Man St. Austin whom I find in the second Book of his Confessions making it his business in two or three Chapters at least fully and largely to aggravate his sin of Robbing an Orchard when he was a Boy He brings in great store of Aggravations of that sin which many would have been too apt to laugh over when they thought of it and ready enough to make but a Jest of when they told it but look * Cap. 4. Sect. 1. what plenty of aggravating Circumstances he finds in this his sin upon his sober penitential review of it 1. Says he I stole not for Need I robbed not the Orchard for want of Fruit I could have enough of that at any time to serve my turn but I did it because I was full of Wickedness and ready to do whatever was naught 2. The Apples I took were not fair and sightly nor well-relish'd they were neither pleasant to look upon nor to tast of and yet so wicked was I I would not forbear them 3. It was at a very unseasonable time of Night when we should have been in our Beds we cared not to lose our sleep to do an ill-turn 4. We did this after we had spent a good part of the day in unhappy and unlucky Sports 5. We were not content with a few but we took away as great loads as ever we could make shift to carry 6. We took all this pains for them not to feast our selves with them but to throw them to the Hogs when we had done Ibid. 7. * Cap. 9. Sect. 2. We did not do 't out of Revenge or because we owed the Owner a spight but it was our Pastime to do Mischief another Man's Loss was our Jest another Man's Hurt was our Sport 8. Lastly says he After all we made our selves huge Merry to think how prettily we had deceiv'd those who we were sure had a better Opinion of us than in the least to suspect us or to think we would offer to do such a thing Ib. Sect 1. And when he has thus amplified his sin he at length seriously considers what 's the very Root and Ground of all and in the end of the fourth Chapter pathetically breaks forth thus Ah Lord What an Heart have I what a Nature have I that I could commit this sin and wickedness without any temptation but from my own Corruption If every one of us now would but set our selves seriously and impartially to examin the evil Circumstances of our sins we should quickly see how that the least sin we put into Act comes sorth Twiâ—s and would we but pick and chuse and single out some notable remarkable sins of our Lives and in this manner with this holy Man faithfully and carefully Dissect and Anatomize them we should ev'n be amaz'd to behold how many sins one gross sin contains ev'n as one Flower many Leaves and one Pomegranate many Kernels And thus we should lay a sound and solid Foundation of deep and unfeigned Humiliation before God in our solemn Confessions of our sins to him And thus I have done with the first Act of Confession to wit Self-Accusation and with the double
â—â—sâ—â—fied * Imâ— eâ—tia est compaâ—â—â—o 〈…〉 The meaniâ—g â—â— â—â—e was â—ustifâ—d 〈◊〉 rather than the other 18 Luk. 14. And such too was the earnest desire of the good Thief upon the Cross it was put up in Faith and Hâ—pe for we find it was well aâ—â—epted and he had no sooner said Lord remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdom but Christ returned him this answer Verily I say unto thee to day shalt thou be with me in Paradise 23 Luk. 42.43 Many are the Scripture-Examples of the Penitent Sinner's believing and hoping in Confession that 's a famous one of holy humble Sheâ—chaniah Ezra 10.2 We have trespassed against our God says he and have taken strange wives of the people of the land yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing hope of God's Mercy in pardoning this sin Look how David puts his confidence in God for the pardon of the sin he confâ—sses Deliver me says he from blood-guiltiness O God thou God of my salvation Psal 51.14 he calls God the God of his Salvation still tho' he had committed so great a sin See with what a believing heart holy Daniel confesses Dan. 9.9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses though we have rebelled against him And v. 19. O Lord hear says he O Lord forgive O Lord hearken and do defer not for thine own sake O my God The reiteration and repetition of his request argues the earnestness and eagerness of his desire and his calling God his God shews and declares his Faith and Hope So the Prodigal in the Gospel owns his Relation notwithstanding his Transgression and is bold to call him Father whom he has offended Father I have sinn'd says he Luk. 15.21 True Confession is made in Faith and Hope He that confesses aright speaks not the Language of Cain he dares not say with him Gen. 4.13 Mine iniquity is greater than can he forgiven but he takes heart to take up those words of David For thy mames sake O Lord pardon mine iniquity for it is great Psal 25.11 He does not with * Mat. 27.4 5. Judas acknowledge he has sinned and presently go and make away himself by Despair and so damn himself indeed for fear God should damn him He rather cries out with * Job 7. â— Job I have sinned I have sinned what shall I do unto thee O thou