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 john Salusbury, at the Rising-Sun in Cornhill, 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 its unworthy Author, embolden and encourage me not only to present this small Treatise to Your Grace's Hands, but to make a public 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 shows 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 embellished and embroidered with Gaiety of Language; which would be apt to fix it in the Fancy, and hinder its 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 wont 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 Virtue 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. IU. Of Self-Accusation; by Aggravation of Sin, p. 33. Confession cannot be full, p. 34. And there can be no thorough 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 shown 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 Damned, but only in a serious acknowledging ourselves 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. Particularising 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 confessed, 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.) Extremely 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 expressly commands it, p. 131. (2.) Is greatly glorified, and justified by it, p. 131, 132. (3.) 'Tis a thing in itself 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 ourselves 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, etc. p. 143. (8.) It were unreasonable Folly in us to go about to hid any sins from God, p. 145. And the wisest way to conceal them from others, is to discover them to God, p. 147, 148. (9) It's a dangerous thing, for any to attempt to hid their sins from God, p. 149. (10.) Confession of Sin, or Self-accusing, and Self-judging, it happily prevents, or weakens all Satan's Accusations of us to God, p. 152. And to ourselves, especially upon our Deathbeds, p. 154. And surely forestalls the just Sentence and Judgement of the great Judge at the last Day, p. 157.  
CHAP. XII. The first Use, of Confutation of the Popish Doctrine of Auricular Confession, p. 159, to 164.  
CHAP. XIII. The Second, of Excommunication and Reproof together, p. 165.  
CHAP. XIV. The Third, of Exhortation, p. 169. Three Mottves taken out of the Text: (1.) If we confess, God will forgive us our Sins, p. 170. (2.) He will also cleanse us from all unrighteousness, p. 179. What is meant by Cleansing, p. 180. This Benefit nothing inferior to the former, p. 184. (3.) God's Faithfulness and Justice do stand engaged to make good the promised Blessings to us, p. 187. God condescends to confirm bis Promises, because there are two things which make us prone to distrust, especially his pardoning Mercy. (1.) Our own contrary Nature and Practice. (2.) The due Consideration of our heinous Sins and high Provocations, p. 188.  
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, p. 195. (2.) Be sure to look up unto God for Conviction, p. 198.  
CHAP. XVI. Directions given concerning some Circumstances of the very Performance of this Duty. (1.) Concerning the Time and Season of Confession. (1.) Confess continually. (2.) Daily. The Equity, p. 201. and Advantage of so doing, p. 203. (3.) Whenever you lie under any notable Conviction, p. 206. Or, (4.) any notable Affliction, p. 207. (5.) Presently upon the Commission of any great Sin, p. 210. Or, (6.) Upon the Receipt of any great Mercy, p. 212. (2.) Concerning the Place; especially confess in secret; (1.) Because it's necessary, p. 213. (2.) Convenient, p. 214. (3.) Most likely to be Sincere, p. 217.  
CHAP. XVII. Directions, respecting our Behaviour after the Duty. (1.) H●st thou confessed? Then bless God who has enabled thee to confess. (2.) Apply the Promise to thyself, and make good Use of it in time of Temptation, p. 221. (3.) Daily plead the Promise with God, and carefully look after the Performance of it, p. 222, 223. (4.) Hast thou confessed, and found the Benefit of it? give God the Praise that is due to him, p. 223. (5.) Take great heed of falling into Sin after Confession, p. 224. (1.) Of falling wilfully into any Sin. (2.) Into the same particular Sins, p. 225. For, (1.) There is great danger of it. Danger, (1.) To the formal Confessor, in four respects, p. 226. to 228. (2.) Danger to the Penitent Confessor: (1.) From Satan, p. 228. (2.) From our own Corruption, p. 229. (2.) Great Evil, and Folly in it; great Gild, and Danger by reason of it. For (1.) Falling into Sin, any gross Sin, after Confession, does exceedingly aggravate the Sin, p. 230. in three respects, p. 231. (2. ● It brings along with it great Punishment; both internal and external Punishments, p. 233. (3.) 'Twill make you Self-condemned when God punisheth you, p. 234. (4.) 'Twill break our present Peace, and dash our Hopes of future and further Comfort. (5.) Thou wilt thus cut out for thyself new Work, and make the Severities of a New Repentance necessary, p. 235. (6.) 'Twill make us more unapt and unable to rise again, and recover out of it. (7.) 'Twill very much dishearten us, when we would beg Pardon of our Sin, and hugely discourage us when we would renew our Resolution against it, p. 236. (8.) 'Twill make God loath ever to take your Word again, p. 237. and will render him harder to Pardon you upon anew Confession, p. 238.  
CHAP. XVIII. Some Means or Helps for avoiding of Sins confessed. (1.) Let such as have formerly confessed their Sins without any true Sense of Sin, now labour speedily to get a thorough Conviction of the Evil of their Sins, p. 242. (2.) Let such as have confessed their Sins, with a true Sense of Sin upon their Spirits, observe these Rules. (1.) Labour to preserve in the course of thy Life the same Apprehensions thou hadst of thy Sin in any former serious Confession, p. 243. (2). Consider and remember, that thou art at present in Dependence upon God for Mercy, and art very fair for't. (3.) Be always imploring Divine Assistance, and improving your own Endeavours against your Sins, p. 247.  
CHAP. XIX. A double Caution. (1.) While we take heed of falling into the same particular Sin we confessed; let us also beware of falling into the contrary, p. 250. (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 Licence at all to sin, p. 252. 253.  
CHAP. XX. The sixth Direction. Have we confessed our Sins to God, that we might be forgiven them by God? Let us then freely forgive those that have trespassed against us, upon their Confession of their faults to us; and so forgive them, as to testito them our pardoning of them, p. 258.    

ERRATA.  
PAg. 9 l. 22. read their sins: p. 13. l. 17. Job 31: p. 19 l. 7. deal in: p. 41. last l. deal one r: p. 42. l. 26. r. of his: p. 48. l. 10. many sins: p. 101. l. 5. there: p, 108. l. 2. of the Contents, an earnest: p. 157. l. 8. at: p. 172. l. 2. for them: p. 176. l. 5. deal he: p. 185. l. 12. and 13. deal when shall: p. 194. l. 11. r. Per-: p. 196. l. 24. dita-: p. 209. l. 9 for it: p. 211. l. 17. to do.   

A DISCOURSE OF Confession of Sin.  1 John, 1. ix. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

CHAP. I. The Introduction. The Division of the Words. The Doctrine laid down, and the Method propounded for the handling of it. The Nature of Confession opened, or a Description of it given, containing the Acts or Parts, and the Adjuncts or Properties of Confession.  
THe Apostle having shown in the Verse foregoing, that no Man living is without Sin, he presently propounds a general Remedy of this Malady, declaring Confession and acknowledgement of Sin to be a means of obtaining Remission of Sin; and Sanctification at the hands of God: If we confess our sins, etc.  
In the Words themselves, there's no Knot to be untied, no Difficulty to be resolved; they are very plain and easy, and intelligible enough, to any one that will but understand them: Take but those Words [Faithful and Just] in the same sense with reference and relation to the Divine Promise, and the whole Verse doth need no more Explication; it wants no other Explanation at all.  
Only let me entreat you, in transitu, and by the way, to take notice with me, who it is that speaks herein the Text, who it is these Words, you have heard, come from. The Person that speaks here, believe it, he is not a mere legal Preacher, but an Evangelical, a Gospel-Minister, an honourable Ambassador, a worthy Apostle of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; and one that had arrived to very high, eminent, and excellent Attainments, that was able really and experimentally to say, Truly our Fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ, v. 3. It is this blessed Apostle St. John, that here requires and calls for Cofession of Sins, even in Gospel-Times. He makes not the Grace of the Gospel a Principle of looseness and licentiousness; he turns not the Grace of God into wantonness: He persuades us indeed, that God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins; but he assures us withal, that he is such only to these of us who do confess and acknowledge our sins. He does'nt rastly and giddily preach up Privileges without Duties, but wiseh, s●ce●ly, and wholesomely, joins and couples them both together. Neither imposes he Duties upon some inferior Christians only, as a task proper for none but those of the lowest Form in Christ's School, but he lays them upon all and every one. Tho' he himself had gotten to so high a pitch, yet he reckons not himself above Duties; no, not above the Duty of Ca●●f●ss●●n, which some may account 〈◊〉 me●● and low, and base, for an old and grown Christian, for a Professor of 〈…〉 to ●e employed and exercised in. He puts not himself out of the number of Cons●●ents, for he plainly here includes and inserts himself: If we, says he, confess; If we confess our sins, he is faithful and ju●t to forgive us our sins.  
In which words you have these two Parts, a Declaration of a Divine Prom●●e, and an express mention of a necessary Condition; something to be done for us, but withal something to be done by us. The Condition you have expressed in these words, If we confess our sins. The Promise you have declared and laid down in those words, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse, etc.  
Where you have considerable,  
1. The Matter of the Promise, or the thing itself promised, Forgiveness and Cleansing.  
2. The Confirmation or Establishment of the Promise; you have good Assurance given, sufficient Security put in for the due performance of what is thus promised. God's Faithfulness and Justice do back and second his simple and single Promise, in the foregoing words, He is faithful and just to forgive; faithful and just. Or, if you please, the words contain a Duty, and a Motive or Encouragement to the Duty. A Duty, in the first words of the Verse; to wit, Confession of sins: If we confess our sins. A Motive or Encouragement to it, in the following words, If we confess, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse, etc.  
Which Encouragement to the Duty is taken from, or consists of a double Benefit that comes by it, a twofold Privilege that belongs to it, (1.) Forgiveness, (2. Cleansing.  
And this latter commended to us from the Universality, the Latitude and Extent of it; it is cleansing from all unrighteousness.  
This Encouragement is here further spirited and strengthened, made more valid, forcible, and prevailing, by setting down and holding forth, the absolute certainty of these Benefits to be bestowed, of these Privileges to be made good; God's Faithfulness and Justice stand firmly bound and engaged to bring about and effect all, to see all truly performed: He is Faithful and Just.  
I begin with the Condition of the Promise, or our Duty; as being first to be done by us, and performed on our part, before we can lay any just Claim, or plead any lawful Title to the Promise, and the Privileges and Benefits that are contained and wrapped up therein. Now the Condition required by God of us, or the Duty to be done by us, is, Confession of Sins: If we confess our sins.  
It is the Duty of every Sinner to confess and acknowledge his sins to God.  
In handling this Doctrine, I shall endeavour to do these two things: 

1. I shall open the Nature of this Duty of Confession.  
2. Give you the Grounds and Reasons of it.    
1. Show you what the Duty of Confession is.  
2. How it comes to be our Duty, and why it is our Duty.  
I. I shall open the Nature of Confession, or tell you what it is. Take this plain and full Definition or Description of it.  
Confession of Sin, it's the Penitent Sinner's voluntary Accusing and Condemning himself to God, with Hatred of, Shame and Sorrow for, and a full Resolution against his sin; together with an earnest Desire of, and some good Hope in Divine Mercy.  
We shall take this Definition in pieces and asunder; in which you have these two things considerable:  
1. The Acts of Confession, or Parts of which Confession consists.  
2. The Adjuncts or Properties of true, sound, unfeigned, undissembled Confession.  
1. The Acts, which are two, 

Self-Accusing,  
Self-Condemning.    
2. Its Adjuncts or Properties, which are these: 

1. It's voluntary.  
2. It's with Hatred of, Shame and Sorrow for our sin.  
3. With a full Resolution against our sin.  
4. With an earnest Desire of, and some good Hope in God's Mercy, unto whom Confession is made.    
I shall handle these severals in the same Order I have propounded them; and I shall speak first of the Acts, beginning with the former of them, to wit, Self-Accusing.   

CHAP. II. Of the former Act of Confession, to wit, Self-Accusation. Of the Limitation or Restriction of the Object in Self-Accusation, The Sinner accuseth himself of his sins, and none but himself; not God, nor the Devil, nor Ungodly Men.  
NOW Self-Accusation in Confession, is, The Sinner's Charging himself alone, as particularly as may be, with his sins; and his aggravating them wholly upon himself.  
I shall speak to two things out of this Definition; wherein you have chief observable,  
1. A Limitation or Restriction of the Object in Self-Accusation.  
2. A Declaration of the Manner of Self-Accusation in a truly humble Confession.  
The Object in Confessional Self-Accusation is, The Sinner himself, and none but himself.  
The Manner is double:  
1. The Sinner charges himself with his sins as particularly as he can.  
2. He aggravates his sins upon himself, so that Self-Accusation is made,  
1. By a particular enumeration.  
2. By aggravation of our sins before God.  
1. You have here a Limitation, or Restriction of the Object in Self-Accusation: The Sinner accuses himself of his sins, charges himself with his sins, and none but himself.  
He very truly and justly draws up a Bill of Indictment, and puts it in himself only against himself. He Fathers not one sin upon God; he's far from making his God the Author of his sins, or imputing them to his Decree and Predetermination; he declares God to be righteous, and pronounces himself a Sinner: He accuses not God, neither does he accuse the Devil, or  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 Subtlety and Cunning of persuading, 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 enticed and importuned them, because bad Company and evil Counsel drew them away? That look upon themselves as clear, when once they have alienated and transferred their fault, when they have turned off their sins to some one else, and devolved them upon another? You find Aaron had too well learned this kind of Translation; who being justly challenged by Moses for making the Golden Calf, and sharply reproved by him for his sin, presently lays all the blame upon the People, as if he should have gone , 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 mere 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 bade 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 behoved 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 sound chid them sored, 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 publicly to have declared and manifested his abhorring and detestation of the Fact, he had'nt then involved 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 sinned, 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 charged him with sparing the best of the Spoil which he had taken from the Amalekites, when as God had expressly commanded him to slay all; (1 Sam. 15.) why strait 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, than 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 urged him, Wherefore hast thou not obeyed 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 acknowledgement 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 learned 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 handsomely (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 hide 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 induced to take up and entertain this fond Conceit, whom he has fully possessed and inveigled with this strange, yet pleasing Misapprehension, that he is chief guilty of their sins, for by this means he cunningly and slily keeps them off from a found and thorough Repentance, and a free, and full, and humble acknowledgement 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 chief 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, indwelling 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 compassed 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 sored; which was a tacit Confession of the sin, and shown that he was far enough from Charging Satan with't, his Heart's smiting him was a secret and silent acknowledgement, 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 doesned 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 confesses this sin, he expressly 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 numbered 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 numbered? 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 loath 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 subtle 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 myself; even I myself, who am my own Grand Enemy, have utterly undone myself: I was assaulted by many Enemies, but it was one only that overcame me, my own Flesh: The Fort of my Soul was stormed 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 shunned 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 called to Heaven for help; I might have resisted temptations to sin; 'twas 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 myself 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 cl●se with, and give way to the temptation? How presently did I join and comply with the Devil, 
(b) Videre, ●●arres, 〈…〉 non vir●it nisi v●●● 〈◊〉. 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 Lu●●s and Corruptions. My secret ●ust was the Satan within me; the F●ve in my Bosom, that has tempted and undone me. The proneness and propensity to Evil, which I bear about w●th me, and carry in within me, more occasioned my sinning against thee, than did the temptations of the Devil, or the sed●ctions of wicked and ungodly Men. Thus he accuses himself, so as that he accures ●o one e●se, even so as that he l●ves himself quite without excus●, reserving nothing at all to say for himself, not●●ing all to plead in his own behalf, nothing to mitigate, alleviate, and extea●are his sin and trespass.  
Thus m●chas●r the first thing, namely the ●umitation or res●ri tion of the Object in Conse●●tional Self Accusation: The inner ch●●●s 〈◊〉 with his sins, himself 〈◊〉.   

