22.34 Thus it was with Saul nothing but the pronouncing of his Rejection and the threatning the less of his Kingdom made him cry out unto Samuel I have sinned for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord 1 Sam. 15.24 Nothing but Terror of Conscience and the amazing fear and presumption of Hell and Damnation put Judas upon his Confession and caus'd him to cry out I have sinned iâ— that I have betrayed the innocent Hood Mat. 27.3 4. But how contrary to the slaâ—ish sullen Temper of wicked Men is the sweet ingenuous Disposition of the Penitent Sinner who readily confesses out of an heart sensible of the evil of Sin and drawn out with sincere Love and affection unto God! Lo this Man's Confession comes like Water out of a Spring with a voluntary freeness not like Water out of a Still which is fore'd with â—ire Pharaoh's and Balaam's and Sauâ—'s they confess only when they are in Danger but behold the Prodigal See here 's one confessing when he 's safe and secure in his Fathers Arms Luk. 15. I o here 's a Voluntier in Confession indeed Some would think when his Father's â—nger appear'd to be ever when he manifested no signs of his displeasure took no notice of any fault but seem'd to put up and pass in all when his Father had their forget it one would have though it he should now have done wisely not to have â—aked it up again himâ—â—â— When his Father fell upon his Neck and kiâ—s'd him and the black threatning Sâ—rme was so well brown ever when the sad freâ—â—ds and angry words which where deserv'd prov'd nothing else but pleasant Suâ—â—â—s and a 〈◊〉 Speeches one would have thought he should now have sâ—aâ—ed the mentioning on his fruit ommitted his Conâ—ession and Humiliation there b ing now no need of it but you find it hâ—â—e quae otherwise even while his Father â—â—â—ngâ—â— embraces and kindly entertains him his Hearâ— sweetly melts and freely breaks out into an hundle Confession and Acknowledgment of his sin Father says he â—â—rce armed against heaven and in 〈…〉 and am no more wordly to le cauâ—ed thy Son Sence of Love assurance of Faver will soonest of any thing put the â—â—â—ding Sinner upon Confession and that Confession must needs be voluntary and uncompulsory which only Love gently constrains the Penitent Sinner to make to his reconciled God and Father And thus I have done with the first Adjunct or Property of Confession True Confession is free and voluntary not forced and coaâ—t CHAP. VII The second Property of true Confes sion It is made with Hatred of Shame and Sorrow for our Sins These holy Affections must in our Confessions be laid out more upâ—n our Sin than any Punishment for Sin and must bear and hold sâ—me Proportion to the sins confess'd The Penitent Sinner does often outwardly express his inward Affection by Weeping and shedding of Tears Weeping is no infallible Sign or certain Token of an Heart truly sensible of Sin but not Weeping in some cases may well be suspected for a bad Sign 2. SEcondly True Confession is made with Hatred of Shame and Sorrow for our Sins He that truly confesses he does it passionately and feelingly he 's really sensible of and deeply affected with the sins he confesses His Confession is not verbal and formal only and from the Teeth outward but inward and Heart-deep He speaks from his very Soul he says no more than what he feels And truly these holy Afâ—ections are the very Life of Confession without them Confession is a very dull dead and heartless thing He that comes to make Confession without these Affections speaks but Words of Course and as it were by the by and his present Confession does but encrease and add to the number of his sins and so make Work for â—â—o her Confession It 's impoâ—sible to confess any sin aright and at the same time to retain the lâ—ve of it or bear any good affection to it it speaks a flat Contradiction Confession you have heard is the Condemning of one's self for one's sin Pray how can we condemn our sâ—lves to God for our sins unlâ—ss we condemn our sins in our selves Confession voâ—d of Affection is the greatest Meckery of God in the World and surely God can't be mov'd and affected with our Confessions of our sins unless we be thus mov'd and affected with our sins in our Confessions He therefore that confesses aright is ever touched with these suitable Aâ—â—ections 1. He perfectly hates the sin he confesses that 's one Affection he bears towards his sin He hates his sin out of a sâ—gâ—t of the odious ugly evil nature of it out of a sence of its Contrariety to God's Nature and Contradiction to his Will out of an apprehension of the guilt it has brought upon his own Person of the faith it has brought into his own Nature of its miscâ—tevousness to his own precious immortal Soul and destructiveness of his own spiritual good and eternal happiness 2 â—â— 18. He looks upon his sin as an evil and a littering and plainly hates it and wishes the very Death of that which cost the Death of Christ and has made him â—â—ble unto eternal Death He sees his sin in its own Câ—lâ—ars he beholds the mâ—sâ—â—ness and the danger of it and can't endure it his Heart rises up against his sin as strongâ— as ever his Stomack rises up against that which it naâ—â—â—ares he fully lâ—kes and abominates his sin so as were it to do again he would first suffer aâ— tâ—â—ng he would rather dâ—e than do it He hates his sin and leâ—â—es himself for his sin He lothes himself for that Deformity and â—â—â—â—ement which makes the very God of 〈◊〉 to lâ—the and abhor his own Creature Ezek. 36.21 Then shall you remember your own evil ways and â—eâ—r d urge that were not good and shall iâ— the your selves in your own sight for your miâ—â—i ies and for your abominations The Penitent Câ—rseâ—lor is filled with Self-displiâ—ency and Self-abhorrency Seeing I am evil says * 〈…〉 2. St. Austin to confess unto God is nothing else but to be displeas'd with my self The humble Sinner's Heart is angry and impatient against his sin and full of indignation agan st himself for his sin he fells quite out with himself in Confession and takes an holy Revenge upon himself for his sins Penitent Ephraim smote upon his Thigh 31 Jer. 19. in token of Astonishment at and deâ—eslation of his former vile and lewd courses The confessing Publican smote upon his Breast Luk. 18.13 in token of his wonderful great Contrition and to signify a will and desire even to punish himself for his faults and out of a real Hatred of his sin which Iâ—dged in his Heart His knocking upon his Breast shewed what mind and aâ—fectiâ—n he carried to his sin and declared his dâ—iâ—e utterly to destroy it Thus the humble Confessor hates his sin and is at odds and variance
believe so Bishop layâ—eâ—'s Sâ—rm of the Deceitfulness of the Heart p. 86. Yet weeping is no Infallible Sign or certain Token or an Heart truly sensible of sin so as that a Man should conclude he is sensible or insensible according as he finds himself weep or forbear for there may be weeping without sence of sin Many can shed Tears for any thing some for nothing Again There may be sence of sin without weeping a soft Heart where there are dry Eyes for as the greatest Joys do not always burst out into Laughter so the deepest sorrows and foulest shame do not always break forth into Tears This expression of our Affection differs and varies very much according to the temper of the Body the Age the Sex and the many accidental tendernesses or masculine hardnesses of the Person Wherefore sence of sin is not to be estimated by our Tears but is to be valued by the Trouble of our Souls for sin seriously apprehending the evil the extream evil of it But yet tho' weeping be not an unerring good Sign yet not weeping in some cases may well be suspected for a bad Sign as if where there is an aptness and proneness to weep abundantly when any outward Worldly evil hath befallen us yet even there we seldom or never shed a Tear in the sorrows and passions of our pretended Penitent Confessions For were but the Affection as great here it would still discover it self in as great a manner and large a measure If thou canst easily shed tears and many tears weep plentifully and pour them out largely in the Confession of thy sins for Tears tho' mute yet speak * Herbert's Poems The 〈◊〉 p. 13â— What is so shrill as silent Tears And surely God will hear the voice of thy weeping Psal 6.8 How acceptable and available are truly Femtential Tears running out of a Soul that is running towards God! O let the Tears that flow from thee be (a) Tears that will pâ—evail must spring from a teâ—dâ—â— and â—râ—â—er â—eart 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 the◠〈…〉 God 's thy which 〈…〉 Mâ—◠〈…〉 to 〈◊〉 the 〈…〉 voluntrary reforming cleansing Tears such as may not only wet thy Face but wash thy Heart But if thou canst not weep or when thou canst no longer weep desire and endeavour to have much of the rational tho' you have not so much of a passionate grief and sorrow Let (b) If thou hast no sight of Graws 〈◊〉 thou hast 〈…〉 Lesser pairs shape greater 〈◊〉 Herbert's Pâ—â—â—s 〈◊〉 p. â—00 Sighs and Groans supply the defect of Tears in thee Let your Heart bleed when your Eyes do not water Take up and use the affectionate words of the Devout Herbert * Herbert 's Poem â—â— Ephâ—s 4.30 Grâ—â— not the Holy Spâ—rit â— p. 129. Yet If I wail not still since still to wail Nature denies And flesh would fail If my Deserts were Masters of mine Eyes Lord pardon for thy Son makes good My want of Tears with store of Blood So much shall suffice to have been spoken to the second Adjunct or Property of Confession It 's made with Hatred of Shame and Sorrow for our Sin CHAP. VIII The third Property of Confession it is made with a full Resolution against our sins The Hypocrite is Rash and Self-confident in his Vows but the humble Confessor is fearful and distrustful of himself in his Resolves and seeks to God for strength and power to act his Purposes and perform his Vows 3. A Third Property of Confession is this True Confession is made with a fall Resolution against our sins From Hatred of Shame and Sorrow for our sins their naturally proceeds and necessarily arises a settled Intention and firm Purpose of Heart for the speedy leaving and ready actual dereliction of the sins we confess and a Resolvedness of Spirit to oppose and resist their consequent Temptations setting aside which Resolution our very Confession are crying provoking Sins and need to he confess'd themselves for he that does not heartily resolve against his sins in Confession does even then secreth intend and purpose to commit them again Wherever there is a real sence and feeling of sin in Confession there is also produc'd an inward serious to feigned Resâ—lâ—tion against the sin confess'd the Sinner thus affected meditates the Confusion and Overthrow of his sin and he often expresses unto God the sincere and honest purposes of his Heart and joins with the Confession of his sins a most solemn Vow Promise Covenant against them Such was the Confession of horeâ— plain-hearted Sâ—heeaniah 10 Ezra 2 3. speaking there unto Ezra We have trâ—spassed against our God says he and have taken strange Wives of the people of the land new therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the Wives and such as are born of them This is observ'd and remark'd by Elihu in that lively and notable description which he makes of a true Confessor that humbles himself before God 34 Job 31.32 Surely says he it is meet to be said unto God I have â—â—rn chastisement I will not offend any more that which I see not teach thou me if I have done iniquity I will do no more Hatred of Shame and Sorrow for Sin do breed and beget in the Sinner an absolute purpose and entire resolution against his sins the Penitent Sinner really intends never to meddle with them again never to have any more to do with them Yet which is very observable this humble Confessor is not too too confident of himself in his resolves but very fearful jealous and suspicious of himself being greatly conscious to himself of his own Spiritual impotency and weakness and of the baseness and falseness of his own Heart which has formerly deceiv'd and betrayed him This is very much Characteristical of a true hearty Confessor whereby he is differenced and distinguished from a meer Counterfeit and Hypocritical Confessor The Hypocrite indeed in some of his good Moods and Fits which usually take him upon some sudden violent flashings of a strong Conviction or the sence and feeling of a present Affliction will be forward to promise any thing in Confession will make marvellous fair protestations and specious resolutions before God O he has done thus and thus but he 'll do so no more no he 'll become a new Man out of hand ay that he will but all this while he confides trusts in and relies on himself for the performance of all Thus rash are the Sick-bed Vows of most Men O says one that 's kept in by a Disease and is fain to lie by 't O says he that God would recover my health and strength again I 'd presently turn over a new leaf I 'd certainly live the New Life if God would grant me any How shall all the World see if ever I live to get out of Doors to go Abroad again that I 'm quite another Man than I was Our Minister all my Neighbors Friends and Acquaintance
with himself by reason of his sin He even fals out with himself that he may fall in with God and becomes a kind of Funny to himself that he may be Friends with God 2. Another Affection that seises on the Penitent Sinner in Confession is an holy â—â—aâ—re for his sin He does not with the Feeâ— make a Mock at sin and †〈…〉 14. glory in his 〈◊〉 but is now heartily asham'd of what has sometime been his Glory He 's very sâ—amefac'd and greatly abash'd when be appears before God and can't but blush at that which made Christ bleed Asham'd he is that his excellent Soul is so debas'd depress'd deprav'd by sin That he has made himself so vile in the sight of God Angels and Men That he has lived so much below the Dignity of his Nature liv'd a bruâ—ish sensual flesh-pleasing iâ—le and slothful useless and unprofitable life in the World behav'd himself so 〈◊〉 unworthily and disingenuously towards God and it may be too towards Men acted so unseemly absurdly and unreasonably and done so frequently so inconsiderately imprudently and very foolishly That he has not used his Reason aright nor duly exercis'd Self-Excitation and Self-Reflection That he has so wretchedly mis-employed the noble faculties of his rational Soul and it may be many ways abused and wronged his Body and yielded his Members as Instruments of Unrighteousness unto sin and been so prodigal of so much precious Time which he might have wisely and well improved and employed in living to God working the Work of God serving the Lord Christ doing and receiving good in answering the Ends of his Creation and Redemption in giving all diligence to have wrought out his Salvation and made his Calling and Election sure and in preparing more early and comfortably for a Glorious Immortality and Blessed Eternity in the other World He 's very much ashamed that he has broken and violated a Holy and Just and Good Law exceedingly asham'd that he has affronted and dishonoured a Holy and Just a Great and Good God been a lover of Pleasures more than a lover of God been bent â—o Backsliding and turned again and again to Folly He looks upon his Guilt and Filth and is even asham'd of himself for 't Indâ—ed guilty Persons are commonly asham'd aâ—d so are filthy deformed Persons too The Poets feign That when Vlysses's Companions were by Circe transform'd into the shape of Swine they wept and were ashamed of their own Deformities The humble Sinner sees himself more strangely Metamorphes'd by his sin and therefore is quite ashamed and confounded in the presence of God blushing to look upon his own nakedness to view and behold his own deformities He is moreover greatly ashamed to remember and mention in his Confession his former vile and bâ—se state and condition of Slavery and Bondage to Sin and Satan God himself calls for shame from Sinners Be ashamed says he and confounded fâ—r your own waâ—s O house of Israel 36 Ezek. 32. And you find in Scripture many instances of the Penitent Sinner's covering himself with shame when he goes to God in Confession In this manner good Ezra addresses himself to God you read how he fell upon his knees and spread out his hands unto the Lord his God and said O my God I am ashamed and blush