preserver O thou preserver and nor O thou destroyer of Men He flies for refuge from God's absolute strict Justice to the Throne of his free Grace and rich Mercy in Jesus Christ and cries out with David â— 130.3 4. If thou Lord shouldest mark iniquity O Lord who shall stand but there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared The poor Penitent comes not before God as a guilty Felon before a rigid severe Judge who is fully perswaded that if he confesses all he shall be hang'd and die for 't but as a faulty Son comes before a mild and indulgent Father or as the diseased Patient goes to the skilful pitiful Physician who by opening his Distempers to him looks to get health and cure from him The true Confessor looks not upon God as his Enemy as one that bears no good will to him that seeks all advantages against him and won't be reconciled to him for then he could never hope in him indeed We at once both fear and hate the implacable and inexorable so far are we from trusting and confiding in them but he lays aside all hard thoughts and takes up a good opinion of God he looks upon God as one that is good and ready to forgive and plenteous in Mercy as David describes him Ps 86. 5. he conceives of him as one that is more Merciful than he is Sinful He duly considers the goodness and graciousness of God's Nature as the Scripture represents it to him and also the freeness and fulness of Divine Promises made in the Gospel unto Penitent Sinners for the sake and merits of Jesus Christ He makes not half-representations of God to himself he looks not upon God as All Justice but fixeth one Eye upon his Mercy and Goodness as well as the other upon his Righteousness and Justice and therefore he bears up his spirit cheerfully and comes off comfortably in Confession He that truly confesses he ever confesses with some good hope in Divine Mercy And truly there can be no sound and good Confession without some degree of Faith and Hope and that will appear upon this twofold Account because that unbelieving despairing Thoughts do 1. Greatly dishonour God 2. Extreamly deaden and straiten our own Hearts in Confession 1. Unbelieving despairing Thoughts in Confession do greatly dishonour and disparage God He that confesses without Faith and Hopes does God more wrong than right in Confession for tho' he may seem to glorify God's Justice by acknowledging his Offence yet by despairing of Pardon he derogates from his Grace and is injurious to his Mercy To run into Despair says * Loc. commun collect a Fabricio p. 143. 3 Classis Luther this is to take away God's Divinity from him which he chiefly shews forth in his Mercy To play the Cain or the Judas to despair of God's Mercy in Confession it is in effect even to ungod God it is to rob him of and deny him the Glory of that Attribute which he himself most glories in and would always be most known by among the Children of Men it is to make that God cruel who ever delighted in shewing Mercy it is in deed and truth covertly to strike at the life of God for secretly to conclude that God is unmerciful what is it less than violently to rend away his very Heart and Bowels We find the tender Mercies and Compassions of God * Isai 63.15 Luk. 1.78 so called in Scripture 2. There can be no sound and good Confession without some degree of Faith and Hope because unbelieving despairing misdoubting Thoughts do extreamly straiten and deaden our own Hearts in Confession Diffidence and distrust of Pardon and Forgiveness does not only disparage and discredit God but also exceedingly damps flats contracts and binds up our own Spirits in Confession it makes us have no mind to the Duty and causes us to be unfaithful in the Duty we can't come to God as we ought and be as free with him as we should except we think we shall speed well with him He that desponds in Confession can't so freely unbosom himself nor so fully lay open his whole Heart to God The only seasonable powerful inducement to an open universal acknowledgment of Sin is a present strong apprehension and conceit of Mercy Men are backward and loth to make a thorow Confession of their Sins because they secretly doubt of the free Pardon of all Whereas the Sinner that entertains good hopes of Mercy can easily find in his Heart plainly to declare unto God the very worst he knows by himself without
