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
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
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
the Condemnation of his Sin and Codemnation of himself And presently he said unto Jesus Lord remember me whâ—n thou comest into thy kingdom there 's the real expression of his fervent Desire of Christ's Compassion The Penitent Confitent most humbly and heartily asks forgiveness at the hands of God and seeks most passionately the face and favour the love and friendship and gracious presence of God full and firm reconciliation to him and sweet acquaintance and comfortable communion with him I grant a very Hypocrite may seek God's face out of love and respect to himself only he may seek God's face so far as may serve to free him from Punishment and deliver him from Judgment but he does not sue for peace with God out of love and affection to the blessed and lovely Nature of God he does not seek the special Spiritual presence of God nor holy and heavenly Communion with God he looks not after God's Love of Complacency and Delight he does not care for God's favour unless it be upon his own Terms that God would be at peace with him to let him quietly enjoy his sins he entreats the love and favour of God looking upon God as a merciful God but not considering God as a holy God as the righteous Lord that loveth righteousness He desires forgiveness that he may procure his own Ease and slatter away the Rod from his back that he may be freed and well delivered from what he either feels or fears but he does not seek forgiveness of God that he may fear God that he may serve him acceptably with reverence and godly fear for the future But the sincerely Penitent Sinner chiefly laments after the Lord 1 Sam. 7.2 he seeks the face of God that he may enjoy God he looks more after God's Favour than his own Ease and is more solicitous for the recovering of his Love than for the removing of his Rod he says as Absalom did in another case 2 Sam. 14.32 Let me see the King's face though he kill me Lord says he if thou hidest thy face I am troubled be pacified towards me or else I die even while I live and suffer a very Hell on Earth I weep and mourn I sigh and groan I saint and sink if thou dost not turn to me if thou be'st not kind to me if thou be'st not friends with me I am not able to bear thy Frowns O let me see one smile from Heaven let God speak one kind World to me and give me but one good Look If Natural Light be so very sweet 11 Eccl. 7. and if it be so pleasant a thing for the Eyes to behold the Sun O then how chearing and refreshing a thing is the Heavenly Light of God's Countenance How delectable and amiable is it to behold the pleased face of God the Sun of the Intellectual World The Light of thy Countenance is the Life of my Life yea blessed Lord thy special favor and loving kindness is better than life it sâ—lf 63 Psal 3â— No freedom from punishment will content me without a sight and view of the reconciled face of God Lord let me have but thy favour it is enough Good Lord do but love me and then do what thou wilt with me The poor Penitent enjoys no peace with himself until he be at peace with God He seeks and pursues peace with God and peace with God upon Gâ—d's terms He earnestly desires the favor of God and the favor of God as an holy God and hugely covets the friendship and fruition of God out of love and affection to God as well as to himself He sincerely and passionately breaths after the reconciliation of his Nature unto God as well as of his Person He begs unfeignedly and affectionately the Image and likeness as well as the love and favour of God He sues for Purifying as well as Pardoning Grace He asks true Holiness as well as free Forgiveness A new Nature a better Temper that he may no more do God such wrong as formerly he has done him And truly whoever seriously and understandingly desires the one must needs desire the other for he that heartily and not only formally and complementally asketh Pardon is really convinc'd of the iniquity of his doings of the baseness and unworthiness of his Actions Now he that truly knows and heartily acknowledges that what he has done he has done amiss that the thing he has done he ought not to have done will ingenuously desire and faithfully endeavour to do so no more and be glad to be kept not only from suffering but also from sinning for the future No Man can really and considerately desire Pardon unless withal he desire Holiness A Man may indeed desire God not to use his Power to destroy him at his pleasure but he cannot properly entreat and beseech God to Pardon him that is to pass by and put up a confess'd wrong unless withal he desire God who alone can do it to give him Grace to prevent such miscarriages for the future for otherwise the sensible Sinner should plainly pray to God to countenance Sin and encourage Iniquity and to do that which would directly and certainly tend to the further dishonour of his holy Nature and the gross contempt and high violation of his righteous Law which would be an absurd and unreasonable desire and such as a rational Creature can never offer considerately to utter to Almighty God That 's the first The humble Confessor importunately desires the Pity and Mercy the Love and Kindness the Favour and Friendship the Purity and Holiness the Image and likeness of God 2. The humble Sinner confesses as with an earnest impatient desire of Mercy so likewise with some dâ—gree and measure of true Faith and real Hope in Divine Mercy The true Confessor indeed is not impudent in God's presence no he 's hugely asham'd of himself as you have heard yet is he somewhat confident for he really believes and hopes he firmly trusteth in his God and â—esolvedly casts himself on his Mercy The Penitent Sinner encourages himself to seek to God in Confession as the Servants of Benhadad encourag'd him to seek to Ahab 1 King 20.31 32. Behold says the Sinner I have heard O my Soul that the King of the House of Israel is a merciful King a King of Mercy humble now thy self and go out to the King of Israel peradventure he will save thy life and with thus much hope at least that it may fare well with it The Soul goes out to God as the Servants of Benhadad did to Ahab and takes with it such words as these Lord thy servant saith I pray thee let me live The desires of the Penitent Consitent are faithful hopeful desires Such was the desire of the Publican he believed and hoped in God when he cried God be merciful to me This was a Prayer of Faith for it had the testimony and approbation of God himself This man went down to his house
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