CHAP. III. Of the Manner of Self-Accusation; and (1. of particularising 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 Confession.  
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 Particularising, (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 hid and conceal them; such a general Confession is a sinful Confession indeed. The sincere Confessor contents not himself with mere 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 thoroughly what is in't once, and then make the best you can of it, you'll be forced 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 show 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 h●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 himself, than may be well said against any one else; he ever confesses so, as that the holiest Man on Earth may take up h●s Confession, yea, and add so it. Now is this to con●ess aright? Is this Ma●'s Confession on 〈◊〉 o● true S●sf-Alase●●●t, and thorough Humiliation? Surely no. It is our instancing and particularising, which truly ●●ses, and duly humbles us in our Confesions. Particulars, indeed, they ●peak us a great deal worse now, than it may be, heretofore we have been: Particulars speak us the very worst or Men, the chiefest of Sinners: Particularising plainly lays open the vileness, and sinfulness, the silthin●ss and wickedness of our Hearts and Love●; ●eer Generals can do nothing of all this, which yet you m●st acknowledge necessary to be done; and therefore he that stays in Generals, and never comes to Particulars in his Confession, had as good never go about to confess  
Now this particularising of Sin, tho' it may have been wilfully much balked by Hypocrites, yet it has ever obtained among the Saints; it has always been used and practised by the People of God. You find the People of Israel particularising, 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 Numbering the People, 1 Chro. 21.8. and David said unto God, I have sinned greatly because I have done this thing, to wit, Numbered 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 bloodguiltiness, O God. And you know 'twas 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 alleges 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 enjoined; no, he confesses his lose 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 unsavoury 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 Catech●●ng in his Family; his disuse of Holy Conference, and Christian Communion; his neglect of Brotherly Reproof, and Fraternal Correction. In like manner he particularizes h●s evil Deeds and wicked Works; but I'll stand instancing no longer. 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 indulged and cockered; that very sin, which above all others he has a long time most pleased 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 Neighbour; 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 particularise 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 Hypocrisy 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, subtle, 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 miscall 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 retired 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, Particularising 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 particularise; such are all ignorances' and unknown sins. Indeed, we ought to make a particular acknowledgement of our sins as far as our knowledge of them reaches; but yet, when we have confessed all we know against ourselves, we are not yet come to a non ultra in confession; we must not here make a stop, we must not here break off, and give over Confessing; we must find more to say against ourselves, than we know particulary and distinctly by ourselves. Tho' we know much by ourselves, yet certainly there's much we don't know by ourselves: but God is greater than our hearts, and knoweth all things, (1 Joh. 3.20) he sees many a sin in us that we dined s●e in our s●lves: Now our unknown sins, our sins of ignorance, tho' they be unknown to us, tho' we are ignorant of them, yet because they are in themselves real breac●es of God's Law, and so truly sins against God, therefore they ought to be confessed to him.  
But how, you'll ●●y, 〈◊〉 can we confess such sins as we d ned 〈◊〉? Why yes; tho' we ca●● 〈…〉 and reckon them up in particular, yet we may, and must (and it s●●●● i● we do wrap them up altogether in a 〈◊〉 and impli●●● Confession, and crave p●rdon for them by the lump. David w● 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. IU. 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 complete without it. There can be no thorough 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 shown 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 heightening 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 than 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 even 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 mere Action itself. 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 cyphers are to Figures, which quickly make (1) (the very lest 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 its appendent Circumstances, it is at best to say the least thou canst of thy sin; nay, to hid 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 complete, 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 triple the Accounts, that increase and enlarge the Bill, that thicken and lengthen the Catalogue.  
Besides, leave but these out of thy Confession, and thou wilt not be thoroughly 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 ourselves with our sins in the Commission of them, (tho' we did not, perhaps, presently feel that wound) so we should wound ourselves 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 moved and wrought upon in our Confessions, and sound 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 itself 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 its 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 itself: 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 styles it, even 
* 19 l●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 Judgement, to make as rigid a Censure of his sins, as the Just and Holy Lawgiver 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 particularising 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, 
* 〈…〉 per●ter●●a nat●● Tertul●●e ●●ni●●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 sinned 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 wholesome Counsels, sober Admonitions, and seasonable Reproofs of Christian, Wellwishing Friends.  
2. He aggravates his sins from the wilfulness of them, in that he has sinned as against his Knowledge, so upon no Temptation, or upon very little Temptation; in that he has sinned 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 sinned, when it was easy for me to have forborn sinning; that I sinned when I was neither blinded with Ignorance, nor transported with Passion, nor overborn with any kind of Temptation; but did this and that deliberately, and out of Choice, sometimes studying and contriving how I might sin most handsomely, 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 Lie 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 more 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 used to reduce and reclaim him from his sins, namely, In that he has sinned against the Motions and Strive, 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 sinned against the Divine Judgements, either National or Personal, either feared or felt, either threatened or already inflicted.  
But the Penitent Sinner chief, 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 Judgements compounded, conjoined and united, combined and conjugated in his wisest and most Providential Dispensations: Lord, says he, I have now even posed and nonplused all thy Methods of Cure; whatever course thou hast taken with me has been unsuccessful; whatever thou hast applied to me has not effectually wrought upon me; all the Means thou hast used with me have done me little good; Lectures, Warnings, Chide, Blows, have not reclaimed me; vehement joggings and shake have not roused and awakened me out of my Lethargical, senseless Condition: I have refused to hearken unto thy voice which came with a Thunderclap along with it, as well as stopped my Ears against thy Still-voice: Thou hast taken all probable ways with me to little purpose; thy Discipline as well as Doctrine, thy Rod as well as thy Word, thy Threaten as well as thy Promises, thy Corrections as well as Instructions, thy Corrosives as well as thy Lenitives, thy Caustics as well as thy Oil, thy Judgements as well as thy Mercies, thy Severities as well as Indulgences, have been so much Cost and Pains utterly lost, and thrown away upon me: I have not only taken some easy, gentle Physic, but I have been Blistered, Cupped, and Scarrifyed; I have been plied with whatever might be for my good, and yet, O thou ●●●sician of Souls, even the last Remedy which thou usest to prescribe, has not taken place with me, my Corruptions still remain strong in me, my Disease is yet very high, and often returns violently upon me. O! this consideration of having sinned against mixed Mercies, must needs mightily humble a Sinner in his Confessions; who can choose but lie low before God, if he be truly sensible of this heinous Aggravation of his sins?  
3. The Penitent Sinner aggravates his sins, not only from his abusing of those Means which God has used to restore and recover him, but also from his frustrating, and making inessectual those Means which he himself has sometimes used with himself, for the correcting and amending of himself; from his sinning against the many Ties, Engagements, and Obligations, which not only God, but he himself has several times laid upon himself to the contrary: from his sinning against his very Confessions of Sins, against his own Sacramental, Sickbed, Occasional Vows, Covenants, Promises, and Resolutions, against his sins. And this is an high Aggravation, taken from the greatest Folly and Madness that possibly a Man can be guilty of: That notwithstanding I have sometime said of my sin, that it was a very evil, and a very bitter thing and acknowledged so much in the very presence of God, and there resolved against it, yet after all this, I should really love, like, and choose that, which not long before I professed I hated, loathed, detested, and solemnly condemned my former Choice of.  
The serious due application of this Consideration, will very much conduce to the Sinner's sound Humiliation.  
4. Among other aggravations of sin, you'll find it to be none of the least, which may be taken from our former excusing and pleading for our sins: Thou may'st well aggravate thy sins from thy having excused thy sins: Say, Lord, I wilfully committed this and that sin, and studied to lessen and lighten it when I had done: I did very ●ll in sinning, but I did far worse in colouring my sin.  
Let us aggravate our sins from our having excused them, and from the vanity and sinfulness of our Pleas and Excuses. For instance: Hast thou excused thy sin, by saying it was a little one, and a small matter? Hast thou thus excused thy petty Oaths? thy officious or merry Lies? thy wanton and lascivious Discourses? Why now make this an aggravation of thy sins, that thou hast thus wretchedly excused them. Say, Lord, I have done thus and thus, and said, It was a little one, a petty one; as if any sin were little and small, which is committed against so great a God, such an infinite Majesty. I have said, It is a little one; as if any sin were little, which is the breach of a most holy and just, and good Law. I have said, It is a little one; as if any sin could be accounted little, for which the righteous God will certainly call me to a strict Account at the dreadful Day of Judgement. I have said, It is a little one; as if any sin were little, which brings along with it so great a danger; as if the guilt of the least sin were not far greater than I or any Man can bear, were not enough for ever to sink me deep into Hell. I have said, It is a little one; as if any sin were little, the guilt whereof can only be done away by the precious Blood of Christ, the only Son of God. But,  
5. Methinks, there is one notable way of Aggravation yet behind, which I have often thought of with myself, and cannot but commend unto you; (I shall speak somewhat largely to it) it's this: To take up those very things with which Men ordinarily extenuate their sins, and with which, it may be, we ourselves have formerly extenuated our sins; and in our Confessions, to make those same things serve instead of lessening and diminishing our sins, directly to aggravate and exaggerate them.  
Let's pitch upon those very things with which Men usually qualify their sins, and with which, it may be, we ourselves have formerly qualified, alleviated, and lightened our sins; and let's improve them, and make use of them in our Confessions, for the heightening, and greatning, and amplifying of our sins. Let's choose out those very Arguments, with which Men commonly plead for themselves, and with which, it may be, we ourselves have sometimes pleaded for ourselves; and so let us manage them in our Confessions, as that instead of making for us, they may flatly and plainly make against us. Do Carnal Men customarily make the littleness of their sins, the commonness of their sins, their ignorance in sinning, their temptations to sin, their sinful Nature, to be so many Excuses of their sins? And hast thou thyself sometime taken up, and oft been glad of these Excuses? Why now, in thy Confessions, turn these Exeuses (I mean those very things which are the Matter of them) into so many Aggravations.  
1. Is't ordinary for Men to make nothing of their sins, because they are but little ones? Nay, hast thou thyself said of thy sin, as Lot did of his Zoar, It is a little one? Is it not a little one? and thus extenuated thy sin? Why rather aggravate thy sin, even from hence, in that it was a little one: Say, Lord, It was comparatively but a little one, and yet so unkind was I to a kind God, that I would not do a small matter for thee▪ Lord, I would not sorbear this little sin, O how loath should I be to forgo and part with a greater! You see how the smallness and littleness of a sin does sometimes greaten and aggrandise it. Further,  
2. Is the Commonness of a sin frequently pleaded for the sin? And hast thou thyself, at any time, said of thy sins, they are but Common ones, and thought they were passable for this Excuse? 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, shunned and avoided; but so vile and sinful a wretch was I, that even in those things wherein all the profane 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 myself, 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 informed 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 the●, lest Knowledge should discover his Error, and make him 〈◊〉 to Innocence, we are content to part with that row, and to know ●●●ing that may discover, or discountenance our sins.— We call ourselves Christians, and love to be ignorant of many of the Laws of Christ, l●st our Knowledge should fo●●e us into shame, or into the troubles of a ●oly Life. Bp. ●aylo● ● Serm. of the deceitf▪ of the Heart p. 95. 97.  voluntarily continued in my ignorance, I was loath to get out of it, I nuzzled myself in it; I resolved to be ignorant, that so I might sin the more freely; I thought with myself, If I knew this and that more distinctly, than 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 bend 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, excused 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 myself? Did I not 
* Qui sil●●tp●s occasiones quaerunt p●ecandi, eleganter dic●ntur suscitare Diabolum. See Caryl on Job 3. S. p. 374. 40.  raise up the Devil, by my earnest and busy 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 even 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 easy temptations, animated and emboldened 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 myself for it, who am prone and apt, of myself, 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 Sovereign Grace of God daily hinder and prevent me, withhold 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 outrageous as others, I humbly acknowledge it is, because I am tied in, or chained up by Providence; or, because my evil Nature is corrected by Common, or changed and renewed 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 myself, 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 complete Image, deformities, uncleanness of my own. I have the same corrupt, poisonous, hellish Nature with others, and I should have shown and discovered it long before now, in the most horrid, cursed, monstrous effects of it, had God but suffered and permitted me, had the Lord but left me unto myself. 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 myself, 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 its 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 Leprosy 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 dissolved.  
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 conceived 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 allege 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 ourselves 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 heightening Accidents and Circumstances of their own sins: This Work therefore being sittest to be done by yourselves, 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 rob 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-relished; they were neither pleasant to look upon, nor to taste 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 ourselves 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 spite, 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 ourselves huge Merry, to think how prettily we had deceived 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 ourselves seriously, and impartially, to examine the evil Circumstances of our sins▪ we should quickly see, how that the least sin we put into Act comes forth Twi●s; and would we but pick and choose, 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 even be amazed to behold how many sins one gross sin contains, even 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 Manner of it, namely, as it is made (1.) by a particular Enumeration, (2.) by Aggravation of our sins before the Lord.   