Paul's cleansing from all filthiness both of flesh and spirit 2 Cor. 7.1 It is a purgation from all moral impurity Further by cleansing you are not only to understand the working out of Sin but the giving in of Grace too God will not only free you from pollution and defilement natural and contracted but he will also inwardly beautifie and adorn you he will not only sweep the dirt out of the House but he will also richly furnish it The Father of the returning Prodigal did not only cause his Son's Rags to be taken off Luke 15.22 but commanded his Servants to bring forth the best Robe and to put it on him and to put a Ring on his Hand and Shoes on his Feet If you return and confess your Faults to your heavenly Father he 'll cause you to put off the old Man which is corrupt according to the deceitful Lusts and presently to put on the new Man which after God is created in Righteousness and true Holiness You shall be comely through his comeliness put upon you He will stamp his own Image impress his own Likeness upon you He 'll give you a real Resemblance of himself in his Attributes in his Affections He 'll make you loving patient merciful faithful as he himself is and cause you to love what he himself loves to hate what he hates to delight in what he delights He will effect and work in you all possible amiable Correspondencies to the Divine Perfections He 'll make you conformable to his most pure and holy Nature which is our great Exemplar and perfect Pattern of Spiritual Purity and to his holy and good Law which is not only the Rule but the very * The filthiness of Sin is a privation of the beauty which the Image of God brought into the Soul with it A deformity to the Holiness and Brightness of the Law The Law was both Holy and Good not only the Rule but the Beauty of our Life and Nature so that as evil is a declination and swerving from the Law as a Rule so it is sin and as it is a swerving from the Law as our Beauty so it is the stain and pollution of the Soul Bp. Reynolds of the Sinfulness of Sin p. 171. fol. Beauty of our Life and Nature The cleansing here it is the changing of the whole Man from Sin to Grace from vicious Habits to holy Customs and vertuous Dispositions it denotes not only a lessening of the habits of Sin but a causing a positive growth in Grace and Righteousness Now this God will work for him and in him that confesses aright God giveth Grace unto the humble Jam. 4.6 We read Luke 17.14 that when Christ bid the ten Lepers go shew themselves unto the Priests It came to pass that as they went they were cleansed If we have it but in our Hearts unfeignedly to confess God will presently send his Holy Spirit into our Hearts and will effectually make clean our Hearts within us he will sprinkle clean Water upon us and we shall be clean he 'll purge the Augean Stable of our impure Souls which has not been made clean for many Years together He 'll cleanse and purifie every part of us he 'll wash not our Feet only as Christ did of Peter's Body but also our Hands and our Heads and our Hearts too He 'll * 1 Thess 5.23 sanctifie us wholly and preserve our whole Spirit and Soul and Body blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ * Eph. 5.26 27. He 'll sanctifie and cleanse us by his Word and Spirit that we may be presented glorious not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing but that we may be holy and without blemish If we confess our Sins to God he 'll Spiritually cleanse us cleanse us from Vnrighteousness yea more than so he 'll thorowly cleanse us cleanse us from all Vnrighteousness †Vid. Calvinum in loc Estium in Text. in v. 7. He 'll presently cleanse us from all kinds of Unrighteousness and at last he will compleatly cleanse us from every degree from all the Reliques of Unrighteousness This Consideration should powerfully induce us to confess and acknowledge our sins because then God will not only forgive but cleanse us And truly this Benefit is nothing inferior to the former but it may be some of us had rather be without it and would more prize and value the first alone I 'm afraid some of us without all respect to the Word or Promises of God would have Pardon from him without Grace and Forgiveness of sin without Purgation from sin It may be some of us are so deeply in love with our Lusts that we had rather put God's Mercy to the venture than receive and admit his Grace into our Hearts rather still keep our Guilt than not keep our Sin but know that whenever you refuse internal Grace you are cruel to your own Souls and forsake your own Mercies for Purity is the lovely resemblance the beautiful Image of God a real participation of the Divine Nature the greatest Perfection of our own Nature and a main part of our Happiness Sanctity and Holiness qualifies us for Heaven and makes us meet to be partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in light * Heb. 12.14 Without holiness no man shall see the Lord. Cleansing is as necessary to Salvation as forgiving If I wash thee not said Christ to Peter if I purifie not thy Affections which is meant and signified by my washing of thy feet thou hast no part with me thou canst receive no benefit from me Now whoever thou be'st that art thorowly convinc'd of sin and so art desirous of Purity as well as Pardon of freedom from Filth as well as from Guilt thou see'st here the ready way to obtain it is to go to God in Confession If any won't freely and fully confess God will in Judgment pronounce concerning him when shall He that is unjust let him be unjust still and he which is filthy let him be filthy still Confess and bewail thy filthiness that thou may'st be purged and cleansed from it and not suffer'd to lie and die in it * Isa 6.5 As the Prophet cried Woe is me I am undone because I am a man of unclean Lips So do thou say Wo is me I am undone because I am a Man of an unclean Heart of an unclean Life and therefore unfit to stand before a holy holy holy God unfit to see and enjoy him and draw nigh to him If thou would'st be cleans'd thou must * Levit. 13.45 cry out with the Leper in the Law Vnclean Vnclean and †Mat. 8.2 with the Leper in the Gospel too Lord if thou wilt thou canst make me clean thou canst heal and dry up the Fountain of leprosie in my heart thou canst prepare new Jordans of Grace beyond all the Rivers of Damascus in the World thou canst bathe and wash me in a