to lifup my face to thee my God for our iniquit is are increased over our head and our trepass is grown up unto the heaveâ—s 9 Eza 5.6 Here 's a right confessing fraue and temper of Heart I was asham'd yea even confounded says Ephraim 31 Jer. 19. And David was so ashamed of himself that he calls himself Fool in one Confession 2 Sam. 24.10 I have dore very foolishly says he to wit in numbring the people and Fool and Beast in another Psal 73.22 where confessing his distrust of God's Providence he was quite asham'd of what he had said so foolish was I and ignorant says he I was as a Beast before thee The Publican fitly express'd his shame for his sins by his standing afar off in the Court of the Gentiles and in that having seen and viewed himself he would not lift up so much as his Eyes unto Heaven Luk. 18.13 having first look'd inward he could not take the boldness to look upward When we have done any Man much wrâ—ng that has done us much good when we have carried our selves unworthily towards those that have deserved weâ—l of us we are ashamed to look upon them we usually say in such a case I know not how to look such an one in the face again Even so the poor Publican here was asham'd to look God in the face as I may say his humble heart brought down his look he would not lift up so much as his Eyeâ— out of Modesty Shame Humility would not lift them up to Heaven as not daring to behold that place where the Glorious and Holy God whom he had offended by his sins dwells and resides He would not offer to lift those Eyes up to Heaven which had been so much set upon Earth and earthly things with gross neglect and contempt of heavenly wherefore he humbles himself by his bashful dejected countenance 3. The Penitent Sinner is fill'd as with Shame so with Sorrow for his sin I will declare mine iniquity says David I will be sorry for my sin Psal 38.18 He sees his sin and is touched with remorse and sorrow for his sin his Conviction is accompanied with Compunction he is pricked in his Heart his Heart is broken and contrite in his Confession Sorry he is that he has transgressed an Holy Just and good Law sorry that he has wronged and offended an Holy Just and good God He looks upon the Guilt he has incurr'd and is griev'd that he has deserv'd so ill at a good God's hands He looks upon his Filth which he has contracted and is troubled that he has so deeply stain'd his Nature so foully polluted and defiled himself he grieves and mourns more for the wrong he has done to God than for all the hurt he has done to himself It 's no slight Sorrow that contents him he sorrows that he can sorrow no more sorrows with a pungent afflictive Sorrow such a kind of sorrow as rents and breaks the very heart of him with a Godly Sorrow never to be sorrowed for And here I must desire you carefully to observe that these Holy Affections of Hatred Shame and Sorrow ought in our Confessions to be spent by us and laid out more upon our Sin than any Punishment for Sin The Hypocrite indeed does clean contrary he hates his Punishment more than his Fault he 's asham'd and sorry for his Suffering more than for his Sin This was Pharaoh's temper in Confession he could not endure Divine Judgments he was asham'd and sorry for them only his Plague troubled him not his Sin and therefore all the care he took was for the removal of that he was earnest to be
cas'd and releas'd from Punishment Intreat the Lord says he to Moses and Aaron Intreat the Lord for it is enough that there be no more mighty thundrings and hail and I will let you go 9 Exod. 28. And chap. 10. v. 17. Intreat the Lord your God that he may take away from me this death only He does not at all pray for the Love and Favor and Acceptance of God nor for a new and soft and tender Heart but would be well content which is the Sum of his wishes and the height of his desires with an handsom cleanly riddance or a fair abatement of his Punishment In like manner was Saul affected in his Confession he was not sensible enough of his Sin but he utterly abhorr'd his Punishment he was asham'd and sorry at his Heart for it therefore it was only the removing of his Shame and Punishment and the conferring of Honour upon him which he so passionately sued and begg'd for when he heard by Samuel that the Kingdom of Israel was rent from him and given by God to a Neighbor of his that was better than he Then he said I have sinned yet honour me now I pray thee before the Elders of my people and before Israel 1 Sam. 15.28 30. Honour from the People was aâ— he sought after and the loss of it all he was asham'd of or troubled at But the proper and genuine Affections of true Confession are ever more conversant about the Sin than the Punishment therefore he that confesses aright is fully of this mind that he cares not what outward temporal affliction he indures so that he might have the guilt of his sin as to Eternal Punishment remov'd and the Pardon of it Seal'd Let thy hand be against me and against my father's house says David but O take away the iniquity of thy servant 2 Sam. 24.10 17 verses compared together It was his Trespass his Iniquity he would so fain have taken away The true Confessor cries not out so much with Pharaoh take away this Plague as with David take away this trespass he does not bear about him the affections of a Slave his hatred is not chiefly of the Red his shame and grief is not so much for the Whip and Scourge but he carries and maintains the affections of a Son he is sorely troubled for offending and provoking so kind and loving a Father He lothes and abhors his Sin more than his Punishment He 's asham'd and griev'd because he has deserved punishment more than because he barely suffers the punishment because he is stain'd more than because he is pain'd because his sin has made him unholy more than because it has made him unhappy because he has run out of the way of the Law more than because he has run upon the penalty of the Law because he has dishonour'd God more than because he has hurt himself And here you may further observe concerning these holy Confessional Affections that our hatred of shame and sorrow for our sins must bear and hold some Proportion to the sins confess'd A greater a grosser sin must in its Confession carry along with it a more intense affection and be accompanied with a more vehement hatred a greater shame a deeper grief It is not indeed definable just what degree of hatred shame and sorrow ought to be apportion'd out to every sin but note here in the general that these Affections are then most allowable and approvable for their dâ—gree and measure when they shall have amounted to or gone beyond eâ—uâ—â—'d or exceeded that Love Joy Pleasure Delight aâ—d Complacency which heretofore we took in aâ—ting perpetrating and committing the sin and wickedness we confess In our Confessions we should be like affected towards our sin as Amnon was towards his Sister Tamar after he had had his Pleasure of her who is said to have hated her exceedingly or with great hatred greatly so that the Hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the Love wherewith he had loved her 2 Sam. 13.15 Even so should the Sinner hate his sin more than ever he dâ—ed on it or was enamour'd with it he should be ashamed of it mere than ever he gloried in it and sorry for it as much or mere than ever he was glad of it When the Heart is thus truly affected in Confession as we have shewn it should be it does often outwardly express and vent its inward Affection by (a) If poor Soul then hast no tears wâ—â—â— thou hast â—â— faâ—â—rs â— tears The huh 〈…〉 Hâ— rhâ—reâ— Poâ— Sâ—â—â—â— p. 1. Weeping and shedding of Tears The Penitent Sinner ev'n cries again out of exceeding Shame and piercing Grief in Confession by his Tears acknowledging that his blood was due Weeping with bitterness of heart and bitter wailing do very much become and commend a true penitent Confession In our Confessons we do well to be afflicted and mourn and weep In so doing we do but imitate the Saints of God You read it of Ezra Ezra 10.1 When Ezra had prayed and when he had confessed weeping The Penitent Sinner's Eye ever affects his Heart sight of his sin breeds sence of his sin and many times his Heart affects his Eye Sence of his sin puts him upon Weeping for his sin He sometimes weeps because he can weep no more and a wiâ—hes that his Head were Waters and his Eyes 〈◊〉 of Tears that he might weep Day and Night for his sins iniquities and transgressions There 's very good reason why we should shew our Trouble by our Tears because the Eye hath constantly been the chiefest inâ—et of Sin and Vanity Sin early entred by Eve's Eye Gen. 3.6 and still it is a wide Window at which Lust and Folly are let into the Soul Fit therefore (a) â— wâ—â— will give me tâ—ars Come all ye Springs Dwâ—ll 〈…〉 â—â—ead and Eyes c. Herbert's Poems Grief p. 158. it is as a worthy * Dr. Spurstowe in his â—ormâ— oâ—â— Sam. 7.6 p. 5. Doctor well observes that in the Duties of Humiliation the Eye should bear a part with the other Members of the Body that as the Heart doth sigh the Face blush the Tongue cry the Hand knock the Breast the Lips tremble and the Knees bend so the Eye should mourn and weep it having exceeded in guilt any other Part and Member of the Body (a) What and if I weep for my 〈◊〉 Will you not then give me leave to conclude my Heart right with Godâ—ved at enmity with sin It may be so But there are 〈◊〉 Friends that weep at pâ—tiâ—g and is not thy weeping a sorrow of Affection It is a sad thing in pâ—t with our long Companion Or it may 〈◊〉 thou weepest because thou wouldst have a sign to cozen thy 〈◊〉 withal for some Men are mâ—re to have a sign than the 〈◊〉 signified thâ—y would do something to shâ—â—â— their Repeâ—tance â— that themselves may believe themsâ—lves to be Peritents haviâ—g no reason from within to
our faults one to another James 5.16 But this is reciprocal and obliges as well the Priest to make Confession to us as any of us to do it to the Priest And when it is said that a great number were baptized confessing their sins Matt. 3.6 And that many that believed came and confessed and shewed their deeds Acts 19.18 Their Confession then was voluntary and unconstrained and was made in general and surely not very particularly as to Sins and Circumstances by so many Persons as flocked together upon those occasions The Law of Auricular Confession as it is now practised is a human invention and was first inacted and instituted by the Council of Lateran under Innocent the Third twelve hundred Years after Christ God in his Word does not command it yet they require it under the Penalty of Excommunication and make the neglect thereof mortal They make it absolutely necessary to the procuring and obtaining Pardon and Forgiveness They place much Merit and Sanctity in it And attribute a Judicial Authority to the Priest to forgive Sins which is a Power peculiar to God himself And affirm that Attrition only or a slight Sorrow for fear of Hell sufficiently qualifies for Absolution And the customary Practise of absolving all that confess tho' guilty of frequent Relapses without any probable hopeful Signs of a real Change in 'em does invite and encourage habitual Sinners to put their trust and to rest in the Priest's Absolution without hearty Repentance and Sincere purposes of Reformation They make Confession to a Priest one of the three essential Parts of Repentance tho' it be no Part nor Argument of true Repentance A very Hypocrite may make Auricular Confession to a Priest as Saul did to Samnel 1 Sam. 15.24 30. But he cannot find in his Heart to go and humble himself to God in confessing his Sins to him with a broken and contrite Heart They do not reckon the hearty Confession of our daily Sins to God sufficient and available for our Salvation Nor do they press it as a Matter of so great Necessity or Utility as the Confession of Sins to a Priest is They account it a Sacrament tho' it want Divine Institution and have not the Nature and Parts of a Sacrament There is nothing given to Man in their Sacrament of Penance which can have the use of an external Sign and serve to represent any Spiritual Thing How absurd is it here to put the Acts of the Penitent and Operation of the Receiver for as it were the Matter and a Part of the Sacrament They make Confession to a Priest necessary to Salvation when it is not necessary to any good End and Purpose nor fit and convenient to be used at all For the Injunction of it is the Exercise of a Spiritual Tyranny and proves in the effect of it a Torturing of the Minds and a Racking of the Consciences of Men. It gives Occasion of many indecent and unseemly filthy and immodest Questions and Answers in the Confession of some Sins And is an Artifice and Contrivance invented and excogitated to discover Secrets to keep the People in Fear and Awe to get Gain and Profit and inrich that covetous and ambitious See with great and large Revenues CHAP. XIII The second Vse of Examination and Reproof together 1. WE have heard it 's the Duty of every Sinner to confess and acknowledge his Sins to God but I 'm afraid many of us who know too too well how to sin are notwithstanding great Strangers to and very much unacquainted with Confession of Sin How many are wholly wanting and defective as to the performance of this Duty in private especially How many confess not at all but are altogether neglective of the Duty it self as if there were no such great need of Confession How few of us perform it as we ought and order our Confession aright before God Who of us make it our daily Practise impartially to accuse our selves only Are not most of us ready and apt to shift off our sins from our selves and if not to lay them upon God himself yet confidently to charge them upon Satan or to impute them to other Men as if any without us had an absolute impulsive power over us and could force us to sin whether we would or no Which of us make our own Hearts lusts and corruptions rather than the Devil's suggestions or wicked Men's seductions to be the proper Cause and Ground of our sins Which of us in Confession do daily rip up our own Hearts and thorowly open our selves to God and clearly manifest our bosom gremial sin to him Han't we been impudently bold in sinning and yet asham'd to confess when we have sinn'd Which of us all represent our sins in their own Colours and aggravate them with their most heinous and notorious Circumstances Do we not hide our cursed Achan and conceal our particular beloved Lust and lessen and diminish our sins and make a very light and a small matter of them Who of us daily judge and condemn our selves for our sins and own the Curse that is due to us for our sins and kiss the Rod that lashes us for our sins and accept of the punishment of our iniquity and bless God that we are yet on this side Hell which we deserve Have we not made Apologies for our sins instead of making Confession of them Have we not * Vitia nostra quia amamus defendimus malumus excusare illa quam excutere Sen. ep 116 excused instead of accusing justified instead of condemning our selves Some of us that have confessed how hardly were we brought to it How unwillingly did we go about it Were we not rather forcibly driven to it by suffering some heavy punishment for sin than sweetly and kindly mov'd to it out of a deep sence of the evil Nature of our sin and the tender workings of a sincere love and affection unto God Have we not been humiliati magis quam humiles humbled and brought low by the hand of God rather than humble and lowly in our own Souls How little of the Heart has been in most of our Humiliations Have we not often confess'd our sins without a Trouble or a Blush without any Hatred of Shame and Sorrow for or full and firm Resolution against them Have we not frequently confess'd our sins without any earnest Desires of Pardon without any lively actings of Faith and Hope in Divine Mercy Have not most of our Confessions been meerly the vain Bablings of careless and secure Men that only out of Custom and Formality mumble out a few words against themselves to God without any true sence and feeling of what they speak Have we not usually confess'd in a slight and perfunctory manner unbecoming the weightiness of the Duty and rested a long time in a meer overly superficial performance of it as if any Confession would serve our turn Let us duly examine our selves and I believe we shall find cause
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.