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
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
Spiritual Bethesda which never fails to make all whole all clean that are put into it Thou canst purge and rinse my Soul and fetch out all my spots and stains Go to God and say Lord thou wast won't to say to me Wilt thou not be made clean When shall it once be Jer. 13.27 Behold I now say to thee Wilt thou not make me clean When when shall it once be Go to God and confess your forlorn filthiness and acknowledge his Power and produce his Promise to cleanse and purify you and profess and declare your hearty willingness to be made clean and when thou art cleans'd in any measure labour so far to keep thy self clean and be sure to maintain a due apprehension and deep sence of thy remaining pollution and seek to God and wait upon him in the use of his own appointed means for the daily promoting and furthering of thy Cleansing I have hitherto invited and encourag'd you to confess by setting before you the Priviledges and Benefits that are annex'd to the Duty I shall further enforce my Exhortation by shewing you the certainty of these Benefits to be bestowed of these Priviledges to be made good God's Faithfulness and Justice stand strongly engag'd to bring all about to see all perform'd And therefore 3. 3. Mot. Let us confess our sins because if we confess God is faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse us God has not only promis'd it but he has confirm'd and established his Promise by engaging his Faithfulness and his Justice One would think God's bare Word might well be taken without any more ado that God might easily be believed without his using any Asseveration but there 's very good reason here for God's seconding his single Word with the mention of his Faithfulness and Justice in making of it good For there are two things which are likely to make Men of an hard and difficult belief especially in the business of Pardon and forgiveness of sins 1. Our own contrary Nature and Practise We can scarce be drawn to believe that there is such a thing on God's part towards us because we find so little of it in our selves towards others for ordinarily we think as we feel and measure and judge of others by our selves Our own base Principles and Dispositions are ready to beget in us great fears and jealousies and suspicions of another We are persons ill-meaning our selves and therefore are apt to think hardly of others to make the worst interpretation of another's mind and meaning Thus it is very hard to believe contrary to our own Sence and Experience we feeling an averseness and backwardness in our selves to pardon others this raises in our Minds an Argument against God's pardoning and forgigiving us We are afraid lest God should ev'n serve us as we serve others lest God should deal with us as we are ready to deal with others 2. The due consideration of the heinous nature and high provocation of our sins When once we begin to think with our selves how infinitely great and glorious holy and just that God is whom we have so foully and frequently offended when we thorowly look into the ugliness and deformity and seriously weigh the extream demeritoriousness and punishableness of our sins is not it hard here for an awaken'd Conscience to perswade it self that he who has us in his power to destroy us and has provocation enough to do it should yet not only at present forbear striking us but also forget the wrong and forgive us He that is fully convinced of sin finds it the hardest thing in the World to believe this And this occasion'd Luther to say * Dicere se peccatorem esse tamen non desperare omnino divina virtus est Luther loc com de paenitent Christian p. 130. 2 Clas That Man acts wholly above a Man that can call himself a Sinner without Desperation †Vid. Calvin in Text. It greatly concerns us to be certainly perswaded and well satisfy'd of God's readiness to pardon Penitent Sinners for otherwise we shall constantly carry a Hell within us And hence it is that God industriously confirms and strengthens his Promise that so he may banish our fears and answer our objections God in the Gospel makes all provision that can be for the full assuring the penitent Person of his grace and favour because the Sinner has so much (a) Tentatis nihil est nimium in verbo Dei Luther Ioc. cit p. 120.3 Clas temptation to distrust it If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins Faithful in standing to his Word and in keeping his Covenant made with us of pardoning the sins of penitent Confessors He is Faithful and Just Just in a fourfold sence 1. God is Just and Righteous to forgive in the sence that Righteousness is all one with (b) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hic interpretor bonum lenem Sic 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 est Dei tonitas Grotius in loc Goodness Mildness Mercifulness If we confess God is so good and gracious as to forgive 2. Just to forgive (c c) Vide Corn. â Lapide in Text. in consideration of Christ's Satisfaction fully and perfectly performed for us and upon our penitent faithful Confession made over to us for our use and benefit But in this sence (c c) Vide Corn. â Lapide in Text. God is more properly Just to Christ than to us for he not we did make Satisfaction to God the Father and purchase Pardon and Grace for us 3. God is Just to forgive Just (d e) Vid. Calvinum A Lapide Estium in loc Episcop Institut Theolog. c. 29. de Justit Dei parti◠p. 326. in fulfilling his gracious Promise of forgiveness and cleansing And so Faithful and Just here are Synonymous terms and signifie one and the same thing (d e) Vid. Calvinum A Lapide Estium in loc Episcop Institut Theolog. c. 29. de Justit Dei parti◠p. 326. God by his Word and Promise binds himself and gives a Right to the Penitent Sinner and it is a part of Justice to make good his Promise A Promise is a Debt tho' freely made and it is just to perform what is mercifully promised And therefore when God had given the Land of the Canaanites to Abraham's Seed as he had promised it is said in the 9th of Nehem. 8. Thou hast performed thy words for thou art righteous 4. God may be said to be Just here in respect of his Remunerative Justice He is Just in rewarding the performers of the Condition and giving what his Promise had made their Due upon such performance So a Judicious Divine occasionally interprets this Scripture God is Faithful and Just to forgive Faithful and Just Solomon who had strictly observ'd and particularly compar'd what God had spoken and what he had done for his People Israel will tell you there was not a Promise unperform'd * 1 King