mine iniquities and sins make me to know my transgression and my sin to know it in the Kind in the Nature in the Effects and issues of it to know it so as to be sufficiently sensible of the great Evil and Danger of it Go to God for a sight of your sins when you go about to confess them * Prov. 16.1 The preparations of the heart in man are from the Lord. So much for your Direction before Confession Give your self to Meditation in order to Confession and look up unto God for Conviction CHAP. XVI Directions given concerning some Circumstances of the very Performance of this Duty 1. Concerning the Time and Season of Confession 1. Confess continually 2. Confess daily The Equity and Advantage of so doing 3. And more particularly Confess whenever you lye under any notable Conviction 4. Confess whenever you lye under any notable Affliction 5. Confess presently upon the Commission of any great sin 6. Confess presently upon the Receipt of any great Mercy 2. Concerning the Place where we should confess Let 's especially confess our sins in secret and that for a threefold Reason 1. Because private Confession is plainly necessary 2. 'T is very convenient There is a double Advantage in it 3. The most Secret is likely to be the most Sincere Confession I Shall in the second place direct you concerning some Circumstances of the very performance of this Duty And first Concerning the Time when 2. Concerning the Place where we should confess 1. Concerning the Time and Season of Confession take these Directions 1. Confess continually As the Apostle says * 1 Thes 5.17 Pray without ceasing So say I Confess without ceasing Be always in a confessing frame and temper Frequently send up Ejaculatory Confessions to the Throne of Grace Continually walk humbly with thy God under a deep sence of thy own vileness sinfulness and unworthiness 2. Confess daily This is a Debt that every day grows due to God Thou art a daily Sinner and if every day thou findest time to sin O be sure you spare time to confess your sin We daily add sin unto sin and therefore let 's daily add sorrow to sorrow and renew our Confession as we renew our Transgression Let 's pitch upon some set and stated Times for the daily solemn sisting of our selves before God and the making a faithful acknowledgment of our sins to him Under the Law there was appointed both * Exod. 20.39 a Morning and an Evening-Sacrifice every Day of which the Hebrew Doctors say The continual Sacrifice of the Morning made atonement for the iniquities that were done in the Night and the Evening Sacrifice made atonement for the iniquities that were by Day This daily double Sacrifice and Service is a good Pattern for double Devotion every Day We must acknowledge every Day the sins of that Day and we should do well daily to make a particular Confession of some of the greatest and foulest most heinous and gross sins which we know we have committed in any part of our Lives These we must confess again and again till we have gotten some Assurance of their Pardon some comfortable Evidence of God's Love and if we attain to this in some good measure yet let us confess our sins still to get further and higher degrees of it to get stronger and clearer confirmation of it as we see David does Ps 51. Yea tho' we be never so fully perswaded of the forgiveness of our sins yet let 's confess them still that so our Pardon may be continued and our Humility encreased by often remembring what we were as well as considering what we are and that the Riches of God's free Grace may be thankfully acknowledged and deservedly magnified in that he was pleas'd to remit and forgive such heinous and provoking Offences Let 's every Day pray and say This Day forgive us our Trespasses We shall reap and receive a threefold benefit and advantage by it 1. By daily Confession we shall keep our selves constantly humble and daily renew and strengthen our Obligation to continual Mortification Watchfulness and Holiness and shall by degrees even shame our selves out of our sins and follies And this will make us every day afraid to sin when we know we must go before the Judge and accuse our selves and aggravate our sin the very day the fault is done 2. The more we do now the less we shall have to do hereafter If we confess our daily sins every day of our life the less work we shall have lying upon our hands at the day of our Death And truly to be before-hand in this Duty this is one way to go quietly out of the World When Men put off all to a late and Death-Bed Confession this makes them have such an hard time