CHAP. V Of the second Act of Confession; to wit, Self-Condemnation. Self-Condemnation does not at all consist in any willingness to go to Hell, or contentedness to be Damned, but only in a serious judging, esteeming, and acknowledging ourselves worthy of Hell and Damnation for our sins. Two Marks or Characters, whereby we may be able to judge of our Self-Judging. If we truly condemn ourselves for our sins, than (1.) We shall humbly submit to any present punishment that the hand of God has already laid upon any of us. (2.) We shall be willing to bear any further punishment, that God shall lay at any time upon any of us here in this World. Particularising and Aggravation have some place in Self-Condemning, as well as in Self-Accusing.  
I Now proceed to the second Act of Confession, to wit, Self-Condemnation; which is the Sinner's passing Sentence upon, or pronouncing Sentence against himself, and judging himself worthy of all the Punishments legally due unto his sin; namely, of Corporal, Spiritual, Temporal, and Eternal Judgements.  
If we look into the Scriptures, we shall easily find evident examples of this Self-Condemning or Self-Judging. You may hear David making such a kind of Confession as we have all along described, 1 Chron. 21.17. & 2 Sam. 24.10, & 17. And David said unto God, I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing; but now, I beseech thee, do away the iniquity of thy servant, for I have done very foolishly. I have done this thing; there is his Self-Accusation; and that in particular too, (as was before observed I have done this thing, to wit, numbered Israel; and you have his Aggravation of it in those expressions, I have sinned greatly, I have done very foolishly; greatly indeed, against the Counsel of his friend Joab, v. 3. of 21. of 1 Chron. and foolishly too, for it was merely out of a vain and proud humour: And this he confesses with an Asseveration, Which further aggravates; Even I, or lo I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed. And then you have his Self-Judging; Let thy hand, I pray thee, O Lord my God, be on me, and on my father's house, v. 17. See this also clearly in the Example of the Prodigal, 15 Luk. 21 Father I have sinned, says he: There is his Self-Accusing: He accuses only himself here; I have sinned; he lays it not upon any of his idle Companions. I have sinned, particularly in my Prodigality. Against Heaven and in thy sight; there's the Aggravation of his sin. Against Heaven; that is, by an Hebraism, sinned against God, who dwells in Heaven, and is the King of Heaven; and whose Power is most conspicuous and glorious in Heaven. Or, I have sinned against Heaven; the meaning may be, says A. Lapide, I have sinned grievously, so as my sins cry aloud to Heaven for Vengeance: Or, I have sinned against Heaven, because being called by God to Heaven, I preferred Earth before Heaven, earthly things before heavenly: (as 'tis well known that wretched Cardinal did, who preferred his part in Paris before a part in Paradise) I have abused, and offered affront to Heaven; so that if Heaven had Reason and a Voice, it would cry out against me, and would accuse me to God, that I have preferred earthly Delights, and sinful sensual Pleasures, before the Kingdom and Joys of Heaven.  
I have sinned against Heaven, and in thy sight; that is, thou seeing and beholding me: I have been bold to sin when the Eye of God was upon me; to sin in the very view of my Judge, in the sight of the Living and Allseeing God, who is highly offended with sin, and can sufficiently avenge and punish it. This Aggravation is usual in Scripture, to signify and set forth the presumptuousness of a sin. It's said, that Nimrod was a mighty Hunter before the Lord, or in the face of the Lord, 10 Gen. 9 & 38 Gen. 7. you read that Er, Judah's eldest Son, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord slew him; the phrase denoteth, he was a bold, presumptuous, impudent Sinner. He goes on; and am no more worthy to be called thy Son: there is his Self-Condemnation; as if he should have said, I have walked unworthy of such a Father; I have served my own Vices and Lusts; and I don't deserve to be called any more by thy Name; I deserve to be for ever disowned by thee, to be quite cast out of thy Favour and Family, and to be utterly Disinherited. I am no more worthy to be called thy Son; 
* Vers. 19  Make me as one of thy hired servants; Let me be any thing so I may be thine. The Penitent Sinner comes before God, as Benhadad's Servants did before Ahab, 1 King. 20.32. who came to him with Ropes about their Necks, as Men judging themselves worthy to Die. The poor Sinner, as soon as he has arraigned and accused himself, presently passes on to the Sentence, and represents in a Judicatory of his own, even himself being Judge, That a Sinner merits an high Calamity. He unfeignedly stands on God's side, and takes God's part against his sin, and against himself, giving God the glory of his Righteousness and Justice, if he should condemn him; and of his unsearchable, rich Mercies, if he shall be pleased to forgive him: He uprightly and sincerely owns Damnation, and charges himself with it as his due Portion, and most just Inheritance.  
Observe here, by the way, that Self-Condemning does not at all consist in any willingness to go to Hell, or contentedness to be Damned: To condemn ourselves is always our bounden Duty, but to be contented to be Damned is not where commanded; nay, if taken without limitation, it is prohibited, because to be willing, and contented actually to be Damned, is, in effect, to be willing and contented to be for ever in a state of Enmity, and Hatred, and Sin against God, and in an utter me●●●●t● ever to glorify God, or to do him any Service; all which the condition of the Damned necessarily includes: But Self-condemning consists only in a serious judging, esteeming, and acknowledging ourselves worthy of Hell and Damnation for our sins.  
And with such a mind as this, with such an holy, humble, broken frame and temper, does every truly Penitent Sinner go to God in Confession: Lord, says he, I confess I am indebted ten thousand Talents to thee, and am unable to pay thee any one Penny: I acknowledge thou may'st justly cast me into Prison, and there keep me until I have paid the utmost farthing, altho' I should lie there to ●il Eternity Lord, I am become guilty before thee, and have made myself liable to the Divine Wrath; the deserved 
* Rom. 6.23.  Wages of my sin is Death. I acknowledge there is Matter enough of my Damnation, and I cannot but wonder that the Sentence of the Law is not executed against me. The Lord knows, there are many now in Hell for the commission of these sins which I am guilty of; and I had had but my just and due Desert, if I had long before now been packed out of this World, and even shut up in Hell, without any Hope, full of sad and black Despair, and been reserved in Chains of Darkness among Devils, and Damned Spirits, unto the dreadful Judgement of the great and la●t Day. O the continued, unwearied Patience of God, that has suffered such a wicked W●●t●h as I to live thus long upon the Earth. That has so graciously lengthened out my space for Repentance, my time of Trial and Probation! O the riches of the goodn ss and forbearance of God, who 〈◊〉 
* 〈…〉 , 〈◊〉, hath shown forth all Long-suffering! It was surely a Miracle of the Divine M●●cy, that the righteous God struck ●e no● Dead suddenly, destroyed me not immediately, when I was acting and committing 〈◊〉 and such a sin; that he made n●● nay very last ●●●kness my certain D●a●●, my l●st wilful Sin my present 〈◊〉: O that the Lord should be pleased so long to B●prie●e me, and to 〈◊〉 me in a 〈◊〉, in a probability of Pardon, in a high degree of probability! Lord, says the Sinner, I am less than the least of all thy Mercies; unworthy of the commonest Blessing I receive from thee; unworthy even of the very Air I breath in, of the very Ground I tread on, of the Meat I eat, of the Clothes I wear; much more unworthy of the Blessed Gospel, of any means of Grace and Salvation, of any Hope of Life everlasting. I am unworthy of any Blessing, but worthy of all the Curses that are written and repeated in thy Book. O Lord, I acknowledge thou may'st justly punish my Body with Pains and acute Diseases; my Name with Ignominy and disgraceful Reproaches; my E tate with Damages, and Beggering Lo●●es; my whole Soul with horror and vexatious anguish: Thou may'st justly turn all thy Blessings into Curses, all thy Mercies into Judgements, all my Comforts into Crosses, all my Friends into Enemies and Adversaries, all my Peace into Tumult and Disquietness of Spirit; thou may'st justly let my guilty Conscience lose upon me, and cause the Terrors of the Almighty, thy distracting Terrors to seize upon me, and make even my very Life a burden to me, and my self an Hell unto my self.  
I shall here give you two Marks, or Characters, whereby we may be able to judge of our Self-Judging If we truly condemn ourselves for our Sins, than  
1. We shall humbly submit to any present Punishment, that the Hand of God has already laid upon any of us.  
2. And we shall be willing to bear any further Punishment, that God shall lay at any time upon any of us here in this World.  
1. If any Sinner hearty judges himself worthy of all the Punishments God has threatened, and so by Law made due unto his sins, then, to be sure, he judges himself worthy of whatever Punishments God has already actually laid upon him for his sins. If thou unfeignedly pronouncest thyself worthy of 〈◊〉 the Judgements God's Justice possibly c●n inflict on thee to all Eternity, surely than thou must account and acknowledge thyself much more worthy of whatever Temporal Judgement Div ne Justice has already inflicted upon thee. The truly Repentant Sinner, when he's making his Confession before God, and Judging himself for his sins, if at that present any Punishment and Affliction he heavy upon him, he declares unto God how he fully deserves it, and therefore patiently 
* 26 Levit. 41.  accepts of the punishment of his inquity, and quietly lies down under it. If God has punished him in Body, Estate, Good Name, with the loss of Friends and Relations; if he be afflicted in Soul, and exercised with Temptations, Desertions, the hidings of God's Face, the suspension of the effects of the Divine Favour, and the privation of Spiritual Comforts; why, for all this, he murmurs not, nor repines against God, nor charges God foolishly, but carries himself meekly towards God, and in his Confession justifies God, and condemns himself: He cries out with the Church, 
* 3 lamb. 39  Wherefore should a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? And again with the Church, 
* 7 Mic. 9  I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him. He subscribes and gives Testimony to the Justice and Righteousness of God, in his sharpest and sorest Afflictions. The good Thief upon the Cross, was not only condemned by the Judge, but condemned himself too, and justified God even while he was under Execution for his sin: Dost not thou fear G●d, says he to his Fellow-Thief that railed; dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same Condemnation? and we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds, 23 Luk. 40.41. The Babylonish Captivity was the heaviest Judgement that ever God had inflicted upon any People under Heaven, as appears by what is said of it, 1 Lament. 12. & Dan. 9.12. yet the Church speaking of it, professes, 1 Lament. 18. The Lord is righteous, for I have rebelled against his commandment. And Nehem. 9.33. Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us, for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly. And Daniel confesses: O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, because we have sinned against thee, 9 Dan. 7. And v. 14. Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us, for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doth, for we obeyed not his voice. And Ezra speaking of that extreme Judgement of God upon his People in the Babylonish Captivity, acknowledges, Thou our God ●ast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, 9 Ezra, 13. And 3 Lam. 22. It is, says the Church, of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed; not consumed utterly, from being a People, because his compassions fail not. The humble Confitent rather admires Divine Indulgence, than quarrels at Divine Justice, in the most grievous Afflictions that befall him, as being deeply conscious of his 〈◊〉 demerit. That's the first Mark; Self-condemnation is ever accompanied with an humble submission to any present punishment.  
2. It is likewise joined with a Pious Resolution further to bear whatsoever God shall hereafter be pleased in his Wisdom and Justice, and Goodness, to lay upon us in this life. He that truly professes himself worthy of all the intolerable, eternal Punishments which are legally due unto his sins, this Man is rightly disposed and prepared, humbly to accept whatever momentany, temporal Chastisements, the Lord shall further think fit in Faithfulness to correct him with here in this World. Thus do the Children of Israel confess; 10 Judg. 15. We have sinned, do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee. And Eli; It is the Lord, let him do what seems him good, 1 Sam. 3.18. In condemning of ourselves, we must all be  as David was, when he fled from his Son Absalon, and was in extreme danger to lose his Kingdom and his Life: 2 Sam. 15.26. If the Lord, says he, shall thus say, I have no delight in thee, behold, here am I; let him do to me as seemeth good unto him.  
I have done with this head of Self-Condemnation, so soon as I have entreated you to observed, that Particularising and Aggravation have some place in Self-Condemning as well as in Self-Accusing; there is a particularising and aggravating of punishment, as well as of sin; for whatever particular threatening and commination is made and denounced in the Word of God, against such and such a particular sin: or whatever particular punishment is in God's Word or Providence usually measured andi proportioned out unto any sin, the penitent Sinner, if guilty of that sin, takes it up, applies, and makes use of it in the sentencing of himself. Further; Whatever sad, heavy, direful Circumstances of the punishment either of Sin in general, or of any particular sin of his, are to be found in the Book of God, the●● the penitent, humble Sinner, looks upon as properly belonging to, and righteously revealed against his sin, and dares not but acknowledge them justly due unto himself, for, and by reason of his sins.  
To give an instance of particularising in Self-Judging: Lord, says the Sinner, I have grieved thy good and holy Spirit, resisted and striven against its strive; and thou may'st justly take thy holy Spirit from me and resolve with thyself that thy Spirit shall strive no longer with me. Lord, I have blinded my own Eyes, and shut out the Light; and thou may'st justly give me up to judicial blindness, to a 
* 1 Rom. 28.  reprobate mind. I have wilfully hardened my own Heart, and therefore thou may'st justly give me up to judicial hardness of Heart, and to a 
* 1 Tim. 4.2.  Seared, Cauterised Conscience. I have despised the riches of thy Mercies, and thou may'st justly now treasure up for me Wrath against the Day of Wrath. I have been incorrigible, and unbroken under Judgements, and therefore thou may'st justly say unto me in indignation, 
* 1 Isai. 5.  Why should you be stricken any more? you will revolt more and more. Therefore thou may'st take away in Wrath, that which thou at first didst send in Anger; thou may'st now in Judgement withhold and remove thy Judgements; thou may'st now, for my greater punishment forbear punishing me; and that thou may'st at one blow kill me, presently leave off striking me.  
Thus you see the Penitent Sinner judges himself worthy of particular Punishments, for being guilty of particular Sins.  
And thus I have done with the Acts of Confession, Self-Accusing, and Self-Condemning.   