himself a Sinner He accuses not God neither does he accuse the Devil or Vngodly Men for his sins Most Men think the Devil 's back broad enough to bear theirs and therefore they ease and disburden themselves and heavily load him by shifting off all their sins to him and laying all of them upon his Shoulders as if Satan hadn't only the Subtilty and Cunning of perswading but the power of forcing and compelling How many are there that think they are quite freed and wholly discharged so soon as they have charged Satan and accused Wicked Men That make account they have little or nothing to answer for because Satan tempted them because Wicked Men entic'd and importun'd them because bad Company and evil Counsel drew them away That look upon themselves as clear when once they have alienated and transferr'd their fault when they have turn'd off their sins to some one else and devolv'd them upon another You find Aaron had too well learn'd this kind of Translation who being justly challeng'd by Moses for making the Golden Calf and sharply reprov'd by him for his sin presently lays all the blame upon the People as if he should have gone Scot-free because they put him upon 't See this in the 32 Exod. 21 22 23 v. Do but mind what Aaron says here and you 'll see it 's a meer shift indeed Thou knowest says he the people that they are set on mischieft for they said unto me make us Gods They said unto me should he dare to do what they bad him But they were set on 't says he why this rather makes against him for the more the People were set on mischief the more it behov'd him to withstand and oppose it and probably had he zealously set himself against it the Golden Calf had never been made had he but roundly took them up and soundly chid them sor't it 's likely he might have prevented the Mischief However had he but done his Duty had he been so far from consenting to 't as openly and publickly to have declared and manifested his abhorring and detestation of the Fact he had'nt then involv'd himself in the guilt of so soul a sin Yet hadn't a free ingenuous Confession a great deal better become Aaron after he had sinn'd than so absurd and dull a put-off so poor and silly a shift so idle and frivolous and which is worst of all so sinful an Excuse Saul too had the same Excuse ready at 's fingers ends when Samuel came to him and charg'd him with sparing the best of the Spoil which he had taken from the Amalekites when as God had expresly commanded him to slay all 1 Sam. 15. why straight he excuses himself by accusing of others v. 15. They says he have brought them from the Amalekites for the people spared the best of the Sheep and of the Oxen to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God and the rest we have utterly destroyed Mark here when he speaks of what was done according to the will of God then he puts himself in the rest we have utterly destroyed but when he speaks of what was done against God's command there he leaves himself out he would seem to have had nothing to do in 't he quite shuffles it off from himself and fastens it all on the People They the people spared the best of the sheep And he thought he had now fairly rid his hands of his sin So that when Samuel again urg'd him Wherefore hast thou not obey'd the voice of the Lord v. 19. Instead of an humble Confession of his sin he still defended and justified himself until by Samuel's second reply a forced acknowledgment was wrung and extorted from him Thus naturally apt are the Sons of Men not only to sin with their first Parents but with them likewise to excuse their sin and to find another to cast the fault upon besides themselves Read but the Story of Adam and Eve's first transgression and you shall see where they learn'd it The Woman says Adam to God when he had eaten of the forbidden fruit the Woman that thou gavest to be with me she gave me and I did eat She gave me He confidently blames Eve for his own sin nay he obliquely charges and impudently calumniates even God himself The Woman that thou gavest to be with me she gave me Look you here how unworthily he asperses God as if God himself had really had an hand in his sin And Eve too she smoothly and handsomly as she thought puts it off to the Devil The Serpent the Serpent beguiled me and I did eat Gen. 3. but never a word of Self-Accusation fell from either of them Too too many in the World have imitated and taken after their first Father and Mother in this very particular have covered their transgressions with Adam to use Job's expression and hid their iniquities in their bosom Job 21.33 Have made use of some one else to be a Cloak and a Covering for their sins have ever boldly justified themselves in their hearts at least have sometimes charged God and often made the Devil not only the greatest but I may say the only Sinner in the World This imputation of our sin to Satan doubles our sin it is (a) Dr. H d in his Serm. of the Bl. influence of Christ's Ressurection as a learned Divine expresses it a bearing false witness against the Devil himself a robbing him of his great fundamental Title of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Calumniator and a proving those that thus charge him the greatest Devils of the twain But truly tho' Men do the Devil great wrong in it yet he thinks not much at it they never pleasure him more than in so doing he cares not how much the Sinner lays upon him so he lay but little or nothing upon himself he knows God will one day lay it heavy enough upon him The Devil perceives very well what great and singular advantages he has gotten of those Men whom he has induc'd to take up and entertain this fond Conceit whom he has fully possess'd and inveigl'd with this strange yet pleasing Misapprehension that he is chiefly guilty of their sins for by this means he cunningly and slily keeps them off from a found and thorow Repentance and a free and full and humble acknowledgment of their sins to God If any such confess at all I dare say that which is really and indeed their sin is seldom the subject matter of their Confession for you shall have them in their Confessions complain chiefly of their liableness and exposedness unto and of the strength violence prevalency and irresistableness of their Temptations more of this than of the power and height of their inherent in-dwelling Lusts and Corruptions They 'll it may be pretend to be greatly desirous of a speedy deliverance from their Temptations when as yet they are utterly careless of being freed from the baseness and falseness of their own Hearts but were such wholly exempted
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
a General Confession tho' this Man grow every day worse and worse tho' he never comes into God's presence but he brings the guilt of new sins along with him yet this Man's Confession is always the same tho' his sins be not the same tho' his sins be many more than they were and his guilt far greater and heavier than ever The Man acknowledges himself in nothing worse now than he was many Years since he puts nothing in his Confession now but what he put in it then tho' he daily adds sin unto sin yet he never adds any thing to hâ—s Confession he never makes himself in one Confession v ltr than he made himself in a former Confession In truth he never makes himself in in any Confession worse than the very best are he never says any more against himselâ— than may be well said against any one else he ever confesses so as that the holiest Man on Earth may take up hâ—s Confession yea and add so it Now is this to conâ—ess aright Is this Maâ—'s Confession on 〈◊〉 oâ— true Sâ—sf-Alaseâ—â—â—t and thorow Hâ—mâ—â—ation Surely no. It is our instancing and particularizing which truly â—â—ses and duly humbles us in our Confesions Particulars indeed they â—peak us a gâ—eat deal worse now than it may be heretofore we have been Particulars speak us the very worst or Men the chiefest of Sinners Particularizing plainly lays open the vilenes and sinfulness the silthinâ—ss and wickedness of our Hearts and Loveâ— â—eer Generals can do nothing of all this which yet you mâ—st ackâ—owledge necessary to be done and therefore he that stays in Generals and never comes to Particulars in his Confessâ—on had as good never go about to confess Now this particularizing of Sin tho' it may have been wilfully much balked by Hypocrites yet it has ever obtained among the Saints it has always been us'd and practis'd by the People of God You find the People of Israel particularizing 1 Sam. 12.19 We have added unto all our sins say they this evil to ask us a King Ezra he confesses unto God that particular sin of the People of Israel in not separating themselves from but joining in affinity with the People of the Lands Ezra 9. David too he makes Confession of particular sins in one Confession he acknowledgeth that particular sin of his in Numbring the People 1 Chro. 21.8 and David said unto God I have sinned greatly because I have done this thing to wit Numbred Israel In another Confession you have him acknowledging other particular sins to wit his Murder and Adultery I acknowledge my transgressions says he and my sin is ever before me Psal 51.3 It was behind me when Nathan came to me he set it before me and ever since I have kept it before me And v. 4. Against thee thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight And v. 14. Deliver me says he from blood-guiltiness O God And you know 't was the course St. Paul took that sincere Convert and humble Confitent who as he was prone upon all occasions to acknowledge the sins of his former and past life so to confess and acknowledge them very particularly That 's a notable place 1 Tim. 1.13 speaking of himself there Who was before says he a blasphemer a persecutor and injurious He does not say who was before a Sinner only no but who was before a Blasphemer a Persecutor and Injurious Making mention of his old vain Conversation he brings in the severals exactly and punctually sets down particulars Even thus every Self-Accusing Sinner Articles against himself and sets his sins in order before his God He calls not himself a grievous Sinner or a miserable wicked Wretch only in the general as far as he knows any thing of himself he alledges against himself and Charges himself with particular sins He acknowledges not his sins only in the Gross he does not only generally confess how that he has broken and violated all God's holy Laws and Commands both in Thought in Word and in Deed either by doing what was prohibited or leaving undone what was injoin'd no he confesses his loose and vain Thoughts particularly As to instance his Atheistical Thoughts his Distrustful Thoughts his Lustful Thoughts his Envious Thoughts his Malicious Thoughts his Revengeful Thoughts his Ambitious Thoughts his Covetous Thoughts and such like Further He confesses particularly as his bad thoughts so his want of good thoughts his not exercising himself in Self Examination his not giving himself to holy and pious Meditation And here more particularly his not meditating on God in Christ his not meditating on the Scriptures his not meditating on Sermons his not meditating on Providences his not meditating on his latter End and the like He confesses his evil Thoughts in particular and his evil Words too as his rash Judging and Censuring his Swearing Lying taking God's Name in vain this and that particular idle Word which he has used accustomed and habituated himself unto this and that rotten and unsavory Speech this and that frothy and unprofitable Discourse He confesses particularly not only his speaking what he should not do but his not speaking what he should do his not speaking to God in Prayer his frequent omissions of Prayerly himself in private of Prayer and Catechâ—â—ng in his Family his disuse of Holy Conferencâ— and Christian Communion his neglect of Brotherly Reproof and Fraternal Correction In like manner he particularizes hâ—s evil Deeds and wicked Works but I 'll stand instancing no longâ—r Remember that he that confesses aright accuses himself of particular sins And further take notice That he that truly confesses charges himself as with particular sins so to be sure with his particular sin I say let me add this further That he that truly confesses as he makes a Catalogue of particular sins so to be sure he puts into the Catalogue his very particular sin that sin of his which among all the rest he nay most properly and truly call his own that peccatum in deliciis that sin he has so indulg'd and cocker'd that very sin which above all others he has a long time most pleas'd himself with and allowed himself in And truly herein lies a great and main difference between the humble sincere and the formal hypocritical Confessor The formal hypocritical Confessor he 'll willingly confess sin in the general he cares not much if he calls himself Sinner before God Nay it may be he 'll not stick to repeat and run over some common Heads to reckon up to God a few sorts and kinds of sins as his Original his Actual sins his sins against God his sins against his Neighbor his sins of Omission his sins of Commission which is but a general Confession yet The reason that he can so easily bring himself to that is because Generalia non pungunt Generals don't touch to the quick don't wound prick and gall him don't come close and home to him don't so nearly concern him