of it this makes their passage troublesome then they have the Devil and a guilty Conscience to deal withal which is worse than to grapple and conflict with their Diseases then their neglect and shameful omission of former Confession will torment and terrifie them and the great uncertainty of their present Sincerity and a strong Suspicion lest the Principle of their action should only be the passion of Fear will dishearten and discourage them distract and confound them Don't make the time of thy Death the only time for thy full Confession perhaps then thou may'st not be able to speak for thy Sickness nor to think of any thing as thou shouldst do O what wilt thou do to remember thy sins then when thy Memory fails thee When we lie upon a Sick Bed when our Bodies are weak and our Memory crasie is that a fit time to go over our Life and to review the several parts of it Therefore that we may have the less to do when we shall have enough to do to struggle with Sickness that we may have nothing to do when we die but to die and comfortably to yield up our selves to God let us take this good Counsel To be punctual in daily Confession and Self-Condemnation 3. Yea to accustom our selves to daily Confession a contrite not a meer customary Confession it would be an excellent means to free us from the Fear the slavish afflicting tormenting fear of sudden Death To make all even Morning and Evening between God and our own Consciences by humble acknowledgment of all our Offences and hearty Prayer for Pardon and Grace for the sake and Merits of the Mediator this is the way to walk abroad with Comfort and Confidence every day without any fear of a sudden Stroke and hasty Arrest by the Hand of Death and to lie down in peace and sleep most quietly every Night without one anxious distracting thought where we shall awake the very next Morning whether ever any more in this or whether speedily or unexpectedly in the other World If we judge our selves in the presence of God and sue out a Pardon at the Throne of Grace and wisely make our peace with
Heaven and reconcile our selves to our Adversary day by day we shall not be afraid of appearing immediately before God's Tribunal and the Judgment-seat of Jesus Christ but shall be well prepar'd and equally provided for longer Life or present Death and the Judgment to come after Death Confess Daily That 's the second 3. And more particularly Then make an humble and hearty Confession whenever you lie under any notable Conviction Confess thy sin upon any strong and stirring Conviction of the Spirit whether in the hearing or reading of the Word or in the use of Meditation or upon Admonition or occasionally by any Providence as when you see others punished for the same sins you are guilty of When ever your Heart smites you and Conscience checks you for sin then it is a fit time to confess When David's Heart smote him after that he had numbred the People David presently said unto the Lord * 2 Sam. 24.10 I have sinned greatly in that I have done And so when Nathan clearly convinc'd David of his sin and told him plainly * 2 Sam. 12 7 13. Thou art the man then presently David said unto Nathan * I have sinned against the Lord. Confess thy sin upon any sound Conviction of the Spirit for the quenching of the Spirit is the ready way to make you sin on till you are past feeling and to provoke God to resolve that his Spirit shall strive no longer with you 4. Then make a serious and solemn Confession when ever you lie under any notable Affliction This is a special Opportunity of Confession As the Light of Conviction leads us to confess so the Voice of the Rod lessons us to confess too Thus Joseph's Brethren when they were under a strong Conviction and in a great Strait then they confess their Sin in selling their Brother Gen. 42.21 And they said we are verily guilty concerning our Brother in that we saw the anguish of his Soul when he besought us and we would not hear therefore is this Distress come upon us David thought this a fit Season to confess When the Plague lay upon his People for his Sin then he acknowledg'd it 2 Sam. 24.17 And David spake into the Lord when he saw the Angel that smote the People and said Lo I have sinned and I have done wickedly but these Sheep what have they done So David again when his bones waxed old thro' his roaring all the day long when day and night God's hand was heavy upon him and his moisture was turned into the drought of summer then says David I acknowledged my Sin unto thee and mine Iniquity have I not hid Psalm 32.3.4 5. The Children of Israel assembled themselves with fasting and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their Fathers when God's hand lay heavy upon them Nehem. 