CHAP. VI The first Adjunct or Property of true confession; it is free and voluntary, not forced and constrained.  
I Now proceed to speak of the Adjuncts, and genuine Properties of true Confession; which are these, 

1. True Confession is voluntary.  
2. It's made with Hatred of, Shame, and Sorrow for our sins.  
3. With a full Resolution against our sins.  
4. Lastly, with an earnest Desire of, and some good Hope in Divine Mercy.    
1. True Confession is free and voluntary, not forced and constrained. The Penitent Sinner is not brought upon his Knees with violence and compulsion; he's moved to confess his sins out of a deep of the great wrong and injury that his sin has done to a good God, whom he now hearty loves; and therefore he goes as willingly and readily about Confession of his sins, as ever he went about the Commission of them.  
But now the falsehearted Hypocrite is usually, with much ado, with a great deal of stir, pulled and haled, dragged and driven to his Confession; he confesses full sore against his Will; he confesses only out of fe●r of imminent danger, or sense and feeling of present Punishment: I say, only out of this, for I don't deny, but that fear and feeling of Judgements may be an Occasion of a voluntary Confession; for the Godly are often brought by Punishments and Afflictions, to a true Penitent and voluntary Acknowledgement of their sins: but fear, or feeling of Judgements, tho' it may be an Occasion of their Confession, yet it is never the main Principle that acts them in Confession, but it is the sight and sense of the evil Nature of their sin, and the love they bear to God, that makes them voluntarily to accuse and condemn themselves in their Confessions. They are, indeed, sometimes brought to see and feel their sins by some punishment or other, yet it is their Sin discovered to them by the punishment, rather than the Punishment itself, that makes them willing to confess. And these, having once a thorough Conviction of the evil of their sin, would, if their fears were removed, and their punishment taken off, prove notwithstanding as forward and ready as ever, to make a full Confession of their sin. But now it is not at all the sin, but only the Punishment for sin, which causeth the Hypocrite to confess; who (tho' he at present exclaim against his sin, yet) were he once at ease, free from pain, and from under the Rod, would soon hold his peace, and hug his sin, that now he cries out against and complains of.  
Many Men's Confessions are but the 
* 7 Hos. 14.  Howl of afflicted Men, that cry out merely because of Pain. Possibly, some outward troubles and calamities, or, it may be, some laniatus and i●tus, some scourge and rendings of Conscience, may put wicked Men upon Confession, but these confess their sins just as the 
* S Mat 29.  Devils confessed Christ, more out of Torment than any true Love to God; these confess their faults just as S●h●l-B●ys confess, when they are under the Lash; and as Traitors confess, when they are upon the Rack; who would never say a Word, were not such violent extraordinary means used with them, to extort it from them.  
It was only the present smart, and feeling of God's severe Plagues and exemplary Judgements, that drove Pharaoh to confess, and say, I have sinned this time, the Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked, 9 Exod. 27. & 10.16. It's a sign his Confession was involuntary, for so soon as the Plagues were removed, and he taken off the Rack, ru●s●● ad ingenium red●it; Pharaoh was Pharaoh still; so soon as he got a little respite, he began to Sing another Tune, to recant, to unsay, and call in, in a manner, his late feigned Confession; he straight returned to his wont hardness, stubbornness and refractariness of spirit: for the Text says, that when Pharaoh saw that the rain, and the hail, and the thunder, were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants, 9 Exod. 34. Thus it was with wicked Balaam; 'twas the Angel, that stood before him with a drawn Sword, that forced him to cry out, I have sinned; who, otherwise, would have been more dumb than the Ass he road on, Numb. 22.34. Thus it was with Saul; nothing but the pronouncing of his Rejection, and the threatening 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 caused him to cry out, I have sinned, i● that I have betrayed the innocent Hood, Mat. 27.3, 4.  
But how contrary to the slavish, 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 forced with ●ire. Pharaoh's, and Balaam's and Sau●'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 Father's Arms! Luk. 15. I o here's a Volunteer in Confession indeed! Some would think, when his Father's ●nger appeared to be ever, when he manifested no signs of his displeasure, took no notice of any fault, but seemed 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 ●aked it up again him●●●: When his Father fell upon his Neck and kissed him, and the black, threatening S●rme was so well brown ever; when the sad fre●●ds and angry words, which where deserved, proved nothing else but pleasant Su●●●s, and a 〈◊〉 Speeches; one would have thought, he should now have s●a●ed the mentioning on his fruit, ommitted his Con●ession and Humiliation, there being now no need of it; but you find it h●●e, quae otherwise; even while his Father ●●●ng●● embraces, and kindly entertains him, his Hear● sweetly melts, and freely breaks out into an hundle Confession and Acknowledgement of his sin: Father, says he, ●●rce armed against heaven, and in 〈…〉, and am no more worldly to le cau●ed thy Son. Sense of Love, assurance of Faver, will soon of any thing put the ●●●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 coa●t.   

CHAP. VII.  
The second Property of true Confess; sion. It is made with Hatred of, Shame and Sorrow for our Sins. These holy Affections must in our Confessions be laid out more up●n our Sin, than any Punishment for Sin; and must bear and hold s●me Proportion to the sins confessed. 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 Affection's 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 increase and add to the number of his sins, and so make Work for ●●o her Confession. It's impossible to confess any sin aright, and at the same time to retain the l●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 s●lves to God for our sins, unless we condemn our sins in ourselves? Confession, vo●d of Affection, is the greatest Meckery of God in the World; and surely, God can't be moved and affected with our Confessions of our sins, unless we be thus moved and affected with our sins in our Confessions: He therefore that confesses aright, is ever touched with these suitable Affection's.  
1. He perfectly hates the sin he confesses; that's one Affection he bears towards his sin. He hates his sin out of a s●g●t of the odious, ugly, evil nature of it; out of a sense 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 misc●tevousness to his own precious, immortal Soul, and destructiveness of his own spiritual good, and eternal happiness. 
2 ●● 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 ●●ble unto eternal Death. He sees his sin in its own C●l●ars; he beholds the m●s●●ness and the danger of it, and can't endure it; his Heart rises up against his sin, as strong as ever his Stomach rises up against that which it na●●●ares; he fully l●kes and abominates his sin, so as were it to do again, he would first suffer a● t●●ng, he would rather d●e than do it. He hates his sin, and le●●es himself for his sin: He loathes himself for that Deformity and ●●●●ement, which makes the very God of 〈◊〉 to l●the and abhor his own Creature, Ezek. 36.21. Then shall you remember your own evil ways, and ●e●r d urge that were not good, and shall i● thee yourselves in your own sight, for your mi●●i ies, and for your abominations. The Penitent C●rse●lor is filled with Self-displi●ency and Self-abhorrency: Seeing I am evil, says 
* 〈…〉 2.  St. Austin, to confess unto God, is nothing else but to be displeased with myself. The humble Sinner's Heart is angry and impatient against his sin▪ and full of indignation again saint 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 de●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 Judged in his Heart: His knocking upon his Breast, shown what mind and affection he carried to his sin, and declared his d●i●e utterly to destroy it. Thus the humble Confessor hates his sin, and is at odds and variance with himself by reason of his sin: He even falls 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 seizes on the Penitent Sinner in Confession, is an holy ●●a●re for his sin: He does not, with the Fee●, make a Mock at sin, and 
† 〈…〉 14.  glory in his 〈◊〉, but is now hearty ashamed of what has sometime been his Glory. He's very shamefaced, and greatly abashed when be appears before God, and can't but blush at that which made Christ bleed. Ashamed he is, that his excellent Soul is so debased, depressed, depraved 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; lived a brutish, sensual, flesh-pleasing, i●le and slothful, useless and unprofitable life in the World; behaved 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 exercised Self-Excitation, and Selfreflection: 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 ashamed 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 ●o Backsliding, and turned again and again to Folly: He looks upon his Gild and Filth, and is even ashamed of himself for't. Ind●ed, guilty Persons are commonly ashamed; a●d so are filthy deformed Persons too. The Poets feign, That when Vlysses' Companions were by Circe transformed into the shape of Swine, they wept, and were ashamed of their own Deformities. The humble Sinner sees himself more strangely Metamorphesed 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 b●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 f●r your own wa●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 heaven's, 9 Eza. 5.6. Here's a right confessing frave and temper of Heart! I was ashamed, 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 door very foolishly, says he, to wit, in numbering the people; and Fool and Beast in another, Psal. 73.22. where confessing his distrust of God's Providence, he was quite ashamed of what he had said; so foolish was I, and ignorant, says he, I was as a Beast before thee. The Publican fitly expressed 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 looked inward, he could not take the boldness to look upward. When we have done any Man much wr●ng, that has done us much good; when we have carried ourselves unworthily towards those that have deserved we●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 ashamed 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 Eye●, 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 filled, 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 Gild he has incurred, and is grieved that he has deserved 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 stained 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, aught, 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 ashamed and sorry for his Suffering more than for his Sin. This was Pharaoh's temper in Confession; he could not endure Divine Judgements, he was ashamed 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 cased and released from Punishment: Entreat the Lord, says he to Moses and Aaron; Entreat the Lord (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail, and I will let you go, 9 Exod. 28. And chap. 10. v. 17. Entreat 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 handsome 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 abhorred his Punishment; he was ashamed 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 begged for, when he heard by Samuel, that the Kingdom of Israel was rend from him and given by God to a Neighbour 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 a● he sought after; and the loss of it, all he was ashamed 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 endures, so that he might have the guilt of his sin, as to Eternal Punishment, removed, and the Pardon of it Sealed. 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 chief 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 loathes and abhors his Sin more than his Punishment: He's ashamed and grieved because he has deserved punishment, more than because he barely suffers the punishment, because he is stained, more than because he is pained; 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 dishonoured 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 confessed: 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, aught to be apportioned out to every sin; but note here in the general, that these Affections are then most allowable and approvable for their degree and measure, when they shall have amounted to, or gone beyond; e●u●●'d, or exceeded that Love, Joy, Pleasure, Delight a●d Complacency, which heretofore we took in a●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 d●ed on it, or was enamoured 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 shown it should be, it does often outwardly express and vent its inward Affection, by 
(a) If, poor Soul, than hast no tears, w●●● thou hast ●● favours ● tears! The huh 〈…〉. H● rhorer Po●, S●●●● p. 1.  Weeping and shedding of Tears. The Penitent Sinner even 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 sense of his sin; and many times his Heart affects his Eye. Sense of his sin, puts him upon Weeping for his sin. He sometimes weeps, because he can weep no more; and a wishes' 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 show our Trouble by our Tears, because the Eye hath constantly been the chiefest in●et of Sin and Vanity. Sin early entered 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) 
● w●● will give me tears? Come all ye Springs,  
Devil 〈…〉 ●●ead and Eyes, etc.  Herbert's Poems, (Grief.) p. 158.  it is (as a worthy 
* Dr. Spurstowe in his ●orm● o●● 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 God●ved at enmity with sin? It may be so. But there are 〈◊〉 Friends that weep at poting; and is not thy weeping a sorrow of Affection? It is a sad thing in p●t with our long Companion. Or, it may 〈◊〉, thou weepest, because thou wouldst have a sign to cousin thy 〈◊〉 withal; for some Men are more to have a sign, than the 〈◊〉 signified; th●y would do something to sh●●● their Repentance ● that themselves may believe themselves to be Peritents, having no reason from within to believe so. Bishop lay●e●'s S●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 sense of sin: Many can shed Tears for any thing, some for nothing. Again; There may be sense 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 sense 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 extreme 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 itself 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. 13●.  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 prevail, must spring from a te●d●● and ●r●●er ●eart 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉: the● 〈…〉 God's thy which 〈…〉 M●● 〈…〉 to 〈◊〉 the 〈…〉.  voluntary, 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 P●●●s, 〈◊〉 p. ●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 ●● Eph●s. 4.30. Gr●● not the Holy Sp●rit, & ●. 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 confessed themselves; for he that does not hearty resolve against his sins in Confession, does even then secreth intent and purpose to commit them again. Wherever there is a real sense and feeling of sin in Confession, there is also produced an inward, serious, to feigned Res●l●tion against the sin confessed: 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 hore●,  S●heeaniah, 10 Ezra, 2, 3. speaking there unto Ezra, We have trespassed 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 observed and remarked 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 ●●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 deceived and betrayed him.  
This is very much Characteristical of a true hearty Confessor, whereby he is differenced and distinguished from a mere 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 sense 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 Sickbed 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 Neighbours, Friends and Acquaintance, shall wonder at the great change, and strange alteration that shall be found in me: He promises amendment of his life by virtue of his own strength and ability, as if his bare purposes were Withs, or Cords strong enough to bind the sampson's within him; and does not hearty desire Divine Grace to aid and back his Resolutions. And hence it is, that, if God does any thing for such an one, he presently forgets himself; forgets all his promises which were lately warm upon his Lips; his Lusts revive as his bodily strength renews: He mends into his old sins again, and recovers into his former Follies. Too many resolve in their own srength, but they have power, of themselves, to, hold their resolution no longer than they are held under some extraordinary Conviction or Punishment; and therefore when these cease, they return with the Dog to his Vomit, and with the Sow that is washed to her wallowing in the mire, and rush into Sin as boldly, as if in Confession they had told God, not so much what they had done, as what they would do.  
But now the truly Penitent Confessor, he's exceeding distrustful of his own naughty, deceitful Heart, even in his most solemn Vows, and strongest Resolutions; and therefore he rather expresses himself in fervent, unfeigned Desires, and Wishes, and Prayers, that God would help him to do this, and leave that undone, than fearlessly and presumptuously concludes and determines, that he will or won't do this and that, upon overbold and most proud Confidences in his own strength and Selfsufficiency. He uses such kind of Language as this to God: Lord, thou knowest; Lord, thou hast given me to know, how that I have no power of myself against these my Lusts and Corruptions; but I am now, through Grace, willing to be rid of them: O that I might be strengthened and enabled from ab●ve, wholly to conquer and subdue them: O that I might have Divine power and assistance granted me, whereby I may unweariedly oppose, and finally overcome all thine and my Enemies; whereby I may be able to resist the Devil, and say nay to a Temptation: Lord, I have no might against this great Company that daily cometh against me; I have formerly gone out in my own strength with a Sword, and with a Spear, and with a Shield, Armed with my own Carnal Resolutions, against these Spiritual Philistines, and was worsted, and fell by their hands; but now I desire to go out in the Name of the Lord of Hosts: I know not, of myself, what to do, but my eyes are upon thee; help thou, Lord, help; enable me by thy Grace faithfully to keep my Covenants, to perform my Vows, to be as good as my Promises, to be true to my Resolutions. The Penitent Sinner does not wish and desire that God would do all, and leave him nothing at all to do; that God would by an Act of Omnipotency presently subdue, and immediately mortify his Lusts and Corruptions, without giving him the trouble of a Conflict, or putting him to the labour and pains of Practical Mortification, or enjoining him the difficult use of a constant course of necessary Means; but he so begs the Divine Grace, and power and strength, as that he resolves to act in the strength he shall receive; and by the help of God, and assistance of his Grace, to strive against, to resist and deny the most importunate Temptations; to struggle with, till he master and conquer his most unruly Lusts, and rebellious Corruptions; and to use all Means appointed by God for his Mortification and Sanctification.  
And thus much for the third Adjunct or Property of true Confession: True Confession is made with a full Resolution against our sins; which must be taken with this Caution and Limitation, That the Sinner resolve to do nothing in his own strength, but all in the strength, and by the Grace of God.   