and therefore thus he can confess over and over with very little or no trouble and disturbance to himself at all thus he can confess his sins yet keep his sin If ever the hollow-hearted Confessor come so far as to particularize sins at all likely he takes some sly course he goes some By-way to Work He 'll often instance in some particular sins which the Godly themselves daily complain of which the dearest of God's People cannot but own and acknowledge As thus He 'll it may be confess unto God the weakness of his Faith his want of growth in Grace which may be an Article in the best Christian 's Self-Accusation but here is this deceit in 't That he that has'nt one Dram of Faith one Spark of Grace in him would yet seem to have and supposes in himself some lower weaker actings at least of saving justifying Faith some smaller degree and measure of true real sanctifying Grace Whatever the Hypocrite puts in commonly he on purpose leaves out of the Charge his near and dear tho' never so gross and heinous sin this he 'll not be known of he 'll not disclose he 'll not out with this for this he resolves with himself never to part with he has no mind to leave it and therefore he has no heart to confess it He declines and waves all hard words of his own sin whatever he says he 'll not have a word of his secret Atheism and Profaneness of Heart of his close Hypocrisie and Formality of his wilful Impenitency and Unbelief of his false Hopes and ungrounded Presumption He forbears the mentioning of his Spiritual Pride of his Carnal Confidence and resting in Duties of his Self-love of his Worldly-mindedness This guileful subtil Semi-confitent purposely and industriously keeps in that very sin which among these or other particular sins is his most proper and peculiar sin he 's mute and silent here he scarce ever comes nigh that main sin which divides and separates between God and his Soul and keeps off his Heart from entirely closing with Jesus Christ His talk I think I miscal not his Confession his talk I say is usually far enough from that Thus Lapwing-like he raises his Note highest and makes the greatest noise furthest off his own Nest But now on the other side the truly humble broken penitent Sinner he 's of an honest ingenuous guileless spirit in accusing of himself he deals most freely and openly with his God he hides and covers nothing from him he plainly lays open to God his very darling bosom sin and readily discovers his most inward and retir'd Lust He is so far from concealing this in his Confession that of all others he is most careful to detect it and makes it his business to insist oftenest and largeliest on it And certainly he that does thus confesses aright for he that charges himself particularly with his most beloved secret and hidden sin is no question in a constant readiness to charge himself with all to charge himself with every one And thus much for the first way of Self-Accusation in Confession to wit Particularizing of our sins I shall pass to the second so soon as I have entreated you to take notice but of one Clause in this First Part of the Definition of Self-Accusation I told you that Self-Accusation is the Sinner's charging himself as particularly as may be with his sins as particularly as may be as particularly as he can which was purposely inserted to hint thus much unto you That we are bound to confess many sins which yet we are no way able to particularize such are all ignorances and unknown sins Indeed we ought to make a particular acknowledgment of our sins as far as our knowledge of them reaches but yet when we have confessed all we know against our selves we are not yet come to a non ultra in â—onfession we must not here make a stop we must not here break off and give over Confessing we must find more to say aginst our selves than we know particulary and distinâ—tly by our selves Tho' we know much by our selves yet certainly there 's much we don't know by our selves but God is greater than our hearts and kâ—â—weâ—h all things 1 Joh. 3.20 he sees many a sin in us that we dâ—n't sâ—e in our sâ—lves Now our unknâ—wn sins our sins of ignorance tho' they be unknown to us tho' we are ignorant of them yet because they are in themselves real breacâ—es of God's Law and so truly sins against God therefore they ought to be conâ—ess'd to him But how you 'll â—â—y 〈◊〉 can we confess such sins as we d n't 〈◊〉 Why yes tho' we caâ—◠〈…〉 and reckon them up in particulâ—r yet we may and must and it sâ—â—â—â— iâ— we do wrap them up altogether in a 〈◊〉 and impliâ—â—â— Confession and crave pâ—rdon for them by the lump David wâ— careful to do thus Is 19.12 Who says he can understand his errors Lord cleanse thou me from my secret faults Let me add That a general Confession is necessary not only in respect of our unknown sins but also in respect of unknown circumstances even of our known sins for possibly even when the sin is plain and manifest yet some circumstance or other which aggravates the sin may be occult and secret CHAP. IV. Of the second way of Self-Accusation namely as it is made by Aggravation of sin The great Necessity of Aggravation of sin Our Confession cannot be full and compleat without it There can be no thorow humiliation without it Several Heads of Aggravation propounded Among many others one notable way of Aggravation commended which is To take those very thing which are too commonly made Excuses and Pleas for sin and to turn them into so many Aggravations How to Aggravate our sins from the littleness of them from the commonness of them from our ignorance in sinning from temptations to sin and from our sinful Nature A notable instance of Aggravation of sin shewn in St. Austin I Come now to the second way of Self-Accusation namely as it is made by Aggravation of sin The Sinner charges himself with his sins by heightning and aggravating them with their most heinous and notorious circumstances And indeed the aggravating circumstances of our sins must not by any means be neglected in our Confessions for then we should make Confession but by the halfs with the Unjust Steward in the Gospel we should set down but fifty for an hundred Nay we should often leave out of our Confessions more than we put into them we should ev'n set down but Pence for Pounds but Mites for Talents For tho' in Natural things accidents are nothing in comparison of the form yet it 's a true Rule that in moralibus circumstantia plus valet quam forma in Moral things the Circumstance is often more than the meer Action it self Thus it is in the case of sin the aggravating Circumstances of our sins often rise and amount to
more than our sins barely and simply in themselves considered Circumstances are to Actions much like what Ciphers are to Figures which quickly make 1 the very least of all Figures but the beginning of Numbers by being placed with it stand for a 1000 an 100000 and therefore for thee to confess thy sin without it's appendant Circumstances it is at best to say the least thou canst of thy sin nay to hide any notable Circumstance in thy Confessions it is in effect even to cover thy sin Thus you see our Confessions of our sins can't be full and compleat without the aggravating Circumstances of our sins for sinful Circumstances are the most are the greatest part of our sins without these our sins are comparatively but little and light These are they that swell and double and treble the Accounts that encrease and enlarge the Bill that thicken and lengthen the Catalogue Besides leave but these out of thy Confession and thou wilt not be thorowly humbled in thy Confession thou wilt not be deeply affected with thy sins in thy Confession thy sins won't prick thee at thy Heart won't cut and wound thee in thy Confessions Now as we all wounded our selves with our sins in the Commission of them tho' we did not perhaps presently feel that wound so we should wound our selves with our sins in the Confession of them and indeed this wound tends to healing whereas the other tended to Death but our sins without their Circumstances are as a Sword without an Edge the Circumstances of sin they give it an edge they make it sharp keen and piercing By means of these we are very much mov'd and wrought upon in our Confessions and soundly humbled for our sins when we spread them before the Lord. Thus much for a touch of the Necessity of Aggravation of Sin as being absolutely necessary to Confession of Sin Now as the Duty is in it self necessary so the Performance of it is the great care and serious study of every Penitent Sinner who is so far from disguising masking vizarding or palliating his sin that he brings it in and makes it appear in it's own shape in its proper and natural Colours He acknowledges his sins to be Scarlet sins Camel sins to be sins of the greatest Magnitude of the deepest Dye He does dot savour his sin in the least he studies to make it as bad as it is in it self He readily owns all that in his particular sin which he acknowledges to belong to the ugly nature of Sin in general He strives to make the very worst he can of it He is severe and impartial in Self-Accusing He says as much against sin in himself as he would say against sin in any one else as much as any one else would say against his sin Nay he endeavours in his Confessions to say as much against his sins as God himself says against them in his Word He calls his sins by the same Names be they never so bad as the Scripture calls them He calls his neglect of Brotherly reproof as the Holy Ghost stiles it even * 19 lâ—vit 17. Hating his Brother in his Heart He calls his wilful transgression of God's known command * 1 Sam. 15.23 Rebellion and reckons it as bad as the Sin of Witchcraft and accounts his Stubborness to be as Idolatry He labours to give as strict a Judgment to make as rigid a Censure of his sins as the Just and Holy Law-giver himself does and to speak no more mildly and mincingly of them than he finds the very Spirit of Truth to speak of them When he has made himself vile by particularizing of his sins why he 'll make himself yet more vile by aggravating of them until they become out of measure sinful He thinks he can never say too much never enough against himself he thinks he can never sufficiently vilify and debase himself never lay himself low enough before God Of sinners I am chief says humble Penitent Paul 1 Tim. 1.15 and so says Tertullian in like manner * 〈…〉 perâ—terâ—â—a natâ—â— Tertulâ—â—e â—â—niâ—â—nt 〈◊〉 I am a most notorious Sinner as if I were born to no other end than to confess and repent It is is not here impertinent to propound the several Heads of Aggravation with which the Penitent Sinner amplifies and exaggerates his sins in his Confessions I might instance in these 1. In that he has sinned wilfully and voluntarily and this may contain two very great aggravations in it 1. That he has sinn'd wilfully against Light and Knowledge as against the very Light of Nature against the clear Light of the Sacred Scripture against the Light of good Education against the Light of the Preaching of the Gospel against the Light of his own Experiences against the Light of the wholsom Counsels sober Admonitions and seasonable Reproofs of Christian Well-wishing Friends 2. He aggravates his sins from the wilfulness of them in that he has sinn'd as against his Knowledge so upon no Temptation or upon very little Temptation in that he has sinn'd without any Illecebra from without without any Incentive but from himself And indeed this is as humbling an Aggravation as can be that I have sinn'd when it was easie for me to have forborn sinning that I sinn'd when I was neither blinded with Ignorance nor transported with Passion nor over-born with any kind of Temptation but did this and that deliberately and out of Choice sometimes studying and contriving how I might sin most handsomly and often seeking out Companions Occasions and Inflammations of my Lusts This Aggravation of sinning without any Temptation or with very little Temptation is hugely necessary for such as in ordinary buying and selling will Lye and Cheat for a Farthing for such as in common Talk will Swear out of an idle Custom or for a vain Compliment as if an Oath were the Enamel of a Speech the handsomest grace of a Sentence the chief and only thing that makes it come off cleverly And truly among all the sins in the World there is scarce any one of them mâ—re Temptation-less than Customary Swearing But 2. A second Topick of Aggravation may be this He aggravates his sins as from his wilfulness in sinning so from his sinning against the Means which God has us'd to reduce and reclaim him from his sins namely In that he has sinn'd against the Motions and Strivings Helps and Assistances of God's good and holy Spirit sinned against the Divine Mercies both General and Special both Temporal and Spiritual or in that he has sinn'd against the Divine Judgments either National or Personal either feared or felt either threatned or already inflicted But the Penitent Sinner chiefly and especially aggravates his sins from their being committed against intermixed and interwoven Mercies against the Mercies of God's Mercies and the Mercies of his Judgments compounded conjoin'd and united combin'd and conjugated in his wisest and most Providential Dispensations Lord says he I have now
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
hiding or concealing any of his Sins This Man resolves to confess all that he may be forgiven all to cover none that none may be uncover'd I have now done with the last Property of Confession True Confession is made with an earnest Desire of and some good Hope in Divine Mercy Yet let me leave what has been spoken with this necessary Caution Let us all be sure to take one thing with another let 's join all these Propeâ—ties of Confession in Practical Use together In Confession of our Sins let 's earnestly desire and as firmly trust in Divine Mercy for the Pardon of them all but let us know that if we would do this warrantaâ—ly and safely we must at the same time confess our faults voluntarily and freely with a perfect Hatred of them an Holy Shame and Sorrow for them and an hearty full Resolution against them otherwise we may encourage our selves if we please with fond Thoughts of an infinite Mercy and call that Faith and Hope if we will which is meerly our wild deluded Fancy but God accounts such ungrounded Confidence nothing but Impudence and Presumption and will deal with us accordingly And thus I have as fully and clearly as I could open'd and discover'd unto you the whole Nature of the Duty of Confession and explain'd at large this full Definition or Description of it viz. Confession of Sin is the Penitent Sinner's voluntary Accusing and Condemning himself to God with Hatred of Shame and Sorrow for and a full Resolution against his Sins together with an earnest Desire of and some good Hope in Divine Mercy CHAP. X. The Grounds and Reasons of Confession Two false Grounds of Cofession rejected We must never confess our sins with any intention to give God Information or to make God Satisfaction by our Confession An Objection answered I Now proceed to give you the Grounds and Reasons of Confession and to shew you how it comes to be our Duty or why it is our Duty And I shall give you the Reasons of Confession 1. Negatively then Positively 1. I shall shew you what we are to account no Reason 2. What we ought to judge a good Ground and sufficient Reason for our Confession 1. Negatively We must never confess our sins to God thereby to give God either Information of or Satisfaction for our sins 1. We must never confess our sins with any intention to give God Information by our Confession as if he were ignorant of them before we told him of them for surely the Lord knows all our sins better than our selves do and needs not our help for the discovery of any He takes strict notice of all our Thoughts Words and Actions Psal 139.1 2 3 4. O Lord says David thou hast searched me and known me thou knowest my down-sitting and my up-rising thou understandest my thoughts afar off thou compassest my path and my lying down and art acquainted with all my ways for their is not a word in my toâ—gue but 〈◊〉 O Lord thou knowest it altogether God is privy to all our secret Contrivances he knows what is done in the Chamber and Closet what we muse and meditate of upon our Beds he knows what is forg'd in the very Heart God has no need to be inform'd of our defaults to be certified by us of our miscarriages he sees the very first motions and inclinations of our Souls he beholds us in the very act of sin and he bears in Mind all our Wickednesses and lacks no body to be his Remembrancer They are indeed too frequently out of our own Memories unless he keep them in or recal them to our Minds of his free Grace and Mercy We must not therefore confess with any intention thereby to let God know and give him to understand what we have done as if otherwise he would be ignorant of every thing or any thing 2. We must never confes our sins with any intention to make God Satisfaction by our Confession The most submissive penitent Confession does not at all satisfy the Justice of God for the wrong we have done him nor merit a Pardon from him no God is