9. And so the Prodigal when he was in want and ready to perish with hunger then he said I will arise and go to my father and will say unto him Father I have sinned against heaven and before thee and am no more worthy to be called thy Son Luke 15.17 18. The time of Affliction is as proper a time for Confession as any God does then call on us aloud to set upon the Duty When our sin has found us out and we eat the fruit of our own way this is a time to glorifie and justifie God by accusing and condemning our selves and acknowledging our selves to be the only Authors and Causes of our Sin and our Sin to be the only Meritorious procuring Cause of all our Punishment Yet let 's be sure here that we make our Punishment and Affliction not the Ground and Principle but only the Occasion and Opportunity of our Confession The time of Affliction is a seasonable and an accept ble time of Confession as then God looks it so has he then a most gracious and savourable Respect to it We find God pities the penitent Sinner that falls to Confession in a day of Affliction He has promis'd * 1 Pet. 5.6 to exalt and lift up them that humble themselves under his mighty hand And that of Elihu is a great truth Job 33.27 28. He looketh upon men and if any say I have sinned and perverted that which was right and it profited me not yea it was the Cause of my sore Sickness or sad Trouble and so was not only simply unprofitable but very hurtful and prejudicial to me If any Sinner sincerely and seriously say thus to God he will deliver his Soul that is himself from going into the pit or grave and his life shall see the light A Periphrasis of †Ver. 30. Life or of Prosperity which is often in Scripture compar'd to Light which is the most beautiful delightful exhilarating chearing thing in the World God will bring the humble Confitent out of Trouble and prolong his Life He shall recover of his Sickness or escape his Danger and live longer to behold the Light of the Sun 5. Confess presently upon the Commission of any gross and great Sin For here speedy Confession will be an effectual means to keep Conscience tender and will certainly prevent that hardness which would otherwise easily be contracted O suffer not thy Sin to rest upon thee lest thou beest hard'ned thro' the deceitfulness of it Confess thy Sin as soon as ever thou hast committed it Make no delays here Mute and irrational Creatures as the Hart the Swallow as ‖ De Poenitent c. 12. Tertullian observes will timely use the Medicines and Remedies which God has provided and natural Instinct leads and prompts 'em too A Man that has swallowed down Poison is not to linger but presently to expel it And one that has great Guilt lying on him and infectious Filth cleaving to him ought to use the surest means for the sudden removal of it We may be soon undone except we use this present Remedy and shall we then refuse it Nauseabit ad antidotum qui hiavit ad venenum says Tertullian excellently What shall a Man lothe and nauseate and be sâ—ueâ—mish at the Antidote who was greedy and gapemouth'd after the Poison Don't defer or drive off the Confession of any gross Sin It cost David dear enough the mere putting of it off I was silent and roar'd says he Psalm 32.3 So dear did the very Procrastination of Confession cost David that even after he had confess'd and was pardon'd he got not suddenly such a full sence of God's loving kindness as formerly God did not presently look so pleasantly on him as he was used to He had not yet so many Smiles from God as he had before It 's a sign he wanted the Comfort he once enjoyed for he prays to God for 't even after he was pardon'd and absolv'd by Nathan Psalm 51.12 Restore unto me the Joy of thy Salvation If he had thorowly confess'd at first probably he would not have been so long without Comfort If Sin remain unconfess'd the Power of
it will be greater the Stain deeper the Guilt heavier The longer we hide and cover Sin the more it will one day torment us To cover Sin it is but as if you should cover a Serpent which would but keep it the more warm and so cause it to sti g the more fiercely and to diffuse it's Poison and Venome the more effectually Therefore confess presently upon the commission of any great Sin That 's the 5th Particular 6. And Lastly Confess as presently upon the commission of any great Sin so presently upon the receit of any great Mercy Especially upon the receit of any Spiritual Mercy Upon any saving appearance of God to us or when he has newly lifted up the Light of his Countenance upon us Then is it a fit time for us to remember our ways and to be 〈…〉 shame even when the Lord is 〈◊〉 towards us Ezek. 10. â—3 The Prodigal took this special Season for his Confession and Humiliation Even after his Father had compassion and 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 in his neck and kissed him Then it follows The Son said unto him Father I have sinned against Heaven and in the 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 no more worthy to be 〈…〉 When we taste and see that the Lord is gracious then let 's with Jacob acknowledge our selves to be * Gen. 32.10 less than the least of all God's Mercies For this will set off God's Mercy commend the Divine Love advance and enhance the Riches of free Grace and make us more meet for and capable of further Favour and Mercy So much for the Direction concerning the Time and Season when we should confess 2. Concerning the Place where we should