CHAP. IX. The fourth and last Property of true Confession: It is made with an Desire of, and some good Hope in Divine Mercy. The necessity of Faith and Hope in a right Confession of Sin upon a double account; because that unbelieving, despairing Thoughts, do (1. greatly dishonour God. (2.) Extremely deaden and straiten our own Hearts in Confession. A necessary Caution; to take one thing with another, and to be sure to join all these Properties of Confession in PracticalVse together.  
4. TRue Confession is made with an earnest Desire of, and some good Hope in Divine Mercy.  
1. With an earnest Desire of Mercy.  
A lively sense and feeling of his own present Danger and Misery, powerfully excites and stirs up in the Penitent Sinner restless importunate Desires of Mercy: He sees his extreme great want and need of it, and nothing but Mercy will satisfy and content him. What would he now give for a Pardon in this case! O how highly does he now prize, esteem, and value the most Sovereign precious Blood of Jesus Christ, which was spilt and shed for the Remission of sins! How fain would he be made partaker of it! He craves, Pardon of God, and beseeches for Mercy, with as strong cries, and hearty desires, as ever the poor Hunger-bitten Beggar asked for an Alms; with as great earnestness and vehemency of spirit, as ever the Cast Malefactor begged for the Mercy of the Book; or the poor Condemned Prisoner at the Bar pleaded for his Life before the face of the Judge. A formal, customary Confession of Sin, without this hearty desire of Mercy, is as vain and ridiculous a thing as any is in the World: O what a gross and monstrous absurdity is it, for a Man to go to God, and confess his Sin, and yet not to look for Pardon, not to see any need of forgiveness of those enormities he confesses! The truly Repentant Sinner, he plainly sees and feels his Sin and Misery; he well apprehends and discerns the absolute, indispensable necessity of Mercy, and always joins most affectionate Deprecation with his unfeigned Confession. How very nearly are Confession of Sin, and seeking after Mercy, linked and coupled together by God himself! 2 Chr. 7.14. If my people shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face: And 5 Hos. 15. I will go, says God, and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face. Acknowledging our Offences without seeking God's face and favour, will never cause God to return to us; what God has thus joined together, the humble Confessor dares not part and put asunder. Therefore you frequently find in Scripture, the Penitent Sinner at once acknowledging his own faults, and imploring Divine Grace and Mercy. See this in the poor Publican; who standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his Eyes unto Heaven, but smote upon his Breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner, 18 Luk. 13. He acknowledgeth his Sin, and with the same breath entreats for Mercy. The like we find in the good Thief upon the Cross, 23 Luk. 41.42. We, says he, receive the due reward of our deeds; there's the Condemnation of his Sin, and Codemnation of himself: And presently he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me wh●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 hearty 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 Judgement; 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, chief 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 Absalon 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 beest not kind to me, if thou beest 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 cheering 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 favour and loving kindness is better than life it s●lf: 
63 Psal. 3●  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 G●d's terms: He earnestly desires the favour of God, and the favour 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 breathes 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 hearty, and not only formally, and complementally, asketh Pardon, is really convinced of the iniquity of his do, of the baseness and unworthiness of his Actions. Now he that truly knows, and hearty 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 confessed 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 degree 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 ashamed of himself, (as you have heard) yet is he somewhat confident, for he really believes and hopes, he firmly trusteth in his God, and resolvedly casts himself on his Mercy. The Penitent Sinner encourages himself to seek to God in Confession, as the Servants of Benhadad encouraged 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 thyself, and go out to the King of Israel, peradventure he will save thy life; and with thus much hope at least, that it may far 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 ●●s●●fied 
* Im● e●tia est compa●●●o, 〈…〉 The meaning ●●, ●●e was ●ustif●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 H●pe; for we find it was well accepted; 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 She●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 confesses: Deliver me, says he, from bloodguiltiness, 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, shows 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 sinned, 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 names' 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. ●.  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, 
●. 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 persuaded, that if he confesses all, he shall be hanged 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 than 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 fullness 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. Extremely 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 chief shows 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 showing 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 extremely 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 acknowledgement of Sin, is a present, strong apprehension and conceit of Mercy. Men are backward, and loath to make a thorough 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 uncovered.  
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 Properties 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 warrantably 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 ourselves, if we please, with fond Thoughts of an infinite Mercy, and call that Faith and Hope, if we will, which is merely 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, opened and discovered unto you the whole Nature of the Duty of Confession, and explained 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 show 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 show 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 ourselves 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 uprising; 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 tongue, 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 forged in the very Heart: God has no need to be informed 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 recall 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 confess 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 itself our necessary Duty presently upon the Commission of Sin: but Duty is not satisfactory.  
Again: The best Confession of our sins is itself 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 recompense 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 Honour is looked 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 thoroughly Penitent Confession, because it proceeds from a finite Person, is not able to make God satisfaction; for hence it is that Christ only could effectually satisfy, because he only was an infinite Person.  
Thus I have removed 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 expressly commands it. (2.) God is greatly glorified, and justified by it. (3.) 'Tis a thing in itself 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 Acknowledgement of his sin. (5.) Confession of Sin is itself a proper act of Mortification. (6.) Confession testifies unto God, and evidences unto ourselves the sincerity and unfeignedness of our Repentance, and gives us good assurance that we are in a fair way of Recovery. (7.) Confession eases our troubled Spirits, and disburdens our oppressed Consciences. (8.) It were unreasonable Folly in us to go about to hid any sins from God; and the wisest way to conceal them from othe●s, is to discover them to God. (9) It's not: only a foolish, but an unsate and hazardous, a desperate and dangerous thing, for any to attempt to hid and conceal their sins from God. (10) And last; 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 Judgement of the great Judge at the last Day.  
I Come now positively to lay down and propound the true and proper Grounds and Reasons of the Duty of Confession.  
1 Reas. And the first Reason shall be taken from God's express Command. I will give you but two Scriptures for it, 5 Num. 6, 7. The Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel; when a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the Lord, and that person be guilty, than they shall confess their sin which they have done. This was the first thing that was to be done; before Restitution, or the offering of his Sacrifice, he must confess his Sin. And Jer. 3.12, 13. Go and proclaim these words towards the North, and say, Return thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord, acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God. That's the first Reason; God plainly commands Confession, therefore we must confess. 
* Vid. Tertul. de Penitent. cap. 4.  God's Sovereign Authority must be regarded, and his Precept observed, tho' we that did our Duty should never receive any Commodity or Advantage by it.  
2. Reas. We must make Confession of our Sins, because hereby God is glorified and justified. Joshuah makes this a ground of Confession in his Speech to Achan, Josh. 7.19. My son, says he, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make Confession unto him. And this reason David gives of his Confession, Psal. 51.3, 4. I acknowledge my transgressions, says he, that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Now true Penitent Confession does very much glorify and justify God; for it's our owning of God's Sovereignty and Authority, our approving of his holy, and just, and good Law; our acknowledging our own obnoxiousness to Divine Justice for the breach of that Law; It is a subscribing to the great Equity of the Divine Commands, and to the absolute Righteousness of the Divine Threaten; It is a clearing of the Holiness, a vindication of the Justice of God; It's a freeing of God from being the Author of our Sin, and a declaring of him to be righteous in being the Author of any punishment of sin; It's our meek and humble lying down at his feet, and professing ourselves to be wholly at his mercy; It's an act of the greatest stooping, yielding, submission in the World; It's a Man's becoming mean, low, vile, little, nothing in his own Eyes, that God may be all in all; It's our shaming, and disgracing of ourselves, that God may be glorified and extolled; Our lessening and debasing of ourselves, that God may be magnified and exalted. Free, hearty Confession faithfully provides for God's Honour, and therefore is a Duty carefully to be performed and put in practice by us; otherwise we rob God of his Honour, and cut him short of his Glory.  
3 Reas. We must confess our sins, because Confession is a thing in itself most just, and reasonable, and equitable. The very Law of Nature commands and enjoins real acknowledgement in case of real offence: Confession of Sin is in strict Justice due to God, who is the wronged and injured Party. Every sin we commit is an act of the highest Injustice in the World, and therefore Confession of Sin must needs be an act of the greatest Justice that possibly can be done by any Man. We all of us do God very much wrong by sinning; it's therefore meet and fit for us to do God right by Confessing. That's the third Reason: We must confess, because Confession is an act of Equity and Justice.  
4 Reas. We must confess, because Confession of Sin is absolutely, and indispensably necessary to remission of Sin, so as that God can't well pardon us without Confess●●. Penitent Confession of Sin, tho' it do not merit, yet it makes fair way for forgiveness of Sin; It does in the very nature of it make a Capacity, and found a Possibility of Pardon; It makes the Sinner vas capax, a Vessel capable, tho' not worthy of any Grace: Whereas the Sinner's obstinate, wilful hiding, and covering his sins, and resolved continuance in them, does void and destroy the very case of Mercy: Here it is rather worthy of God not to forgive, but to punish and destroy. Such Persons as won't acknowledge their sins, are not within the Limits and Possibilities of Pardoning Grace; God won't, God can't forgive him that won't confess. And therefore we find, that when God makes the largest promises of Mercy to guilty Sinners, he warily interposes Confession of Sin as a necessary Condition, without which his Pardon cannot be afforded. See this clearly in that notable place, Jer. 3.12, 13. 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. Comfortable and precious Promises indeed! But mark, but mark the necessary Condition of them, in the very next words: Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God: Only acknowledge thine iniquity; as if he should say, It cannot be else; otherwise no hope of finding Mercy; I cannot by any means pardon you, unless you confess.  
It's unbeseeming, and misbecoming 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 Acknowledgement of his sin.  
1. It's a thing not at at all becoming the Majesty of God. God has already yielded as far as he can, with safety to his Honour, in condescending to such low Terms, and fair Proposals as this is, of giving our pardon upon our Confession: He can't stoop any lower, without doing prejudice to himself, and being injurious to his own Honour and Greatness. God is good, but yet so as that he's great too; now his Greatness and Majesty (which he is bound to maintain, unless he could deny himself; I say, his Greatness and Majesty) requires the sinful Creatures humble submission of himself, and acknowledgement of his sin, before his Mercy can do him any good, or show him any favour. Does it beseem God to pardon such an one as denies his Sovereign Right, Power, and Authority over him? Why, Confession of our Sins to God, is but our due acknowledgement of a Superior; and what less acknowledgement can we make of God's Title to us, and Dominion over us, than when we have broken the Laws, violated the Commands of this our Lord and King, as we hope for Mercy, not to justify our illegal Actions, but to confess that we have done what we ought not to have done: Less than this, pray, what is it but a plain disowning of God, a refusing to have him to rule and reign over us, a renouncing of all homage and subjection due unto him? God can't, in point of Honour, pardon such an obstinate Sinner, as won't make the least acknowledgement of his sin. In civil affairs among Men, he's never judged fit to be admitted into favour, who stands in, and will not acknowledge his fault; and shall we think that God has not good reason to take as much upon him as his Creature? Shall we allow a poor simple creature to stand so much upon't? And would we have the great God put up any thing any how? Surely God respects and regards himself more than so. It's a thing unbeseeming the Majesty of God, for God to pardon sin without the Sinner's Confession.  
2. It's a thing not at all beseeming and befitting the Justice of God, for God to pardon Sin without demanding any Confession.  
If God should pardon wilful, stubborn, impenitent Sinners, that won't confess, but resolvedly retain and hold fast their sins, how could his Justice bear it? It's true, Confession does not satisfy God's Justice, yet sins unconfessed can't be pardoned without Injustice; for tho' Confession of Sin does not satisfy, yet does it greatly glorify God's Justice; and God will never show himself Gracious in any such way wherein he shall lose the glory of his Justice; no, God consults the Honour of every Attribute, and won't exercise one Attribute to the damage and detriment of another. God's Justice won't suffer him to pardon but upon Confession; therefore Confession is necessary.  
3. It's unbeseeming the Mercy of God, to give a Pardon, where there's no Confession; for Mercy will never be taken for Mercy, if Sin be not acknowledged to be Sin. He that won't confess his sins, will never acknowledge his need of Mercy; will never magnify Divine Grace; will never desire it, or seek after it; will never account himself really beholding to God for it: When we hearty acknowledge our offences, and our sins abound in our sense and feeling, than Pardon is most precious, Grace is most glorious. God's Mercy won't give out a Pardon but upon Confession; for certainly, God's Mercy would not be enough esteemed and valued, were not our own Sin and Misery first owned by us and acknowledged.  
4. last: It's unbeseeming the Wisdom and the Holiness of God, for God to pardon Sin, without requiring the Sinner's Confession; for this would be to give countenance and encouragement to Sin; this would be to open a Floodgate to all Impiety and Profaneness, this would be a plain Confirmation of the Sinner in his sin, and a ready way and means of making him grow every day worse and worse: It would be much like, as if a Physician should prescribe a Cordial to one that has a very foul Stomach, before he had taken a Vomit; which would be so far from restoring and recovering the Patient, that it would strengthen and fortify the humour, and so increase, and heighten, and nourish the Disease. Confessio Vomitus: Confession is ordinarily compared to a Vomit; now if God should give in a Pardon, which is as a strong Cordial, to a Sinner before the filth were fetched up, and cast out of his Soul, by a free and full Confession of his Sins, this would but enhearten him to sin more presumptuously, and animate him to go on more confidently in his wickedness; it would but make him multiply to Sin, as God multiplied to Pardon; so far would it be from stopping and interrupting the course of his sin, and breaking him of from it. Now this does not at all consist with God's Wisdom, nor with his Holiness, to do that which would give the greatest encouragement to sin, and be a direct means of making the Sinner to grow worse and worse.  
Thus you see, it's neither agreeing with the Majesty, nor with the Justice, nor with the Mercy, nor with the Wisdom, nor with the Sanctity of God, to remit and pardon Sin, before and without Confession. And that is the fourth Reason: Confession of Sin is indispensably necessay to remission of Sins so as that God can't well Pardon without it.  
5 Reas. We must confess, because Confession of Sin is itself a proper act of 
* Exomologesis prosternendi & humilificandi hominis dis●iplina est, conversationem inju●gens miser●●ordi●e illecem. Tertul. de Penitent. cap. 9  Mortification. It's a voluntary retracting, revoking, undoing, as far as in us lies, what formerly we have done; and a hopeful prevention of the future commission of our sin. As often as we confess, we give sin, as it were, a new blow: In every true Confession, we renew our sense of the Evil and Danger that is in sin, and strengthen our resolution against our sins, and fasten an Obligation upon ourselves to leave and forsake our sins; so that we cannot now sin again so freely and easily as before. Confession of our Sins does, in the very nature of it, solemnly engage us against sin, and lay a strong tye upon us to the contrary; it's apt, by way of Motive, and Argument, to hinder and restrain us from sinning, after we have confessed; it's a direct means of making sin more uneasy and unpleasant to us for the future; and so becomes a fit and proper Instrument of beating us off from our sins, and making us wholly to departed from them.  
Thus Confession is an Act of Mortification, and therefore there's good reason we should confess. That's the fifth ground of Confession.  
6 Reas. We must confess, because Confession testifies unto God, and evidences unto ourselves the sincerity and unfeignedness of our Repentance, and gives us good assurance that we are in a fair way of Recovery. It testifies unto God, and evidences to ourselves the Sincerity of our Repentance. 'Tis a plain Token that the Man bears a strong Affection to his sin, and it's sweet and pleasurable to him, when he hideth it under his Tongue, and spareth it, as Zophar speaketh: (Job 20. 12, 13.) But it's a good Sign that a Man is out of love with his sin, when he's ready to discover it, and disposed humbly to confess it. The Sick Man, that will not truly declare to his Physician what the Meat or Drink was that proved prejudicial to his Health, and caused his Distemper, has no intention to forbear and abstain from it; and that's the very reason why he seeks to conceal it. So 'tis 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 Smallpox 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 cheer, 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 sense 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 Lies suggests to us, that in so doing we shall bring ourselves to Despair; that we shall run out of our Wits, and even kill and destroy ourselves, 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 uneasy 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 hid 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 hid 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, etc.) 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 hid 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 beforehand. 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 dost thyself: Dost think to hid 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 dost 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, hid God from myself, says he, myself 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 ourselves; 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 its Folly to think to hid 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 acknowledgement of sin to God, is the best course can be taken to maintain the secrecy of the Soul; the only way to have one's secret sins covered, 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 ourselves, God will keep us from shame and dishonour; but if we hid them. God will uncover them; perhaps here in this World, by making others to publish and bring them to light; or causing thee thyself to betray thyself, 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 Deathbed: 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 Judgement, before all the Saints and Angels of heaven, to thy eternal Disgrace and Reproach. In vain, in vain dost 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 ourselves.  
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 hid 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 , he shall not escape Divine Vengeance, he shall be plagued with many intermedial Judgements here; and (if they do no good on him) he shall be punished 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 murdered Vriah so closely and cunningly, could hardly be brought to confess his sin so much as secretly to God himself, as if he had subtly deceived 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 through 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 saved 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; 'twas 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 itself is retained; but free-heartedness in Confession does hinder God's Judgements from seizing on the Penitent Sinner, or suddenly removes whatever Judgements 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. last: 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 Judgement 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 rejoiced in seeing the Commission of thy sin, is now more troubled and grieved 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 thyself; especially upon thy Deathbed.  
1. It prevents, or weakens all Satan's Accusations of us to God. St. Ambrose (in the place forequoted) 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 beforehand 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 his substance with riotous living: But all this, tho' true, nothing altered or alienated his Father; and why? Because the Elder Brother came too late, the Prodigal had got the speed of him, had fore-accused himself, and already obtained his Pardon. Satan, our Elder Brother by Creation, will certainly prove our malicious Accuser; but if we timely prevent him by precondemning ourselves 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 ourselves 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 ourselves before declared them in a still,  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 ourselves, and his Temptations of us on our Deathbeds.  
When Men lie upon their Deathbed, and are going out of the World, than the roaring Lion goeth about seeking how he may devour them; then is our Adversary, the Devil, most active, stirring, and busy; then does the subtle 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 his sins in order before him, and telling him, such and such a heinous sin didst thou commit at such and such a time; thus much guilt lies upon thee, therefore thou art Damned: Alas, it's too late to confess now! neither art thou now able to do it, nor hast thou now time to do it in. Now how shall the irrepentant Sinner be able to resist this temptation, to throw out this injection, to repel this fiery Dart of the Devil?  
When careless, negligent Sinners, are departing out of this World, than they lie fairest for a Temptation; and they who were secure enough before, are now prone and ready to suspect their own State, to join and strike in with Satan against themselves, and to further the Devil's Suggestions by their own Misgivings: The guileful, guilty, impenitent Sinner's Conscience, will now fly in his own face, will now second the Devil's Accusations, and be as forward as he is to judge and condemn him:  
Whereas the truly humble Penitent, who has fully done the Devil's Work for him; who has not only been Spontaneus Satan, a Satan to himself, as Satan is a subtle Tempter, and so sometimes tempted and seduced himself; but has likewise been Spontaneus Satan, a kind of Satan to himself, as Satan is an Adversary and Accuser; and so has often accused and condemned himself in a free and full Confession of all his sins. This Man placed upon his Deathbed, is either undisturbed by Satan, or able to contest with him: Let Satan truly object never so many sins to him, he grants all; and is bold to tell the Devil, That he won't despair in hearing that from him, which he has himself confessed, in Faith, to God. It's true, Satan, says he, I have done thus and thus; and I have, with shame, acknowledged as much, and more to God: I therefore fear not thy Charge, because I first charged myself, and so trust I'm discharged by God: In vain dost thou accuse and condemn me to myself, who have already accused and condemned myself to my God, and therefore hope I'm acquitted and absolved by him.  
When the Adversary is thus non-plused and silenced, when Satan's Mouth is thus stopped and shut, that he has nothing to say to the Penitent Sinner; when neither his own Conscience, nor the Devil accuse him, than God says to him, as once Christ said to the Woman charged with Adultery, when her Accusers left her, John 8.11. Where are thine Accusers? has no one condemned thee? neither do I condemn thee. And adds further; not, Go and sin no more; but, Go where thou shalt sin no more.  
2. And this leads me to the second branch of this last Reason: Confession of Sin, or Self-Judging, surely forestals the just Sentence and Judgement of the great Judge an the last Day.  
By Judging ourselves, we do (as I may say) God's Work and Office for him, and so save him a labour; neither are we unmannerly and injurious to God, by thus taking, as it were, his Work out of his hands; this is no bold Usurpation on our part, but his own free and voluntary Concession, for Judgement is his strange Work, his strange Act, Isa. 28.21. and he had rather a great deal have it done by us upon ourselves, than done upon us by himself: He's very well pleased with our own doing of it; insomuch, that if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged, as St. Paul assures us, 1 Cor. 11.31.  
And this is the last Reason of the Duty of Confession, taken from the unspeakable happiness, the sweet peace, and inward Paradise of such a Man, who hath no sin unconfessed when he comes to die; whereas he that won't accuse himself now, gives no small advantage to Satan's Accusations of him to God; and Temptations of him, especially upon his Deathbed: And he that can't be brought to Judge himself now, he does but Reprieve himself a while, and defer the Sentence till the Grand Assizes, where he shall be sure to be Accused, Condemned, and Executed.   