infinitely merciful when he pardons sin upon Confession Confession of Sin can't in any measure satisfy for Sin For Confession of Sin becomes it self our necessary Duty presently upon the Commission of Sin but Duty is not satisfactory Again The best Confession of our sins is it self tainted and mingled with sin and needeth another Confession and therefore can deserve nothing at God's hands nor make him any Compensation Further The goodness of Confession if it were perfectly blameless and faultless were yet but a finite Good whereas the Evil of every transgression is an infinite Evil because committed against an Infinite God but a finite Good can't make God recompence and amends for an infinite Evil. Obj. If you ask why Confession of Sin has not as much good in it as the Commission of Sin has evil in it why the one does not as much honour God as the other dishonour him for when it is said Sin has an infinite Evil in it it is meant only Objectively because God against whom it is committed is an infinite God Now if Sin be called infinite because it wrongs and injures an infinite God why should not a Penitent Confession be accounted infinite since it honours and glorisies an infinite God Answ I answer Offences arise according to the Dignity of the Object because the Dignity of the Party offended is there hurt and wronged as an offence against a Nobleman or King is greater than against a private Man but Satisfaction increases according to the worth of the Subject for here the giving of Honor is look'd at which depends on the Dignity of the Person that gives it therefore it suffices to make Sin infinite that God who is the Object of it is infinite But there is not enough to be sound in any Confession to make it of an infinite worth and value because Man who is the Subject of it is but finite and therefore the most exactly and thorowly Penitent Confession because it proceeds from a finite Person is not able to make God â—atisfaction for hence it is that Christ only could effectually satisfie because he only was an infinite Person Thus I have remov'd and rejected the wrong and false Grounds of Confession We must never go about Confession with any purpose thereby to give God Information or make him Satisfaction CHAP. XI Ten positive Grounds and proper Reasons of the Duty of Confession 1. God expresly commands it 2. God is greatly glorified and justified by it 3. 'T is a thing in it self most reasonable and equitable 4. Confession of Sin is absolutely and indispensably necessary to Remission of Sin so as that God can't well pardon us without Confession How it 's unbeseeming the Majesty the Justice the Mercy the Wisdom the Holiness of God for God to pardon and forgive the Sinner before and without the Confession and
why he seeks to conceal it So 't is here When a Sinner is not free to disclose and confess his sin to God it is because he has no sincere purpose to leave and forsake it no honest desire by the Grace and Help of God to be kept and preserved from it for the future A fly retention of sin is an Argument of the deceitfulness of the Heart but full Confession is a proof and demonstration that there is no Guile in a Man's Spirit Psal 32.2 And because Confession witnesses to a Man's self the Sincerity of his Repentance therefore it must needs give the Sinner good assurance that he is in a fair way of Recovery out of sin and danger And indeed a Man may safely conclude thus I find I can sincerely confess my sin to God therefore I hope I limit now be rid of it for it 's a certain Sign that the ill Quality is removing and the Disease going off when once it breaks out at the Lips and as in the Disease we commonly call the Small-Pox the greatest fear is either in their not appearing or in their present striking in again but there 's very good Hope of Life and Health if they break out kindly So here The Sinner has just cause to fear Death when his sins lie inward and strike to his Heart but if they come forth thick and be driven out abundantly in a free Confession he has then good reason to be of good chear and may well entertain some comfortable hopes of being freed from Sin and Death of enjoying his Soul's Health and obtaining Eternal Life 7 Reas We should confess and lay open our sins to God because Confession eases our troubled Spirits and disburdens our oppressed Consciences You know the opening of a Vein cools the Blood when our Hearts are full with the sence of our sins that they cannot hold and contain themselves then is it necessary to give a vent to our Hearts by confessing our sins This is a most rational way to receive Comfort in Griefs expressed are best eased and mitigated All Passions are allayed by vent and utterance This is true however the Devil the Father of Lyes suggests to us that in so doing we shall bring our selves to Despair that we shall run out of our Wits and even kill and destroy our selves and never live a Merry Day again if we offer to think of our old Sins and go about to rank them particularly and set them in order before God by a full and faithful and frequent Confession Let 's but try and we shall soon experimentally find as great Relief and Remedy to our uneasie and afflicted Consciences our troubled and burdened Souls by confessing our sins aright to God as ever any sick and oppressed Stomach did by throwing up the Food that offended and disagreed with it or Part that was Imposthumated by letting out the Corruption that pained and tormented it 8 Reas We must confess our sins because it were unreasonable Folly in us to go about to hide any sins from God and the wisest way to conceal them from others is to discover them to God There are two branches of this Reason 1. We should confess because it were unreasonable Folly in us to go about to hide any sins from God We may be the better for confessing but we cannot be the worse for confessing our sins won't be e'er the more known and divulged for our confessing of them to an Omniscient God St. Ambrose in his comment on the Parable of the Prodigal Son in the 15th of St. Luke speaking of those words of the Prodigal I will arise and go to my father and will say unto him Father I have sinned c. speaks excellently to the matter in hand and describes the weakness and folly of not confessing but covering and concealing our sins from God In vain says he wouldst thou hide any thing from him whom thou canst deceive in nothing and thou may'st reveal without danger what thou art sure is known already Surely the Malefactor would not conceal any thing from the Judge if he were certain the Judge knew all before-hand Let every one consider that God has a darting and piercing Eye that sees the very bottom of our Souls God sees not as Man sees he sees and judges the very Heart O God thou knowest my foolishness and my sins are not hid from thee says David Psal 69.5 He searches and tries the very reins Jer. 11.20 Alas fond Sinner God is intimately acquainted with thee and with thy ways he knows thee better than thou doest thy self Doest think to hide any thing from him Why cannot he that made all the Chambers of thy Heart for his own use unlock every Door and enter into every Room of it and search what is in every corner of it without thy help or leave Know and understand God is always in thee and with thee Thou art never so much alone but that thou art still in company with God never so much in secret but that all thou doest is * Heb. 4.13 naked and open and manifest unto the Eyes of the great God that fills Heaven and Earth He was present with thee even then when thou thoughtest none was near thee when no Eye of Man saw thee he saw thy wickedness he was a Spectator of thy sin If thou sayest surely the darkness shall cover me even the night shall be light about thee yea the darkness hideth not from him but the night shineth as the day the darkness and the light are both alike to him as the Psalmist speaks Psal 139.11 12. Hence it is that Devout Austin cries out in the 10th Book of his Confessions the 2d Chapter Lord what of me would be hid from thee if I would not confess to thee unto whose Eyes the great Ahyss and depth of Man's Conscience is naked and apparent I might indeed hide God from my self says he my self from God I could not This is the first branch of the 8th Reason God can take no Advantage against us by our Confessions for we tell him nothing he knew not before it is not instructing the Judge against our selves God himself was an Eye-witness of all we ever did and therefore it is gross Folly to go about to conceal any thing from God But further 2. As it's Folly to think to hide any one sin from God so the wisest way to conceal all hidden sins from others is to lay them open to God A free acknowledgment of sin to God is the best course can be taken to maintain the secresie of the Soul the only way to have one's secret sins cover'd is to discover them by Confession that so they may not be brought upon the Stage before all the World If we confess our sins God will conceal them if we take shame to our selves God will keep us from shame and dishonor but if we hide them God will uncover them perhaps here in this World by making others to
publish and bring them to light or causing thee thy self to betray thy self in some sickness of Body or trouble of Mind and Conscience or it may be he may make thee the Instrument of turning thine own inside outward and declaring the privy passages of thy Life when thou liest upon thy Death-Bed But if he bring not thy hidden works of darkness to light here he will to be sure reveal them hereafter at the Day of Judgment before all the Saints and Angels of heaven to thy eternal Disgrace and Reproach In vain in vain doest thou bury them here in silence for God will find a time to rake them up again and there shall certainly be to all wicked impenitent Sinners a Resurrection of their Sins as well as their Persons it is our safest course then voluntarily to confess for God will some time or other set wide open the Closets of our Hearts if we lock them up our selves 9 Reas We must confess our sins because it 's not only a foolish but an unsafe and hazardous a desperate and dangerous thing for any to attempt to hide and conceal their sins from God God severely threatens this unwillingness to confess He that covereth his sins shall not prosper says God by Solomon Prov. 28.13 What shall he not prosper Yes prosper in his wickedness and go on in his sins he shall but believe it that 's but ill thriving But he shall not prosper that is he shall not go Scot-free he shall not escape Divine Vengeance he shall be plagued with many intermedial Judgments here and if they do no good on him he shall be punish'd with eternal Damnation hereafter We plainly find that they that have hid their sins have fared much the worse for it A famous instance of this we have in David who when he had murder'd Vriah so closely and cunningly could hardly be brought to confess his sin so much as secretly to God himself as if he had subtilly deceiv'd God as well as Man He finely puts it off and excuses it he makes it to be nothing but the Chance of War the Sword says he devoureth one as well as another 2 Sam. 11.25 Now even David himself tho' he was a very dear Child of God very precious in his eyes tho' God was very tender of him yet in such a case as this he would not spare him no David himself must smart for it and be sensible of the Divine displeasure God puts him upon the Rack torments and tortures him till he had made him confess Take the relation of his affliction from himself Psal 32.3 4. My bones says he waxed old thro' my roaring all the day long for day and night thy hand was heavy upon me my moisture is turned into the drought of summer and he himself renders the very reason of this to be his want of Confession and Humiliation at the beginning of the third Verse When I kept silence my bones waxed old when I kept silence A free Confession would have sav'd and prevented all it was his guileful deceitful Dealing with God which brought all this evil on him which cost him so dear and was the true cause of all his Trouble It was his holding his peace that made him cry out 't was his keeping Silence that made him roar Sin wilfully kept in by any Man draws sorrow and punishment upon the Man and holds them there so long as it self is retain'd but free-heartedness in Confession does hinder God's Judgments from seizing on the Penitent Sinner or suddenly removes whatever Judgments have fallen upon him Smooth open Hearts no fastening have but fiction Doth give an hold and handle to affliction As Holy Mr. Herbert excellently in his Sacred Poem called Confession 10 Reas Lastly We must confess our sins because Confession of Sin or Self-Accusing and Self-Judging it happily prevents or weakens all Satan's Accusations and surely forestalls the just Sentence and Judgment of the great Judge at the last Day 1. It prevents or weakens all Satan's Accusations Not to speak how Confession vexes and troubles the Devil in the very making of it for even while thou art humbly confessing the Devil who before rejoyced in seeing the Commission of thy sin is now more troubled and griev'd in hearing the expression of thy sorrow But besides this it not only grieves him for the present but prevents all Accusations of his for the future It prevents his Accusations of thee to God it prevents his Accusations of thee to thy self especially upon thy Death-Bed 1. It prevents or weakens all Satan's Accusations of us to God St. Ambrose in the place fore-quoted brings in this as a reason of Confession He shuts out the envy of an Accusation who prevents his Accuser by a free Confession The Penitent Confessor having been before-hand with Satan having anticipated his objections having made his own case as soul before God as was possible having taken as it were the Devil's words out of his Mouth and said as much as bad of himself as the Devil can say of him unto God relying all the while upon God in Christ for the Pardon of all he has by this means out-witted the Devil frustrated his intentions invalidated and evacuated his Accusations You read in the Parable of the Prodigal Son Luk. 15. and the latter end how his Elder Brother objected against him to his Father his base and unworthy carriages towards his Father his leaving his Father's House and Family his devouring his living with Harlots and wasting h s substance with riotous living But all this tho' true nothing alter'd or alienated his Father and why Because the Elder Brother came too late the Prodigal had got the speed of him had fore-accus'd himself and already obtain'd his Pardon Satan our Elder Brother by Creation will certainly prove our malicious Accuser but if we timely prevent him by pre-condemning our selves to God our Father we shall undoubtedly get an Act of Indemnity before he can enter his Action against us God won't hear a word spoken against us from him if he has first heard us speak against our selves to himself What tho' the fierce Lion roar out our faults in the Ears of Heaven Why God will turn a deaf Ear to him if so be we have our selves before declared them in a still broken-hearted Confession Thus Confession or Self-Accusation happily prevents Satan's Accusations of us to God But then 2. It prevents or answers his Accusations of us to our selves and his Temptations of us on our Death-Beds When Men lie upon their Death-Bed and are going out of the World then the roaring Lion goeth about seeking how he may devour them then is our Adversary the Devil most active stirring and busie then does the subtile Head of this wily Serpent work most strongly then does he inject and cast into the Conscience of a Sinner whatever terrors affrightments and discouragements he can then does he what in him lies tempt the Sinner to final Despair by setting