confess take this Direction Let 's especially confess our Sins in secret We ought indeed to take all Occasions and Opportunities to join with others in Publick Confession to bear a part in the ordinary and extraordinary Confessions of the Church and Family to which we belong But let 's chiefly chuse to make Confession of Sin in Secret between God and our Selves alone And that for a Threefold Reason 1. Because private Confession is altogether necessary For every Man has some personal particular special Sins with several Circumstances of them that cannot be mentioned when we pray or join in Prayer with others If any other conceive or compose the Prayer he cannot confess them because he is ignorant of them and a stranger to them For what man knoweth the things of a man save the Spirit of man which is in him 1 Cor. 2.11 Again If you your selves do draw up the Indictment and frame the Confession you will be sure to conceal your most shameful Sins You will never particularize never aggravate them in others hearing Nor is it reasonable you should Secret Confession is therefore necessary for if some secret Sins be not confess'd in Secret they will never be confess'd Others can't and we won't openly confess them 2. As secret Confession is plainly Necessary so it is very Convenient We have a double Advantage in Solitary which we have not in social Confession For 1. We may more fully and freely spread and lay open our Sins before God in Secret than we are likely to do in Company with others We cannot but be hugely loth to uncover our Nakedness before Men. We are afraid to reveal and open our Secrets to others Because if in confession of Sin we should enumerate and aggravate before others such Faults and Miscarriages as we have been guilty of but they suspected nothing at all of before ev'n they who hitherto thought well of us would be apt to abandon their good Opinion of us and might be ready to judge and condemn us and to take up and harbour hard thoughts of us Therefore we find our Selves very much heart-bound and tongue-ty'd in the presence of others as to the confession of personal private particular Sins But now nothing can hinder our Freedom in Secret There we may deal as plainly as we will There we may safely speak all out For we can never make our selves more vile and base in the most ample true Confession of our Sins to God than God himself does know we are more clearly and fully than our selves do before we give him a sad and sorrowful Account of our Selves make any relation of the wickedness of our Lives or utter a word in secret Confession of Sin to him And to be sure he 'll not dislike us and turn away his Face from us for the heinousness of the Sins that are humbly acknowledged by us but will favour us and be well affected towards us for faithfully declaring our Sins and thorowly unbosoming our Selves to him 2. Secret Confession is most Convenient because in Secret we have Liberty to use more Helps of Voice and Gesture and to acknowledge our Sins and complain against our Selves with more expressions of Shame and Sorrow and Anger and holy Revenge The poor penitent Sinner when withdrawn from others and gotten by himself alone may use Self-punishing troublesome Postures in his Confessions and Prayers He may greatly humble himself not only by the reverent Gesture of Genuflection but by the most lowly self-abasing Posture of Prostration not only fall on his Knees but fall on his Face before God He may give a large vent to his strong and vehement holy Affections in a chosen Place of convenient Privacy and fit Retirement There he may smite upon his Thigh smite upon his Breast There he may sigh and groan mourn and mone weep and wail confess and pray with strong crying and tears weep bitterly and pour out tears abundantly which things he refrains himself from and forbears to do in the presence and company sight or hearing of others 3. Confess in Secret because the most secret is likely to be the most sincere Confession We find in Scripture that meer Hypocrites have made Confession of their Sins before Men. Pharaoh did this to Moses and Aaron over and over and Saul to Samuel and Judas himself before the Priests and Elders publickly in the Temple But you don't read that any of these would ever wait upon God in Secret and there ingenuously pour out their Hearts before him And therefore our Saviour requires and presses Privacy in the Duty of Prayer particularly Mat. 6.5 6. Confess thy sins in Secret where thou hast no other Witness but the Lord himself and nothing is done for gaining the Praise and Commendation of Men for Parts or Piety and Devotion which do not in the least appear and are not at all shewn to others in such private Religious Performances To confess and pray in private to wrestle with God all alone and to supplicate in Secret when no Eye of Man sees thee no Ear of Man hears thee this will more plainly and clearly discover an upright and honest Heart in thee When a Man does it in Secret only between God and his own Soul it is some Sign he confesses voluntarily and freely It shews that the Man