CHAP. XII. The Application of the Doctrine. The first Use, by way of Confutation of the Popish Doctrine of Auricular Confession.  
I Have fully opened the Nature of this Duty to you, and have confirmed it by many strong and weighty Reasons and Arguments; I shall now endeavour to apply it, and make use of it.  
Use 1. By way of Confutation. Popish Commentators do strain this Text to favour Auricular Confession, without any colour, show or shadow of Reason for so doing: For it plainly and naturally respects Confession of Sin made to God, and not in the Ears of a Priest. Our Church indeed advises in her seasonable and excellent Exhortation before the Communion, That if any Person's Mind be troubled and uneasy, and his Conscience burdened and unsatisfied, and he cannot find ease and relief, and quiet his own Conscience by any means used by himself, but requireth further Comfort or Counsel; he should go to his own, or to some other discreet and learned Minister of God's Word, and open his Grief, that by the Ministry of God's Holy Word he may receive the Benefit of Absolution, together with Ghostly Counsel and Advice, to the quieting of his Conscience, and avoiding of all Scruple and Doubtfulness.  
But the Church of Rome binds all Men in Conscience, by a Law made, to make a particular, special Confession to a Priest, of all their mortal Sins committed after Baptism, even of their most secret and hidden Sins, with all Circumstances that change the kind, and alter the nature of the Sin, as far as possibly they can call, and bring them to remembrance, upon due Premeditation, and a diligent Examination of themselves. And, once every Year at the least, to confess to a Priest (unless it be in the case of extreme necessity) all such Sins, and heightening Circumstances, which they have been guilty of since they were last shriven. They call for the particularising of Sins, and the explication and manifestation of all aggravating Circumstances, that the Priest (as they pretend) may judge of the weight and merit of every Fault, and know how to impose a condign Penance, and to enjoin a convenient and correspondent Satisfaction. Tho' the Truth is, the Priests have no Authority to impose what Penances they shall think fit: Nor have they Ability, presently and on a sudden, to weigh Things so exactly and evenly, as to order and appoint Penances just and equal, answerable and proportionable to the Sins confessed. And it is apparent, and well known, how slight and trifling and ridiculous the Confessors often are in the Penances they enjoin for Sins of a very high nature. And all their human Satisfactions, tho' intended only for the Temporal Punishment due to Sin in Purgatory, are highly injurious to the full and perfect Satisfaction of Christ. This Confession of Sins to the Priest, is that which the Papists speak so much of in all their Catechisms, tho' God says not one word of it in all the Scriptures. St. James indeed bids us confess 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 baptised, confessing their sins, (Matt. 3.6.) And that many that believed came and confessed, and shown 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 enacted 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 Practice 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 enrich that covetous and ambitious See with great and large Revenues.   

CHAP. XIII. The second Use, 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 itself, 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 Practice, impartially to accuse ourselves only? Are not most of us ready and apt to shift off our sins from ourselves, 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 thoroughly open ourselves to God, and clearly manifest our bosom, gremial sin to him? Han't we been impudently bold in sinning, and yet ashamed to confess when we have sinned? Which of us all represent our sins in their own Colours, and aggravate them with their most heinous and notorious Circumstances? Do we not hid 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 ourselves 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 ourselves? 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 moved to it, out of a deep sense 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 confessed 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 confessed 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 merely the vain Babble of careless, and secure Men, that only, out of Custom and Formality, mumble out a few words against themselves to God, without any true sense and feeling of what they speak? Have we not usually confessed in a slight and perfunctory manner, unbecoming the weightiness of the Duty, and rested a long time in a mere overly, superficial performance of it, as if any Confession would serve our turn? Let us duly examine ourselves, and, I believe, we shall find cause enough to confess over all our Confessions, and to humble ourselves for all our Humiliations.   

CHAP. XIV. The Third Use, of Exhortation. Three Motives taken out of the Text: (1.) If we confess, God will forgive us our sins. (2.) He will also cleanse us from all our unrighteousness. What is meant by Cleansing. This Benefit nothing inferior to the former. (3.) God's Faithfulness and Justice do stand engaged to make good the promised Blessings to us. God condescends to confirm his Promises, because there are two things which make us prone to distrust, especially his Pardoning Mercy: (1.) Our own contrary Nature and Practice. (2.) The due consideration of our heinous Sins and high Provocations.  
Use 3 A Third Use shall be of Exhortation; seriously and earnestly to provoke and press you to the practice and performance of this necessary Duty. As there are, in points of Faith, fundamental Doctrines, so there are, in points of Practice, fundamental Duties; and among them, none more necessary to Salvation than this of true Confession.  
Having already given you Ten Reasons, which may well serve as so many Motives, I shall now use no other inducements, to excite and quicken you to the Duty, than those which the Apostle brings here in the Text; and, methinks, those great Benefits, and blessed Privileges of Confession, may easily and effectually prevail with you, to put you upon the practice and exercise of it.  
1 Mot. First then: Let us confess, because, if we confess, God will forgive us our sins. God both can, and will forgive sincere, Self-humbling Penitents.  
God can forgive sins, by reason of his Sovereign Authority: And his Wisdom hath pitched upon the most convenient way of Pardoning Sinners, admirably providing therein for the greatest Honour of his Attributes and Laws; (which otherwise would have been in great danger of being slighted and contemned) and for his attaining the ends of Government, by deterring Men from sin; (which he, this way, plainly testifies and demonstrates his extreme hatred of, and severity against, by the most notable Example of his Vindictive Justice) and by engaging Men to Holiness and new Obedience for the future. God hath an eye and respect to all this, in Relaxing the Penal Law, and taking off its Obligation, upon a valuable Consideration, sc. the bitter Sufferings, and bloody Death of the Holy Jesus, his only and dearly beloved Son, when, at his Father's Commandment, he voluntarily assumed our Gild, and substituted himself a Sacrifice for Sin, in our room and stead. Now God can, as Rector and Governor of the World, and the Supreme Judge offended, most Honourably dispense with the Law, (which says, The Soul that sinneth shall die) upon Account of Christ's perfect, sufficient Satisfaction, and the complete Compensation, and full Amends made by him, for the wrong done to God by the sins of Men. Which Dispensation does not in the least invite and encourage Men to continue in Sin, but leads them to Repentance, Reformation, and Amendment of Life; to a dying to sin, as Christ died for it; and to a 
* 2 Cor. 5.15.  living henceforth, not unto themselves, but unto him which died for us. For since God has taken this Course, and used this Method, Men have reason to conclude, (which is the excellent arguing of the learned 
* De Satisfact. Christi, cap. 5.  Grotius▪ That if God would not pardon the sins, no not of Penitent Sinners, unless Christ did stand in their stead, to bear the punishment, much less will he suffer contumacious Sinners, to go unpunished.  
And further; God can forgive sins, by reason of his abundant Mercy. None may despair, and say, Their sins are greater than can be forgiven.  
And as God is able, so he is willing to forgive. If God would not, upon any terms, have remitted the Eternal Punishment and Death due to Sinners, all Religion had been extinguished; the Fear, and Worship, and Service of God, had for ever utterly perished from off the Earth, through men's despair of future Felicity; but God is good and gracious, propense to Pity, Mercy, and Clemency; and ready to help, relieve, and make sinful and miserable Man happy. Mercy pleaseth him: He delighteth in Mercy, (Mic. 7. 18.) If it were not so, he would not have sent his Son, into the World, to make Satisfaction, and purchase Remission: He would never have made, and established a New Covenant, a Covenant of Grace; never have offered Mercy so freely in the Gospel, as he does; commanding his Ministers to preach Remission of Sins, and proclaim a General Pardon to all that will accept of it, upon the necessary, reasonable, mild and gentle Terms and Conditions of Faith and Repentance, and beseeching Sinners to accept of Pardon, and be reconciled to himself; and recording, and transmitting such Illustrious Examples of his marvellous, rich pardoning Mercy, as we find evidently set forth in the compassionate Father's kind carriage towards his wild, lose, extravagant, Prodigal Son, (Luk. 15.) in the Parable of the two Debtors, (Mat. 18.) and particularly, and eminently, in St. Paul, who for this cause obtained Mercy, that in him, first, Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering, for a Pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting, 1 Tim. 1.16.) It is part of God's Name, by which he makes himself known; the Lord God, forgiving iniquity, and transgression and sin, (Ex. 34.7.)  
God is strongly inclined, and fully resolved to pardon all sorts and kinds of sin, which we humbly and hearty confess to him. 2 Sam. 12.13. David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord; and Nathan, from God, said unto David; the Lord hath also put away thy sin, thou shalt not die. Nay, what saith David himself? (Psalms 32.5.) I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, says he, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. I said, in my heart; I firmly purposed and resolved; I said, I will confess; not, I have confessed; and thou forgavest. No Word of Confession was yet in my Mouth, but God's Ear was already in my Heart. So 
* Enar. 2. in Ps. 32.  St. Austin descants and paraphrases on the Words. Note further; in David it is only actus inchoatus; but it is actus consummatus in God: There was no sooner a sincere purpose on David's Part, but there was a real effect an actual performance on God's Part: David did but say he would confess, and God forgave the Iniquity of his Sin. And so the Prodigal did but say, I will arise, and go to my Father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned; and we find, that when he was yet a great way off, his Father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him, Luke 15.18, 19, 20. So ready and forward is our heavenly Father to be friends with us, and reconciled to us, upon our humble Submission and penitent Confession. And hence it is, that David makes his readiness to confess, a ground of his hope in Prayer; Psalm 51.1.2, 3. Have mercy upon me, blot out my 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 ourselves, 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 r●●olit haec memoria mea, & snims meavo● metui● inde? August. Confess. 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 own 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. 'Tis a wonder, that we, who are clogged 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 increase 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 Gild 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, than they can follow their Employments cheerfully, 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 than you may walk cheerfully and comfortably in your Christian Vocation.  
Let this move you to confess, because than God will forgive; if you impute Sin to yourself, God will not impute it to you: And this is a happy Privilege; 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, persuaded, 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 Privilege 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.  
King's may pardon guilty Rebels and Traitors, but they cannot turn or change their false and disloyal Hearts; Judges may save condemned 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 Christia●'s Cleansing, p. 121. and his Pract. Cat. p. 95. in 4●.  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 fetched 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 Hypocrisy: 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 beautify 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, patiented, 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 virtuous 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 show 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 purify 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.  sanctify 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 sanctify 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 unrighteousness; yea, more than so; he'll thoroughly cleanse us; cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 
† 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 completely cleanse us from every degree, from all the Relics of Unrighteousness.  
This Consideration should powerfully induce us to confess and acknowledge our sins, because than 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 prise 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 Gild, 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 purify 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 beest that art thoroughly convinced of sin, and so art desirous of Purity, as well as Pardon; of freedom from Filth, as well as from Gild; 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 Judgement 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 suffered 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, Woe 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 wouldst be cleansed, thou must 
* Levit. 13.45.  cry out with the Leper in the Law, , ; 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 leprosy 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 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 waist 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 cleansed in any measure, labour so far to keep thyself clean; and be sure to maintain a due apprehension, and deep sense 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 encouraged you to confess, by setting before you the Privileges and Benefits that are annexed to the Duty.  
I shall further enforce my Exhortation, by showing you the certainty of these Benefits to be bestowed, of these Privileges to be made good; God's Faithfulness and Justice stand strongly engaged to bring all about, to see all performed, 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 promised it, but he has confirmed 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 ourselves. 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 ourselves, 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 Sense and Experience; we feeling an averseness and backwardness in ourselves to pardon others, this raises in our Minds an Argument against God's pardoning and forgigiving us. We are afraid, lest God should even 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 ourselves, how infinitely great and glorious, holy and just that God is, whom we have so foully and frequently offended; when we thoroughly look into the ugliness and deformity, and seriously weigh the extreme demeritoriousness and punishableness of our sins; is not it hard here, for an awakened Conscience to persuade itself, 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 occasioned Luther to say, 
* Dicere se peccatorem esse, & tamen non desperare, omnino divina virtus est. Luther. loc. come. de penitent. 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 persuaded, and well satisfied, 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. joc. 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 sense.  
1. God is Just and Righteous to forgive, in the sense 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 sense, 
(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 signify 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 observed, and particularly compared what God had spoken, and what he had done for his People Israel) will tell you, there was not a Promise unperformed: 
* 1 King. 8.56.  There has not fallen, says he, or failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant. And therefore God's Mercies are called the sure mercies of David. And God styles himself 
† Exod. 34.6.  abundant in goodness and truth. 
* 1 Jam. 17.  With him is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. If God has promised, he will perform: 
† Nam. 23.19.  God is not a man that he should lie, 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 expressly promised 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 Penitent. 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 persuaded 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 Performance 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 show 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 ourselves 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 pulled 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 ourselves, 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 ourselves 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 extreme sinfulness of our sins. Thus you see how Premeditation puts us upon Confession, and makes us willingly buckle to the Duty, by showing 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 ere 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 showing of him there the ugliness and deformity of his 
* Lerg Scout.  Proboscis. The Water is the Law; now by Meditation, we compare ourselves with the Law of God, and our Practices 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 through 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, turned over and examined the several leaves 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 Erratas, 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 spoke 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 cheers, and strengthens, and bears up our Hearts in Confession, by showing 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 ourselves 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 awakened by the illightning, convincing Spirit of God. Let's look upon ourselves as poor, dark, blind Creatures, and seek to God to be anointed with Spiritual Eyesalve, 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 mine iniquities and sins? make me to know my transgression and my sin: to know it in the Kind, in the Nature, in the Effects and issues of it: to know it so, as to be sufficiently sensible of the great Evil and Danger of it. Go to God for a sight of your sins, when you go about to confess them: 
* Prov. 16.1.  The preparations of the heart in man are from the Lord.  
So much for your Direction before Confession; Give yourself to Meditation, in order to Confession, and look up unto God for Conviction.   