transgressions for I acknowledge my transgressions If the poor Sinner will but go to God in Confession as the Servants of Benhadad went with Ropes about their Necks to Ahab in behalf of their Master with such Words as these Lord thy Servant saith I pray thee let me live then Christ who is King of Kings the Lord of Life and Judge of Life and Death he presently returns the same Answer to the Sinner that Ahab did to Benhadad 1 Kings 20.32 Is he yet alive he is my Brother God the Fatherr says Is he yet alive he is my Son And Jesus Christ our Elder Brother he says Is he yet alive he is my Brother And here 's a sweet and comfortable Entertainment of a poor returning penitent Confessor If we confess God will not only reprieve us but fully pardon us he 'll not only defer Punishment but remit it wholly and quite absolve us If we remember our Sins in the presence of God God will forget them if we set them before our face before his face he 'll cast them behind his back he 'll never look upon them more so as to take Vengeance for them tho' he he cannot but by reason of his Omniscience see and discern them If we with Shame and Sorrow accuse our selves he 'll cancel the Bills of Accusation and throw the Records of Shame and Sorrow from the Court of Heaven He 'll fully dissolve our Obligation to Eternal Punishment and certainly give us a right to Impunity and eternal Life If we take with us Words and turn to the Lord he will take away all Iniquity and receive us graciously Tho' he leave our Sin in our Memory to keep us from relapsing yet he will take it out of our Conscience that our Hearts may not accuse us for it But that we may call our Sins to mind * Quid retribuam Domino quòd râ—â—olit haec memoria mea snims meavoâ— metuiâ— inde August Confes L. 2. c. 7. § 1. without being affrighted at the Consideration of them And is no the pardoning pacifying Grace and Mercy of God Argument enough to us to draw us speedily to confess We are deeply indebted to God We owe him a vast Sum not an hundred Pence but ten thousand Talents Matth. 18.24 And we can never work our selves out of Debt Our Creditor can prove every Particular of the Debt and we are wholly in his Hands and at his Mercy he has us in his Power and can take what Course he will with us Now if he cast us into Prison we shall lie there long enough and never come out again for we are never able to pay and discharge our Debt Augustus the Emperor when a certain Roman's Goods were to be sold after his Death sent to buy the Pillow on which that Person greatly indebted could in his life-time take his rest and sleep 'T is a wonder that we who are clogg'd with so many and great Spiritual Debts can sleep or eat or drink or take any ease or rest content or pleasure in the World till we have used the means to procure a Discharge from them Certainly the longer we lie in our Debts the more they will encrease upon us But how do we deserve to be arrested imprisoned and there to lie and perish to all Eternity if we won't so much as confess our Debts to have them forgiven When as God calls upon us to acknowledge our Sins and is ready to blot out as a thick Cloud our Transgressions and as a Cloud our Sins We are greatly guilty before God and if Guilt lie upon us it will surely sink us as low as Hell We are obnoxious to the Divine Justice and it 's a fearful thing to fall into the Hands of the living God O let us timely confess our Sins that so we may get into God's Favour and be delivered from the Wrath to come and may escape the Damnation of Hell Let 's be like some ingenuous Children and Servants who when they have done a Fault or broken any thing they can't go about their Business quietly till they have first gone and made known their Fault and told it their Father or Master themselves and when once that is past and over then they can follow their Employments chearfully without any fear of Anger or Chiding O go and tell your God the Truth tell your Heavenly Father and Master whatever you have done amiss and he 'll be pacified towards you and then you may walk chearfully and comfortably in your Christian Vocation Let this move you to confess because then God will forgive if you impute Sin to your self God will not impute it to you And this is a happy Priviledge Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven whose sin is covered says the penitent Prophet * Psal 32.1 2 David who had tasted and seen how good the Pardon of Sin is What Solace Comfort and Heart's Ease what a sweet refreshing Repose and Rest Day and Night has he who is upon good grounds perswaded that all his Criminal Debts are freely forgiven him all his sins remitted by God for the sake of his Surety Jesus Christ the Righteous 2 Mot. A Second Motive or Encouragement shall be taken from that other precious Priviledge here in the Text because if we confess our Sins God will not only forgive us our our Sins but will also cleanse us from all unrighteousness which cleansing is another Benefit * Vid. Calvin in loc plainly differing from that of forgiving Kings may pardon guilty Rebels and Traitors but they cannot turn or change their false and disloyal Hearts Judges may save condemn'd Malefactors from Execution but it 's quite beyond their Power to mend or alter their evil Qualities and naughty Disposition But behold the King of Kings doth always both together When ever he reconciles Men's Persons he also reconciles their Natures to himself Whom he frees from Punishment them he ever makes most faithful and obedient Whom he saves from suffering them he also preserves from sinning Whom he justifies them he sanctifies Where he takes off the guilt there he takes out the filth Whom he pardons them he purges Whose trespasses he freely forgives them he effectually cleanses from all unrighteousness Cleansing speaks motion and tendency towards Purity To cleanse us from all unrighteousness is to cleanse us from all impurity Now that is double * See Dr. Hammond's Sermon Of the Nec ssity of the Christiaâ—'s Cleansing p. 121. and his Pract. Cat. p. 95. in 4â— either of filth or of mixture as Water is impure when it is mudded and defiled and as the Wine is impure both before it 's fetcht off from the Lees or Dregs and when it is mingled with Water So the cleansing here it is the purging out of our Carnality and also the freeing of us from Hypocrisie St. John's cleansing here from all unrighteousness it is the same with St.
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
8.56 There has not fallen says he or fail'd one word of al his good promise which he promis'd by the hand of Moses his servant And therefore God's Mercies are call'd the sure mercies of David And God stiles himself †Exod. 34.6 abundant in goodness and truth * 1 Jam. 17. With him is no variableness neither shadow of turning If God has promis'd he will perform †Nam 23.19 God is not a man that he should lye neither the son of man that he should repent Has he said it and shall he not do it Or has he spoken and shall he not make it good * Mat. 5.18 24.35 Heaven and earth shall pass away but not one jot or tittle of God's word shall pass away unfulfilled Yea for our further and fuller security and satisfaction God has not only expresly promis'd it but has also sworn it that †Ezek. 33.11 as he lives the penitent Confitent shall not die but live When God says As I live he earnestly desires to be believed O happy we says * De Paenitent c. 4. Tertullian for whose sake the Lord does swear O miserable we if we won't believe him when we have not only his Word but Oath Now since God has so graciously condescended to our weakness and has so fully satisfied us of his love and good will towards us let not us be wanting in performing the Condition on our part because God can never be wanting in making good and performing the Promise on his part For if we confess our sins God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness CHAP. XV. A double Direction by way of Preparation to the Duty of Confession 1. Premeditate as much as you can in order to Confession 2. Be sure to look up unto God for Conviction HAving hitherto perswaded you to set upon the performance of this Duty I shall now give you some Directions about it that so the performance of it may be the more acceptable unto God and the more profitable to your selves I have thought upon somewhat which may serve to direct you 1. before the Duty in your Preparation to it 2. Concerning some Circumstances of the very Peformance of it 3. And lastly In your carriage and behaviour after the Duty 1. Before Confession take these two Preparatory Directions 1. Premeditate as much as you can in order to Confession 2. Be sure to look up unto God for Con-Conviction 1. Meditate before you confess Much is the fruit great is the benefit of this Direction I shall shew you a fourfold Benefit of it 1. Previous Meditation works the heart into a solemn serious confessing frame and temper Confession it 's the pouring out of the Heart before God now previous Meditation even melts the Sinner's Heart fits and prepares it to be poured out Alas our Stomach at first is too big to confess our sin to acknowledge our selves in a fault for this is an act of Humility of yielding and submitting to another which we naturally scorn to do and won't be brought to till our Heart be broken till our Stomach be pull'd down which is kindly wrought effectually done by Meditation by considering the Sovereignty of God over us his Power to make a Law and to command us the observance of it by bethinking our selves how much to our own Advantage the keeping of this Law would have been both here and hereafter and yet that we have wilfully broken this holy and just and good Law and so made our selves obnoxious to Divine Justice Considering after all this that it is not in vain to confess what we have done our Heart cannot but be now ready our Mouth cannot but be open to confess the extream sinfulness of our sins Thus you see how Premeditation puts us upon Confession and makes us willingly buckle to the Duty by shewing us the Reasonableness and Profitableness of the performance of it 2. Meditation as it puts the Sinner upon Confession so it affords and ministers abundant Mat er for Confession He that meditates before he confesses is very well furnished in his Confession He is not at a stand he is not to seek for what he should confess next he sees enough in himself to complain of himself for unto God It 's this Mediation that fills up the Bill of Indictment with so many Items Meditation it fully and clearly discovers our sins to us It 's the bringing the Elephant to the Water and the shewing of him there the ugliness and deformity of his * Lerg Scout Proboscis The Water is the Law now by Meditation we compare our selves with the Law of God and our Practises with its Commands and Injunctions and so we see how hugely deficient how very far short we are of our several Duties Meditation is the Hand which holds the Glass of the Law before us in which we plainly behold our own Faces and see all the spots and blemishes we have contracted Meditation is the perambulation of the Mind thro' the whole course of a Man's old Life It 's a reflection upon a recollection and recognition of our former actions When we have by solemn Meditation read over the Book of our past life turn'd over and examin'd the several leafs of it and so made good observation of our former Conversation then shall we be best able in our Confession to set down justly our Errata's and to give our God a penitential relation of our miscarriages 3. Meditation as it brings in Matter so it begets Affection * Psal 39.3 While I was musing says David the fire burned then spake I with my tongue It holds true in Confession as well as in any other part of Prayer 4. Meditation as it gives us a sight of our sins and so lays in Matter for Confession so it gives us a sight of God's Promises freely made unto penitent Confessors and so chears and strengthens and bears up our Hearts in Confession by shewing us what Attribute of God what Promise in his Word is most suitable most comfortable to us in our present condition and fittest to be pleaded with God in Confession Let us therefore prepare our selves to Confession by premeditation without which we can never confess as we ought But yet 2. Let 's not rest in our Premeditation but let 's be sure to call in the Assistance of the Spirit in our very entrance upon the Duty of Confession Let 's beg of God that he would give us his holy Spirit to convince us of sin We can never be able to tell our Dreams unless we be well awaken'd by the illightning convincing Spirit of God Let 's look upon our selves as poor dark blind Creatures and seek to God to be anointed with Spiritual Eye-salve that we may see Let every one of us cry to God * Job 34.32 That which I see not teach thou me and say with Job †Job 13.23 How many are
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