CHAP. XVI. Directions given concerning some Circumstances of the very Performance of this Duty. (1.) Concerning the Time and Season of Confession. (1.) Confess continually. (2.) Confess daily. The Equity and Advantage of so doing. (3.) And more particularly; Confess whenever you lie under any notable Conviction. (4.) Confess whenever you lie under any notable Affliction. (5.) Confess presently upon the Commission of any great sin. (6.) Confess presently upon the Receipt of any great Mercy. (2.) Concerning the Place where we should confess. Let's especially confess our sins in secret; and that for a threefold Reason. (1.) Because private Confession is plainly necessary. (2.) 'Tis very convenient: There is a double Advantage in it. (3.) The most Secret is likely to be the most Sincere Confession.  
I Shall, in the second place, direct you concerning some Circumstances of the very performance of this Duty: And first, Concerning the Time when. (2.) Concerning the Place where we should confess.  
1. Concerning the Time and Season of Confession, take these Directions:  
1. Confess continually: As the Apostle says, 
* 1 Thes. 5.17.  Pray without ceasing. So say I, Confess without ceasing: Be always in a confessing frame and temper: Frequently send up Ejaculatory Confessions to the Throne of Grace: Continually walk humbly with thy God, under a deep sense of thy own vileness, sinfulness, and unworthiness.  
2. Confess daily. This is a Debt, that every day grows due to God. Thou art a daily Sinner, and if every day thou findest time to sin, O be sure you spare time to confess your sin. We daily add sin unto sin, and therefore let's daily add sorrow to sorrow; and renew our Confession, as we renew our Transgression. Let's pitch upon some set and stated Times for the daily solemn sisting of ourselves before God, and the making a faithful acknowledgement of our sins to him. Under the Law, there was appointed both 
* Exod. 20.39.  a Morning and an Evening-Sacrifice every Day; of which the Hebrew Doctors say, The continual Sacrifice of the Morning, made atonement for the iniquities that were done in the Night; and the Evening. Sacrifice made atonement for the iniquities that were by Day. This daily, double Sacrifice and Service, is a good Pattern for double Devotion every Day.  
We must acknowledge every Day the sins of that Day; and we should do well daily to make a particular Confession of some of the greatest and foulest, most heinous and gross sins, which we know we have committed in any part of our Lives: These we must confess again and again, till we have gotten some Assurance of their Pardon, some comfortable Evidence of God's Love; and if we attain to this in some good measure, yet let us confess our sins still, to get further and higher degrees of it, to get stronger and clearer confirmation of it: (as we see David does, Ps. 51.) Yea, tho' we be never so fully persuaded of the forgiveness of our sins, yet let's confess them still, that so our Pardon may be continued, and our Humility increased, by often remembering what we were, as well as considering what we are; and that the Riches of God's free Grace may be thankfully acknowledged, and deservedly magnified, in that he was pleased to remit and forgive such heinous and provoking Offences.  
Let's every Day pray, and say, This Day forgive us our Trespasses: We shall reap and receive a threefold benefit and advantage by it;  
1. By daily Confession, we shall keep ourselves constantly humble, and daily renew, and strengthen our Obligation to continual Mortification, Watchfulness and Holiness; and shall, by degrees, even shame ourselves out of our sins and follies: And this will make us every day afraid to sin, when we know we must go before the Judge, and accuse ourselves, and aggravate our sin, the very day the fault is done.  
2. The more we do now, the less we shall have to do hereafter: If we confess our daily sins every day of our life, the less work we shall have lying upon our hands at the day of our Death. And truly, to be beforehand in this Duty, this is one way to go quietly out of the World. When Men put off all to a late and Deathbed Confession, this makes them have such an hard time of it; this makes their passage troublesome; then they have the Devil, and a guilty Conscience, to deal withal, which is worse than to grapple, and conflict with their Diseases; then their neglect, and shameful omission of former Confession, will torment and terrify them, and the great uncertainty of their present Sincerity; and a strong Suspicion, lest the Principle of their action should only be the passion of Fear, will dishearten and discourage them, distract and confound them. Don't make the time of thy Death, the only time for thy full Confession; perhaps, than thou may'st not be able to speak for thy Sickness, nor to think of any thing as thou shouldst do. O what wilt thou do to remember thy sins, than when thy Memory fails thee? When we lie upon a Sick Bed, when our Bodies are weak, and our Memory crazy, is that a fit time to go over our Life, and to review the several parts of it? Therefore, that we may have the less to do, when we shall have enough to do to struggle with Sickness; that we may have nothing to do when we die, but to die, and comfortably to yield up ourselves to God, let us take this good Counsel, To be punctual in daily Confession, and Self-Condemnation.  
3. Yea, to accustom ourselves to daily Confession a contrite, not a mere customary Confession) it would be an excellent means to free us from the Fear, the slavish, afflicting, tormenting fear of sudden Death. To make all even, Morning and Evening, between God and our own Consciences, by humble acknowledgement of all our Offences, and hearty Prayer for Pardon and Grace, for the sake and Merits of the Mediator; this is the way to walk abroad, with Comfort and Confidence, every day, without any fear of a sudden Stroke, and hasty Arrest by the Hand of Death; and to lie down in peace, and sleep most quietly every Night, without one anxious, distracting thought, where we shall awake the very next Morning; whether ever any more in this, or whether speedily, or unexpectedly, in the other World. If we judge ourselves in the presence of God, and sue out a Pardon at the Throne of Grace, and wisely make our peace with Heaven, and reconcile ourselves 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 prepared, and equally provided for longer Life, or present Death, and the Judgement 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, than it is a fit time to confess. When David's Heart smote him, after that he had numbered 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 convinced 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, than 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, than he acknowledged it. 2 Sam. 24.17. And David spoke 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 through 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, than 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 glorify and justify God, by accusing and condemning ourselves, and acknowledging ourselves 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 acceptable 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 promised 
* 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 compared to Light, which is the most beautiful, delightful, exhilarating, cheering 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 be'st hardened through 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 Penitent. 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 Gild lying on him, and infectious Filth cleaving to him, aught 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 loath and nauseate, and be squeamish at the Antidote, who was greedy and gapemouthed 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 roared, says he, (Psalms 32.3.) So dear did the very Procrastination of Confession cost David, that even after he had confessed and was pardoned; he got not suddenly such a full sense 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 pardoned and absolved by Nathan: Psalm 51.12. Restore unto me the Joy of thy Salvation. If he had thoroughly confessed at first, probably he would not have been so long without Comfort. If Sin remain unconfessed, the Power of it will be greater, the Slain deeper, the Gild heavier. The longer we hid 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 its Poison and Venom 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 receipt of any great Mercy: Especially upon the receipt 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. ●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 ourselves 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 Public Confession, to bear a part in the ordinary and extraordinary Confessions of the Church and Family to which we belong: But let's chief choose to make Confession of Sin in Secret, between God and ourselves 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 yourselves do draw up the Indictment, and frame the Confession; you will be sure to conceal your most shameful Sins: You will never particularise, never aggravate them in others hearing: Nor is it reasonable you should. Secret Confession is therefore necessary, for if some secret Sins be not confessed in Secret, they will never be confessed. 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 loath 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; even 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 ourselves very much heart-bound, and tongue-tied 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 ourselves 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 ourselves do, before we give him a sad and sorrowful Account of ourselves, 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 thoroughly unbosoming ourselves 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 ourselves, 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 reverend 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 moan, 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 mere 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 publicly 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 shown 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 shows, that the Man is convinced he has wronged God, and is sorry for the Wrong he has done him, and would fain be Friends with him. Let's bring ourselves to the Test here: Let us try our Sincerity by this very Mark. We can go in Secret, to commit Sin; but do we get into Secret to confess it? We can be vile and wicked in private, but can we be penitent in private too? Do we know what belongs to secret Confession? I'm afraid the most of us are practically ignorant of this Duty. But if we can enter into our Closet, and, when we have shut the Door, be free with our Father in Secret; This is likely to be an Argument and Testimony of our Sincerity. So much for your Direction concerning the Place where you should confess.   

CHAP. XVII. Further Directions, respecting and ordering our Carriage and Behaviour after the Duty. (1.) Hast thou confessed? Then bless God who has enabled thee to confess. (2). Hast thou confessed, and so performed the Condition? Then apply the Promise to thyself, and make good Use of it in time of Temptation. (3.) Hast thou confessed? Then daily plead the Promise with God, and carefully look after the Performance of it. (4.) Hast thou confessed, and found and felt the Benefit of it? Why then, give God the Praise that is due to him. (5.) Hast thou confessed thy sins? Then take great heed of falling into sin after Confession. And here, (1.) Take heed of falling wilfully into any sin after Confession. (2.) Beware, especially, that you fall not wilfully into the same particular sins you have confessed: For, (1.) There is great danger of it. Danger, (1.) To the formal Confessor, in four respects. (2.) Danger too to the Penitent Confessor: (1.) From Satan. (2.) The greatest danger from our own Corruption. (2.) There is great Evil and Folly in it; great Gild and Danger by reason of it. For (1.) falling into sin after Confession does exceedingly aggravate the sin. Sin after Confession, a great sin in three respects. (2.) As this is a great sin, so it brings along with it great Punishment; both internal and external Punishments. (3.) Sinning wilfully after Confession, will make you Self-condemned when God punisheth you. (4.) 'Twill break our present Peace, and dash our Hopes of future and further Comfort. (5.) Thou wilt thus cut out for thyself new Work, and make the Severities of a New Repentance necessary. (6.) Falling into sin after Confession, will make us the more unapt and unable to rise again, and recover out of it; it will strengthen Sin, and weaken Grace in us. (7.) 'Twill very much dishearten us, when we would beg Pardon of our sin, and hugely discourage us when we would renew our Resolution against it. (8.) 'Twill make God loath ever to take your Word again, and will render him harder to Pardon you upon a new Confession.  
I Shall, in the last place, direct you in your Carriage and Behaviour after the Duty. And here I shall commend to you these following Directions:  
1. Hast thou confessed? Then Bless God, who has enabled thee to confess; who has put it into thy Heart to confess. And tho' thou art not yet sensible of the Receipt of Pardon, yet look upon it as a Sign and Token that God intends more good to thee, in that he has inclined and enabled thee to confess.  
2. Hast thou confessed, and so performed the Condition? Then apply the Promise to thyself, and make good use of it in time of Temptation.  
1. Lay hold upon the Promise; look upon the Promise as belonging to thee in particular: reckon thyself really and truly interested in it; and be bold to challenge a part and share in it, as well as any one else.  
2. And further; Make good use of it in time of Temptation. If thou hast been truly sorrowful for thy sins, and hast hearty confessed them to God; why then, when Satan vexes and molests thy Conscience, by laying the Law to thee, it will be profitable and comfortable to oppose Satan, to answer him, and reply upon him, as 
* Luther. loc. come. de Paver. Conse. in Tentat. p. 130, 131, 3. Clas.  Luther Counsels excellently, and to say thus to him; True, I have done thus and thus; but what's that to thee, Satan, I ain't thy Sinner? What power then hast thou over me? If I have sinned, I han't sinned against thee; I han't sinned against any Man, against any Angel, but only against my God have I sinned, who is Merciful and Long-suffering. Here's enough, indeed, to answer all the Devils in Hell withal. If the Devil object thy unworthiness to thee, tell him, That God does not Pardon any, because they are Worthy or Deserving, but because he himself is Faithful and Just. If Satan tempt thee to distrust here, take the course that 
† L●●. ●itat. p. 131.  Luther advises to: Say, Tho' I am unworthy to receive so great a benefit, yet God is not unworthy to be believed, that he will Pardon sin, as he has promised in his Word.  
3. Hast thou confessed? Then daily plead the Promise with God, and carefully look after the Performance of it. When Gild affrights thee, and Filth troubles thee, then plead God's Promise with him. Say with David, 
* Psal. 2.3  Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin, for I acknowledge my transgressions; and my sin is ever before me. Lord, I confess; do thou pardon, do thou purge me: Take away all iniquity: Create in me a clean Heart, O God: Extend thy Grace and Mercy, fulfil thy Word, and make good thy Promise to me: Plead hard the Gospel-Promise, and diligently look after the Performance of it. 
* Ps. 85.8.  Hear what God the Lord will speak; for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his Saints. Say with the Church, 
† Mic. 7.7.  I will look unto the Lord: I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. Expect from God the making good of his Word; Non-expectation argues great Carelessness and Unbelief.  
4. Hast thou confessed, and after Confession found and felt that God has forgiven thee thy sins, and in some measure cleansed thee from thy unrighteousness? Why then, give God the Praise that is due to him; break into Thanksgiving with holy David, and take up his Doxology: Say, 
* Ps. 1●3. 1, 2, 3.  Bless the Lord, O my Soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my Soul, and forget not all his benefits; who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases. 
† Luk. 17.15, 12.  With the good Leper in the Gospel, when thou seest that thou art healed, turn back, and with a loud voice glorify God, and fall down at his feet, giving him thanks.  
5. Hast thou confessed thy sins? Then take great heed of falling into Sin after Confession; all is lost without observation of this Direction. If thou hast the true Spirit of Confession of Sin, it will rest upon thee, and abide in thee 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 confessed, we should desire and endeavour to walk uprightly, and to learn God's Laws and Statutes: and should abhor to live carelessly and loosely, and to run into sin fearlessly 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 confessed; 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 engaged 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 confessed. 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 Gild, 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 eased 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 extreme 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 Penitent. 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, easy, 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 checked him for, he plucked off his Hat, and bowed to the Image or Crucifix, ask forgiveness for it; upon which he reckoned, and made account, that God and he were Friends▪ Or,  
4. last; There is danger enough of this to thee, that art but a mere formal Confessor, because the Lord may justly punish thy hypocritical Confession, by leaving thee to thyself, 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. ●●rtul. a●nit. c. 7.  watchful, when once he sees the Sinner awakened. 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 confessed, because Satan is resolved 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 Selfconfidence, and ready to think ourselves strongly enough Armed, and sufficiently Fortified, against any temptation to those sins which we have confessed. To conclude, that having taken such Physic, we are well enough antidoted against all Infection; not to doubt, but that we have now put on Armour 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 shown such high dislike of our sin in our Confession, that the Devil is now discouraged from meddling 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 confessed; therefore take heed of it, be watchful and vigilant over thyself: 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 Gild, 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. ●, 8.  if the Scab did spread much abroad in a Man's ●kin, after that he had been seen of the Priest for his cleansing, than the Priest pronounced him unclean, for it was a Leprosy. Even so, if after we have shown ourselves 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 Leprosy; 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 oftener 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 Penitent. c. 5.  against great Light, for if you had not clearly known it to be a sin, you could never have confessed it.  
3. Sin after Confession is a dealing most falsely and treacherously with God. When the People of Israel sinned again, in marrying the Daughter of a strange God, even 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 called expressly an abomination, 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 
* Alter●ae i●t●r ●piditat●m nostram, & poenite●tiam vices su●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 justify 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 extreme baseness and falseness to God, as shows the greatest undervaluing of him, and casts the highest disparagement upon him: For here the Sinner having 
† Vid. Tertull. de Penitent. c. 5.  made a Trial and Comparison of both, plainly prefers, in his Judgement 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 Rejoicing, and matter of Triumphing against God; that One that lately seemed 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 sound plagued, for sinning wilfully after Confession. When Ezra had solemnly confessed 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 woeful effects of that Sin, if ever they should dare to return to it again? Ver. 14. Should we again break thy Commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldst not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed 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 unpunished.  
3. Sinning wilfully after Confession will make you Self-condemned, when God punisheth you. You will then be judged out of your own Mouth: Ye will have nothing to say for yourselves before God: For how can ye excuse yourselves to God for the doing of that, which formerly ye accused yourselves to God for doing? And how will your Mouths be stopped, when God condemns you for that, which formerly ye condemned yourselves 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 procured 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 confessed, thou wilt cut out for thyself new Work, and create thyself new Trouble, and make the Severities of a new Repentance necessary; and force thyself to perform over again the penal, afflictive Duty of Confession: To take more tearing, violent Vomits, to swallow down more bitter, loathsome Pills, and to go through a tedious course of stronger Physic 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 removed. 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 weakened 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 ourselves by our fall, the further we are from relieving ourselves, and helping ourselves 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 ourselves: With what Face can I ask God Pardon of that, which since I last begged 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 loath ever to take your Word again, and will render him harder to Pardon you upon a new Confession.  
1. It will make God loath 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 confessed before, and sinned again afterwards as often as you have confessed: And ain't you likely even to serve me so again? How can I believe you'll ever do what you pretend? Thus sinning after Confession, and so dealing falsely with God, will make God loath ever to take your Word again. Further;  
2. Our wilful falling into the same particular Sins which we have confessed, will render God harder to Pardon us upon a new Confession. If God should Pardon us, we ha' reason to fear, 'twill be upon more difficult and uneasy terms, both for doing and suffering. We must do more now in order to Pardon, than was required 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' shown 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 confessed and acknowledged 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 seemed to loath 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, quàm postea ipsius poeritertiae poenitere: Nec tam priùs poenituiffe quòd malè vixrint, quàm postea quod se promise●t●t bene ●sse vl●turos Salvian, de Gubern. Del, Lib. 5. p. 17●.  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 Gild, 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 served David; who plainly confessed 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 selfsame 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 Practice, and we do thereby but make ourselves the greater and deeper Liars.   

CHAP. XVIII. Some Means or Helps for the shunning and avoiding of Sins confessed. (1.) Let such as have formerly confessed their Sins without any true Sense of Sin, now labour speedily to get a deep and thorough Conviction of the Evil of their Sins. (2.) Let such as have confessed 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 Dependence 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 shown 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 confessed. And,  
1. For such, who have often confessed 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 confessed, 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 thyself: I ha' sometime customarily confessed my Sin to God; but O what a great and heinous Sin is it? How contrary to God's express Command? What heavy Threaten are plainly denounced 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 Gild; 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 confessed, without any Sight or Sense of Sin. But,  
2. If any among us have confessed 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 confessed; 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 masked and vizarded, and had the Notion of good put upon't; as it seemed profitable, pleasurable, honourable: But you then looked upon the naked nature of Sin, and the sad consequences of it: You than apprehended the Evil that is in it, and discerned the Evil that comes after it, and follows upon it. You than saw Sin, as Men use to see it at the day of Death, when they are well awakened: You than saw it after the same manner, as the damned in Hell see it: You than saw it, in some good measure, as God himself sees it: You then thought of it, as holy Men do, when they are enlightened by God's Spirit: You then judged of it, as your Saviour himself, when he suffered upon the Cross, and felt the weight of his Father's Wrath for your Sin, judged of it: You than spoke of it, as the Scripture itself, as the Spirit in the Scripture speaks of it: As the Righteous and Holy Lawgiver himself expresses himself concerning it in his Word: You than felt the pain and smart of it, and called it an evil and a bitter thing, 
Jer. 2.19.  and befooled yourself for meddling with it: You than had a graat Prejudice of Mind, a strong Antipathy of Heart against it; and fully resolved, 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 sour and embitter 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: 'Twill make us disallow it now at present, as than we disallowed it.  
This very Consideration, will easily repel that notable Temptation of Satan; wherein he goes about to draw us to Sin, by persuading us of the Easiness and facility of getting a Pardon upon reiterated Confession. Thou mayst 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 easy 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 than 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 subtly 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 exercised 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 mayst not hereafter wilfully fall into any particular Sin already confessed; seriously consider and remember, That thou art at present in dependence upon God for Mercy, and art very fair for't. And therefore think thus with thyself: 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 myself? This very Meditation will in a great measure discourage and dishearten, curb and restrain you from sinning; especially from relapsing into any Sin particularly confessed.  
3. That we may not fall into Sins confessed, Let's be always imploring Divine Assistance, and improving our own Endeavours against them. Let's hearty beg God's Grace, and earnestly seek the Lord and his Strength, and faithfully use Grace received, and up and be doing, and go and act in the Strength of the Lord. Let's apprehend ourselves 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' confessed; eat all Occasions, and abstain from all Appearance of Evil; and exercise Self-denial, and labour betimes to break ourselves of our own Wills: Let's daily observe the very first rise, and motions and stir of those Sins in our Hearts, which at any time we have confessed and repent of: And let's remember and consider, how they formerly won and gained upon us; and let's resist their very beginnings, and nip them in the very bud, and crush the very Cockatrice Eggs. Let's not entertain any old Sin, so much as in our Fancy: Let's never venture to keep its Picture, nor once offer to wear its Favour: Let's bear no loving, pleasing remembrance of it, nor show 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 ourselves from foully and wilfully falling into Sins confessed.   

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 confessed; let us also beware of falling on the other side, into the contrary sin to that we confessed. (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 Licence 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 confessed; let us also beware of falling, on the other side, into the contrary sin to that we confessed. 
* Dum vitant stulti vitia, in contraria currunt. Horat. satire. 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' confessed. 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 Extreme. If thou hast confessed thy Covetousness, and resolved against it; in avoiding of that, take heed thou dost not turn Prodigal. If thou hast confessed thy Prodigality; take heed, in shunning of this, that you fall not into Covetousness. If you made Confession of your Presumption; beware now of Unbelief, under the show and colour of Humility. If you confessed your Unbelief; then now take heed of fearless, bold Presumption, cloaked with the specious Name of Affiance and Confidence in God. Dost 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. Dost 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 incline 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 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 
(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 itself; this were to leap into the fire, to save ourselves 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 Licence 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: ●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 yourselves to sin; for I told you before, that the Pardon of sin, committed after Confession, will be more difficult to be obtained; 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 sound 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 contained 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 Favour, 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 oftener 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 showing 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, and his thoughts than our thoughts. We read of a 
* Ps. 51.1.  multitude of his tender mercies. 'Tis said, our God will 
† Isa. 55.7.  multiply to Pardon. And the 
* 1 Joh. 1.7.  blood of Jesus Christ his Son is said to cleanse us from all sin. Christ is described to be 
† Isa. 63.1.  mighty to save; 
* Heb. 7.25.  able to save, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, to perpetuity, or, to the uttermost, those that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.  
Such places and passages as these, do give encouragement to confess again in case of a Relapse; and there is nothing in reason to dissuade you from it: For, if, upon your unfeigned Repentance, God will forgive as grievous a sin of another kind; a sin as heinous in the several aggravating Circumstances of it, as this reiterated act of a sin formerly confessed can appear to be, then why should you not conclude, that he will as well, upon your humble Confession of this sin, and hearty forsaking of it, very freely pardon it, and fully remit the Eternal punishment of it? 'Tis good Advice, and excellent Counsel, that of 
* De Penitent. c. 7.  Tertullian: Let it trouble you to sin again, says he; but let it never trouble you to repent again: Let it be irksome to you to run again into danger; but let it not be irksome to you to be freed and delivered again from danger: Let none be ashamed of this, says he: If a Man fall sick again, he must even take Physic again. And as he goes on; Thou wilt approve thyself thankful towards God, if thou dost not sullenly refuse what God freely offers thee: thou hast offended, but thou mayest yet be reconciled. And what is added by the same 
* Ib. c. 12.  Author, will always hold certainly true; Repentance and Confession are, as it were, the two saving Planks to be made use of after a Shipwreck.  
And so I have done with the fifth Direction, and with the necessary Cautions with which it is to be taken.   

CHAP. XX. The sixth and last Direction; Have we confessed our sins to God, that we might be forgiven them by God? Let us then freely forgive those that have trespassed against us, upon their Confession of their faults to us; and so forgive them, as to profess and and testify to them our pardoning of them.  
6. THE sixth and last Direction, with which I shall conclude and shut up this Discourse, is this: Have we confessed our sins to God, that we might be forgiven them by God? Let us then freely forgive those that have trespassed against us, upon their Confession of their faults to us. Would we have God be tenderly Merciful? Then let not us be bitterly implacable, and utterly irreconcilable. Take heed to yourselves, says Christ to his Disciples; if thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him, and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent, thou shalt forgive him, Luk. 17.3, 4. 
* See Ep. tailor's Worthy Communicant, p. 224, 225, 226.  If our offending, injurious Brother, should never repent, and confess his fault, nor crave our pardon, yet are we bound to forgive him in our Hearts, to cease from Anger, and Malice; and neither to exact Revenge ourselves, nor to require it of God, nor to delight in it if it happens: Yea, more than so, to 
* Mat. 5.44.  love, and pity, and pray for our most provoking, persecuting Enemy. But if he turn and confess, express and manifest his Repentance and Sorrow, by being ready, to his power, to make amends, then must we not only forgive him in our Hearts, but so forgive him, as to declare and express, profess and testify to him, our full forgiveness of the private wrong, and particular injury done unto us by him. And if, moreover, he gives us any good ground to think, that he has relinquished the evil he confesses; that his Repentance has mortified his Corruption; changed and altered his naughty disposition, so that we may trust and employ him again, with safety and prudence, without endangering, and betraying ourselves to further mischief and inconvenience, then are we bound so to forgive him, as to restore and re-admit him to his former state of friendship and trust.  
Be you sure to forgive those that confess to you, whether you have found the good of Confession yet or no. If you have got some comfortable persuasion of the Pardon of your Sins, do you then forgive others as God has forgiven you: If yet you want the sense and inward testimony of this, why then forgive as you would be forgiven, and as you hope God will forgive you upon your Confession. If thy repenting Brother confess to thee his trespass against thee; be thou, in obedience to Christ's command, faithful and just to forgive him; and, as far as in thee lies, to cleanse him from his unrighteousness; and then thou may'st more comfortably expect, that upon Confession of thy Sins to God, he will be faithful and just to forgive thee thy Sins, and to cleanse thee from all unrighteousness.   
FINIS.