afterwards as the Spirit of sincere Obedience to God's Commands and Universal compliance with his Will Let me exhort you in the Words of Ezra Ezr. 10.11 Now therefore make confession unto the Lord God of thy fathers and do his pleasure Confession of our Sins to God and doing the Divine Pleasure must go together our Confession must be like that of David's Psal 119.26 I have declared my ways and thou heardest teach me thy statutes After we have confess'd we should desire and endeavour to walk uprightly and to learn God's Laws and Statutes and should abhor to live carelesly and loosly and to run into sin fearlesly and presumptuously Confession and Repudiation and Renunciation of sin Confession and Confusion of sin must go together it is not who so barely confesseth but Who so confesseth and forsaketh his sins shall have mercy Prov. 28.13 We are too ready to think that we have done all as soon as ever we have confess'd and that what remains is only God's acting of his Part when as you see the Promise runs thus Who so confesseth and forsaketh his sins shall have mercy The Advice I shall give you I shall lay before you in two Particulars Let me fasten this double Word of Counsel on you 1. Take heed of falling wilfully into any sin after Confession for he that confesses sin aright confesses Sin as Sin with a real hatred of shame and sorrow for Sin as Sin and so is engag'd against all Sin whatsoever Hate even the Garment spotted by the flesh Hate every false way But 2. Beware especially that ye fall not wilfully into the same particular sins ye have confess'd Let 's take heed of the Repetition and Recommission of the very same fault after Confession Take heed of this for 1. There is great Danger of it 2. There is great Evil and Folly in it great Guilt and Danger by reason of it 1. There 's great danger of it of returning to the same Sin again after Confession Danger to the formal and Danger too to the penitent Confessor 1. Danger enough to be sure in respect of the formal customary Confessor For 1. Such an one is ready to think that he has made even and compounded with God by his last Confession and so is ready to sin afresh and to run on a new Score having now no old Sins to answer for as he thinks Or 2. The formal Confessor is somewhat eas'd by confessing as the Drunkard is by his vomiting and so is apt now to take heart to fall to 't again having no trouble upon his spirit to restrain him Or 3. He reckoning with himself that his formal customary Confession does without any more ado presently obtain his Pardon he therefore encourages himself to sin by conceiting and fancying the extream easiness of getting and procuring a Pardon at the cheap rate of reiterated Confession And so makes a small light trivial matter of sinning again by thinking thus with himself I may venture to sin again it is but making another Confession God is a merciful God If I confess again he 'll forgive again †Vid. Tertul de Paenitent c. 7. Thus he turns the Grace of God into wantonness and makes the Divine Mercy a Principle of looseness and licentiousness And thus he annihilates God's Wisdom and Holiness and makes God but a Mock-God a credulous easie contemptible petty Deity This is much like * Philip de Com. B. 2 c. 8. Lewis XI of France who carried a leaden Image or Crucifix on his Hat and when he had done any act his Conscience check'd him for he pluck'd off his Hat and bowed to the Image or Crucifix asking forgiveness for it upon which he reckoned and made account that God and he were Friends Or 4. Lastly There is danger enough of this to thee that art but a meer formal Confessor because the Lord may justly punish thy hypocritical Confession by leaving thee to thy self and giving thee up to sin with more greediness afterwards than before as you know he dealt with Pharaoh But 2. As there is danger to the formal Confessor so there is danger also to the penitent Confessor of relapsing and falling back into the same sin again There is danger here 1. From Satan who becomes himself more * Vid. â—â—rtul aâ—nit c. 7. watchful when once he sees the Sinner awaken'd We have an Adversary always studying Advantages against us The Devil when he departs he departs but for a Season he leaves a Man with a purpose to return to him again at a convenient time and fit opportunity There is real danger of our falling again into sin confess'd because Satan is resolv'd not to give over yet he 'll set upon us with a new Temptation he 'll try new Devices with us There 's danger from Satan but 2. The greatest danger here is from our own Corruption and the falseness and deceitfulness of our own revolting backsliding Hearts which are apt upon the performance of Duty to draw us into Carnal Security and to give Satan considerable Advantage against us After Confession we are prone to Self-Confidence and ready to think our selves strongly enough Arm'd and sufficiently Fortified against any temptation to those sins which we have confess'd To conclude that having taken such Physick we are well enough antidoted against all Infection not to doubt but that we have now put on Armor of proof that will resist and repel the sharpest Weapons of our Spiritual Enemies We are apt to be safe upon our Confessional Resolutions and ready to think that we have shewn such high dislike of our sin in our Confession that the Devil is now discourag'd from medling with us and thinks it in vain to offer to have any more to do with us and therefore we neglect our Watch and draw off our Guards as no way fearing the return of our Enemy Thus we are apt to be secure upon Confession and the Devil now takes the greatest Advantage that can be by our Negligence and Presumption to draw us into sin afresh and deal with us as he pleases Thus you see there 's great danger of falling into sins confess'd therefore take heed of it be watchful and vigilant over thy self If thou hast not a special care sin will soon get into thee again as cold easily gets into a Man's Body who was just now very hot or has newly vomited But 2. As there is great danger of wilful falling into the same particular sin again so there is great Evil and Folly in it great Guilt and Danger by reason of it For 1. Falling into sin again after Confession especially into any gross sin does exceedingly aggravate the sin In the old Law * Levit. 13. â— 8. if the Scab did spread much abroad in a Man's â—kin after that he had been seen of the Priest for his cleansing then the Priest pronounc'd him unclean for it was a Leprosie Even so if after we have shewn our selves unto God for
our cleansing and plainly laid open our sin in Confession I say if after this our sin does still grow upon us and spread and increase in us God then looks upon it no longer as an ordinary Scab but accounts it a Leprosie our Sin now becomes out of measure sinful our Disease is more remediless our Case much more fearful and dangerous Sin after Confession is a great sin in these respects 1. As it is a persisting and continuing in a course of Rebellion against God an holding up maintaining and renewing the old War against Heaven Now every sin the oftner it is committed the more it acquireth in the quality of Evil. 2. Sin after Confession is great not only as it is a continuing and going on still in our old sin but further as it is a sin * Vid. Tertul de Poenitent c. 5. against great Light for if you had not clearly known it to be a sin you could never have confess'd it 3. Sin after Confession is a dealing most falsly and treacherously with God When the People of Israel sinn'd again in marrying the Daughter of a strange God ev'n after that solemn Confession of this Sin and Resolution against it Ezra 10.11 12. This their Relapsing after Confession is branded for Treachery and call'd expresly an abominatiâ—n 2 Mal. 11.13 This false and treacherous dealing is a plain abusing and gross dishonouring of God Pray do but consider If any of you should have a Child or Servant in the Family come every Morning and Evening and confess his Fault and then go presently and practise the same how could you bear and endure such a Carriage and Behaviour So how ill how very ill will God take this at any Man's Hands when he does nothing but * Alterâ—ae iâ—tâ—r â—piditatâ—m nostram poeniteâ—tiam vices suâ—t Sen. de otio Sap. cap. 28. Sin and Confess Confess and Sin Believe it by the very next Act of Sin the same Sin you do more to God's dishonour and do more justifie your Sin than ever you can make God Amends for if you should repeat your Words of Confession to all Eternity Deliberate wilful returning to Sin after professed Repentance and Confession of Sin with a prevailing degree of love to it and delight in it is such an Act of extream baseness and falseness to God as shews the greatest undervaluing of him and casts the highest disparagement upon him For here the Sinner having †Vid. Tertull de Poenitent c. 5. made a Trial and Comparison of both plainly prefers in his Judgment and Choice the Work and Service of Sin and Satan before the Way and Work of God And so does in effect say That He is far the better Master whose he had rather be and whom he had rather serve And so gives the Devil occasion of Rejoycing and matter of Triumphing against God that One that lately seem'd to return to God is now more fully fallen off from God and come over again into his Possession and Power and under his Command and Kingdom Falling into Sin after Confession will make your Sin of a deep of a double Dye That 's the First 2. Falling into Sin after Confession as this is a great Sin so it brings along with it great Punishment 1. It does usually and ordinarily draw after it internal Punishment It deserves and begets hardness of Heart When Pharaoh after Confession sinned yet more it follows immediately He hardened his heart Exod. 9.27 34. 2. Sinning after Confession brings along with it and draws after it most heavy outward Punishments too Pharaoh and his People were soundly plagued for sinning wilfully after Confession When Ezra had solemnly confess'd that great Sin of the People of Israel in mingling of themselves by Marriages with the People of the Lands Ezr. 9. from 6 to 14. what dreadful apprehensions had he of the woful effects of that Sin if ever they should dare to return to it again Ver. 14. Should we again break thy Commandments and joyn in affinity with the people of these abominations wouldst not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consum'd us so that there should be no remnant nor escaping Well then Take heed of a Relapse and Recidivation after Confession as for God's sake because it is an heinous Sin against God So for your own sake because so provoking a Sin as this is will hardly go unpunish'd 3. Sinning wilfully after Confession will make you Self-condemn'd when God punisheth you You will then be judg'd out of your own Mouth Ye will have nothing to say for your Selves before God For how can ye excuse your Selves to God for the doing of that which formerly ye accus'd your Selves to God for doing And how will your Mouths be stopt when God condemns you for that which formerly ye condemn'd your Selves for in the Presence of God 4. Sinning wilfully after Confession will break our present Peace and dash our Hopes of future and further Comfort If God has spoken Peace upon former Confession we shall hazard and endanger all by returning again to Folly We may by one Act quickly lose all that which we were so long a getting and procur'd at so dear a Rate Or if God intended us any Comfort this will stop the Conveyance of it If God was preparing any Blessing for us this will cause him to withhold it from us 5. By relapsing into Sins solemnly confess'd thou wilt cut out for thy self new Work and create thy self new Trouble and make the Severities of a new Repentance necessary and force thy self to perform over again the penal afflictive Duty of Confession To take more tearing violent Vomits to swallow down more bitter lothsom Pills and to go through a tedious course of stronger Physick than ever thou took'st before 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 in us For every repeated and renewed Act does mightily confirm and radicate the old Habit and so gives Sin the faster hold in the Soul and makes it more difficult to be remov'd And as it strengthens Sin so it weakens Grace in the Soul As Nature is made much the weaker by careless Relapses into bodily Diseases So the Habit of Grace is weaken'd and impaired by falling afresh into sinful Acts that are contrary to it And so our Spiritual Strength decaying our Soul's Recovery must needs be with the more danger and greater difficulty For the feebler we make our Selves by our fall the further we are from relieving our Selves and helping our Selves up again 7. It 's very dangerous to fall into Sin after Confession because this 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 We shall then be apt to think thus with our Selves With what Face can I ask God Pardon of that which since I last beg'd Pardon of I have
even justified by committing afresh With what Confidence can I resolve anew when I ha' broken former Resolutions 8. Your sinning wilfully after Confesfession will make God loth ever to take your Word again and will render him harder to Pardon you upon a new Confession 1. It will make God loth ever to take your Word again God will be very jealous and suspicious of you for the future When you come to confess again Quid verba audio will God say facta cùm videam What do you speak a few good Words in my Ears for I see your Deeds plain enough What reason have I to think you are in good earnest Why you have often confess'd before and sinn'd again afterwards as often as you have confess'd And a'n't you likely ev'n to serve me so again How can I believe you 'll ever do what you pretend Thus sinning after Confession and so dealing falsly with God will make God loth ever to take your Word again Further 2. Our wilful falling into the same particular Sins which we have confess'd will render God harder to Pardon us upon a new Confession If God should Pardon us we ha' reason to fear 't will be upon more difficult and uneasie terms both for doing and suffering We must do more now in order to Pardon than was requir'd before And it may be we must suffer much more notwithstanding our Pardon The Expressions of our godly Sorrow must be greater Our Repentance and Confession will cost us dearer And when it has done so God may then peradventure pardon the Sin we committed after Confession and remit the Eternal Punishment of it But yet it may cause him unalterably and irrevocably to resolve and determine to inflict upon us some sad and heavy Temporal Punishment Thus I ha' shewn you That there is great danger in sinning wilfully after Confession And therefore take heed of falling voluntarily and running readily into those particular Sins especially any particular gross Sins which you have confess'd and acknowledg'd to God the Evil of Let 's not * 2 Pet. 2.22 return with the Dog to his Vomit Let 's not greedily and covetously run after those Sins which we seem'd to lothe and cast up Some of the Heathen in the Days of Sacrifice to their Idols for Health did riotously Banquet to the prejudice of their Health †Taliter fermè omnia agunt ut eos non tam putes artea poenitentiam crimirum egisse quà m postea ipsius poeritertiae poenitere Nec tam priùs poenituiffe quòd malè vixrint quà m postea quod se promiseâ—tâ—t bene â—sse vlâ—turos Salvian de Gubern Del Lib. 5. p. 17â— So too too many the very same day they confess their Sins for Pardon of Sin do turn afresh to their old Sins and so contract new Guilt and incur God's heavy Displeasure Let us take heed that we be not found in the number of these Let not us serve God as Saul serv'd David who plainly confess'd his Sin against David and that with Tears to him 1 Sam. 24.16 17. and yet Ch. 26. ver 2. he pursues and persecutes him again as eagerly and fiercely as ever he did before Let not us in like manner acknowledge our Sins to God it may be with Tears and presently transgress and rebel against God the self-same way and as much as ever we did before For tho' we should say a thousand and a thousand times over God forgive me I 'll do so no more Yet if in our Deeds we bewray our Love and Affection to our Sins it is but a Protestation contrary to our Practise and we do thereby but make our Selves the greater and deeper Lyars CHAP. XVIII Some Means or Helps for the shunning and avoiding of Sins confess'd 1. Let such as have formerly confess'd their Sins without any true Sense of Sin now labour speedily to get a deep and thorow Conviction of the Evil of their Sins 2. Let such as have confess'd their Sins with a true Sense of Sin upon their Spirits observe and practise these following Rules 1. Labour to preserve and maintain in the course of thy Life the same Apprehensions thou hadst of thy Sin in any former serious and solemn Confession 2 Seriously consider and remember that thou art at present in Dependance upon God for Mercy and art very fair for 't 3. Be always imploring Divine Assistance and improving your own Endeavours against your Sins HAving plainly shewn you what great Danger there is of falling and also what fearful Evil Folly and Mischief there is in falling into the same particular Sin after Confession I shall now lay down some Means or Helps for the shunning and avoiding of Sins confest And 1. For such who have often confest their Sins without any true Sense of Sin Why that you may not now fall into any of those Sins which you have so slightly confest and are therefore in so much danger of Be sure you labour speedily to get a deep and thorough Conviction of the Evil of your Sins Think and say thus within thy Self I ha' sometime customarily confest my Sin to God but O what a great and heinous Sin is it How contrary to God's express Command What heavy Threatnings are plainly denounc'd in the Book of God against it How cross is this and that Sin even to the Light of my own Nature How contrary to the clear Light of Scripture What a Grief to the Good Spirit of God What a Breach of comely and beautiful Order in the World What a Discredit to my Profession What an ill Example to my Neighbours Servants and Children What a Wound to my Conscience What a Breach in my Peace What an Enemy to the life of my poor Soul I say that you may not desperately run into old Sins and so contract new Guilt labour presently to get and beg of God that he would give you a deep and thorough Conviction of those Sins which you have formerly confest without any Sight or Sense of Sin But 2. If any among us have confest our Sins with a true Sense of Sin upon our Spirits why that we may not relapse and fall back again into the very same Sins we have particularly confest let us carefully observe and diligently practise these following Rules 1. Labour to preserve and maintain in the Course of thy Life the same Apprehensions thou hadst of thy Sin in any former serious and solemn Confession Surely you did not then look upon Sin as it was mask'd and vizarded and had the Notion of good put upon 't as it seem'd profitable pleasurable honourable But you then look'd upon the naked nature of Sin and the sad consequences of it You then apprehended the Evil that is in it and discern'd the Evil that comes after it and follows upon it You then saw Sin as Men use to see it at the day of Death when they are well awaken'd You then saw it after the same manner as the damn'd in Hell see
it You then saw it in some good measure as God himself sees it You then thought of it as holy Men do when they are enlighten'd by God's Spirit You then judg'd of it as your Saviour himself when he suffer'd upon the Cross and felt the weight of his Father's Wrath for your Sin judg'd of it You then spake of it as the Scripture it self as the Spirit in the Scripture speaks of it As the Righteous and Holy Law-Giver himself expresses himself concerning it in his Word You then felt the pain and smart of it and call'd it an evil and a bitter thing Jer. 2.19 and befool'd your self for medling with it You then had a graat Prejudice of Mind a strong Antipathy of Heart against it and fully resolv'd in the very Presence and Hearing of God himself never to have any more to do with it O keep these severe Thoughts fresh still Never suffer them to wear off again This will certainly sowr and imbitter Sin to you and make you ha' no mind to it and cause you to find no pleasure and delight at all in it no more than in Gall and Wormwood no more than in Wounds and Bruises in Aches and Pains and broken Bones The remembrance of the Bitterness of Sin which we fully felt in Confession of Sin will effectually preserve in our Minds and Hearts a constant disgust and disrelishing of Sin an utter disaffection to it a total condemnation of it and an absolute aversation from it It 's very potent to restrain and deter us from yielding to it or ever closing any more with it 'T will make us disallow it now at present as then we disallow'd it This very Consideration will easily repel that notable Temptation of Satan wherein he goes about to draw us to Sin by perswading us of the Easiness and facility of getting a Pardon upon reiterated Confession Thou maist venture to Sin again says he it is but Confessing again Now the lively Remembrance of what we formerly felt in Confessing assures us that Confession which the Devil makes but a but of is as hard and difficult a Piece of Work as can be That it 's no such easie matter to Confess That this is a grievous Penalty a pungent afflictive Duty When Satan tempts one after Confession if the Man be still sensible of his Sin and of the Evil of it the Devil then finds but poor Entertainment What says the Soul Art thou the Cause of all my Torments come again Surely a bloody Master hast thou been unto me and now thou daily seekest subtilly to devour me What would you have me Sin again and so be wretched and miserable for ever Or say you I may Repent and Confess again afterwards I know then too too well already what it will cost me I well remember the Shame and Sorrow and Self-Revenge that must be acted and exercis'd in that Duty Non tanti emam poenitere I 'll not buy Repentance at so dear a Rate This is the first Rule That you may not Sin after Confession be sure you continue the same Apprehension you had of your Sin under some notable Conviction in any former Confession 2. That thou maist not hereafter wilfully fall into any particular Sin already confest seriously consider and remember That thou art at present in dependance upon God for Mercy and art very fair for 't And therefore think thus with thy Self How dare I do this and dishonour him afresh from whom I expect so much Won't my repeating of this Sin deaden my Hopes and frustrate my Expectations Can I think that God will love and own favour and tender me after this Will God speak Peace to my Soul if I return again to Folly Will God comfort my Conscience and cheer my Spirit if I churlishly sad and grieve his Spirit Will God wash and cleanse me if I wilfully defile and pollute my self This very Meditation will in a great measure discourage and dishearten curb and restrain you from sinning especially from relapsing into any Sin particularly confest 3. That we may not fall into Sins confest Let 's be always imploring Divine Assistance and improving our own Endeavours against them Let 's heartily beg God's Grace and earnestly seek the Lord and his Strength and faithfully use Grace receiv'd and up and be doing and go and act in the Strength of the Lord. Let 's apprehend our selves in danger of every Corruption of every Temptation and be afraid lest any Temptation should blow out the Light of former Conviction and allay the Heat and abate the Strength of former Resolution and draw us to return again to Folly Let 's every Day watch and pray that we enter not into Temptation Let 's be sober and vigilant because our Adversary the Devil as a roaring Lion walketh about seeking how he may devour us Let 's manfully resist the strongest Temptations to the Sins we ha' confest shun all Occasions and abstain from all Appearance of Evil and exercise Self-denial and labour betimes to break our selves of our own Wills Let 's daily observe the very first risings and motions and stirrings of those Sins in our Hearts which at any time we have confest and repented of And let 's remember and consider how they formerly won and gain'd upon us and let 's resist their very beginnings and nip them in the very bud and crush the very Coccatrice Eggs. Let 's not entertain any old Sin so much as in our Fancy Let 's never venture to keep it's Picture nor once offer to wear it's Favor Let 's bear no loving pleasing remembrance of it nor shew any kind respect to it but express the highest dislike of it and the most implacable irreconcilable Enmity against it So much for the Means or Helps in the Use of which we may keep our Selves from foully and wilfully falling into Sins confest CHAP. XIX This fifth Direction concluded with a double Caution 1. While we take heed of falling on the one side into the same particular sin we confess'd let us also beware of falling on the other side into the contrary sin to that we confess'd 2. If through strength of Corruption or violence of Temptation thou shouldst at any time fall into the same sin again thou must not for all this run into Despair but thou must renew thy Confession as thou renewest thy Transgression This gives no License at all to sin but is the best Preservative and Antidote against it I Shall shut up this Direction with these two Cautions 1 Caution While we take heed of falling on the one side into the same particular sin we confess'd let us also beware of falling on the other side into the contrary sin to that we confess'd * Dum vitant stulti vitia in contraria currunt Horat. Satyr 2. Inter caetera mala illud pessimum est quòd vitia ipsa mutamus Judicia nostra non tantùm prava sed etiam levia sunt Sen. de otio Sap. cap.
28. While Fools avoid one Vice they commonly rush into the contrary Vice Let 's therefore take heed that sin don't in again in our very Revenge of those sins which we ha' confess'd Here Satan always seeks his Advantages and often gets them of us and makes too good use of them when he has got them Let 's therefore so be zealous against a sin that formerly we have been guilty of and made confession of as that we don't unwarily run into the contrary Extream If thou hast confess'd thy Covetousness and resolv'd against it in avoiding of that take heed thou dost not turn Prodigal If thou hast confess'd thy Prodigality take heed in shunning of this that you fall not into Covetousness If you made Confession of your Presumption beware now of Vnbelief under the shew and colour of Humility If you confess'd your Vnbelief then now take heed of fearless bold Presumption cloak'd with the specious Name of Affiance and Confidence in God Do'st thou acknowledge thou hast been formerly Profane and Atheistical O then take heed of needless Ceremoniousness and downright Superstition let not that impose upon you under the plausible Notion of exemplary Piety and singular Devotion Do'st thou confess thou hast been too too Ceremonious and plainly Superstitious O now take heed of Atheism and Profaneness of Looseness and Licentiousness let not Looseness creep upon you under the Notion and Title of Christian Liberty It may be you may be very tender of falling into the same sin again because your Conscience may judge a Relapse into that sin to be very dangerous but this fear of falling into the same sin may cause you too much to lean and encline towards the contrary sin This Caution therefore is very necessary After Confession so take heed of falling into the same sin as that you fall not into the clean contrary sin 2 Caution We must indeed take heed of sinning after Confession yet if thro' strength of Corruption or violence of Temptation thou shouldst at any time fall into the same sin again thou must not for all this run (a) In case we do catch a fall and the tempter without lust within do blow and push us down yet we must not make the matter worse by despairing for to despair is a greater fall than the fall it self this were to leap into the fire to save our selves from the flame Capel of Tentat 1 Part p. 123. into Despair but thou must renew thy Confession as thou renewest thy Transgression This gives no License at all to sin but is the best Preservative and Antidote against it †It is a dangerous case for a godly Man to sin the same great sin after Repentance What if it do not put him out of Christ What if it do not hang him yet it burns him in the Hand whips him up and down the Town My meaning is That it doth cast him into a Bed of miserable sorrow â—ut withal we must say that it may possibly be that after true and hearty Repentance for such a fault a Child of God may fall into the same gross sin He may as well fall into the same gross sin as another as great because that another Sin as great is as contrary to the Habit of Grace and Act of Repentance as the same He may chance to fall into the same gross Sin again and again how often I cannot tell but this I can tell that how often soever he sinneth let him repent and return and his Pardon is ready They wrong God in his Mercy and Men in their Comfort who do say the contrary Capel on Tentations p. 127 133 134. You can't from hence encourage your selves to sin for I told you before that the Pardon of sin committed after Confession will be more difficult to be obtain'd God won't presently smile upon you he won't so quickly give you a good word or a good look It will cost you many a Sigh many a Tear many a Prayer before you make your Peace with him He will see you deeply and soundly penitent before he will quite be friends with you But tho' the case be dangerous yet it is not desperate tho' you be further from Pardon than ever upon so doing yet God can pardon you in and through Christ There is not any one word in Scripture that affirms or intimates that Persons relapsing tho' again and again into the same sin can never truly and sincerely repent Nor is there any one word to be found there that denies the benefit of Gospel-pardon to those that humbly confess and unfeignedly repent of such sins as these Yea there are such sweet passages and precious promises contain'd in Scripture as will undoubtedly support and uphold any poor Soul in this state and condition and keep him from utter despairing of Pardon Jer. 3.12 13. Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say Return thou backsliding Israel saith the Lord and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you for I am merciful saith the Lord and I will not keep anger for ever Only acknowledge thine iniquity that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God And v. 22. Return ye backsliding children and I will heal your backslidings This is the gracious Promise and merciful Invitation of God Now do but observe their Answer Behold we come unto thee for thou art the Lord our God The greatness of their Sin does not drive them to Despair but the greatness and graciousness of God's Promise does embolden and encourage them to come to God by Faith and Repentance they presently lay hold of God's Favor and thankfully take the benefit of it And Hos 14.1 2 3 4. O Israel return unto the Lord thy God for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity take with you words and turn to the Lord. And then it follows I will heal their backsliding I will love them freely God in the Gospel has required us to forgive those who repeat their Trespasses against us as often as they renew their Repentance towards us to forgive an offending Brother * Luk. 17.4 seven times in a day Yea to forgive not only till seven times but †Matth. 18.22 until seventy times seven that is four hundred and ninety times which is not a determined number but signifies infinitely and intimates to us that we must Pardon continually Or the meaning may be as * Hieron in Matth. 18.22 St. Jerom expounds it that we should be ready to forgive our Brother oftner in a Day than ever he can stand in need of our Pardon Now can we think that the Father of Mercies will ever prove less merciful to us than he has commanded us to be to others Has not he himself plainly told us that in the case of shewing Mercy †Isai 55.8 9. His thoughts are not our thoughts neither are our ways his ways for as the Heavens are higher than the Earth so are his ways higher than our ways