' Confessing penitents are under the promises of forgiveness, &c. Turn to that Job xxxiii. 27, 28, and ponder upon it. Prov.. xxviii. 13, ' He tliat covers hia sins shall not prosper ; but he that confesseth and forsaketh shall have mercy,' &e.
Chap. III.] a cabinet of jewels. 403
I am merciful, saith the Lord. Only acknowledge thine iniquity/ And observable is that prayer of Solomon, 1 Kings viii. 47—50, ' Jf they shall bethink themselves, and repent, and make supplication to thee, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness ; then hear thou their prayer, and forgive thy people that have sinned against thee.'
Quest. But what are the properties or qualifications of true peniten- tial confession of sin ?
Ans. They are these eight that follow.
(1.) First, It is free, it is voluntary, not forced, not extorted. Ne- hemiah, Ezra, Job, David, Daniel, Paul, &c., were free and voluntary in the confession of their sins, as all know that have but read the Scripture.' The true penitent confesses his sins with much candour, ingenuity, and freedom of spirit. He is as free in his confession of sin, as he has been free in the commission of sin. His confessions are like water which runs out of a spring with a voluntary freeness, but the confessions of wicked men are like water that is forced out of a still with fire. Their confessions are forced and extracted merely from sense of pain and smart, or from fear of punishments, &c. Pharaoh never confessed his sin till God brought him to the rack, nor Saul till he was in danger of losing his crown and kingdom, nor Balaam till he sees the angel stand with his drawn sword ready to slay him, nor Judas till horror of conscience and the pangs of hell had surprised him, and taken fast hold on him.^ Wicked men cast out their sins by confession, as mariners do their wares in a storm, wishing for them again in a calm. The confessions of wicked men are commonly extorted or squeezed out, either by some outward trouble, or by some inward dis- tress ; but penitential confession is free and ingenuous, arising from an inward detestation of sin, and from the contrariety of the heart to sin ; and, therefore, were there no rod, no rack, no wrath, no hell, the true penitent would very freely and readily confess his sins. When God is most free in bestowing of mercies, then are they most free in confess- ing their iniquities, Hosea xiv. 1-4. Look, as that is the best wine that flows from the grape with least pressing, and as that is the best honey Avhich drops from the honeycomb without crushing ; so those are the best confessions that flow, that drop freely, voluntarily from the soul, &c.
(2.) Secondly, True penitential confession is full as well as free. That confession is not sincere that is not full. Lam. i. 18, 19. God loves neither halting nor mincing confessions. These undid the phari- see, Luke xviii. J 1. As penitential confessions are not extorted, so they are not straitened. Sin must be confessed in its particular species and parts ; all known sins must be confessed fully, plainly, particularly, as you may see by turning to these scriptures. Lev. xxvi. 40-42, and xix. 21 ; Judges x. 10 ; Ps. 11. ; 1 Sam. xii. 19 ; 1 Tim. i. 13 ; Acts- xxvi. 10, 11 ; DaiL ix. 5-17 ; Lev. xvi. 21, 22, &c. Some there be that deny their sins, with the harlot : Prov. xxx. 20, ' Such is the way of an adulterous woman ; she eateth and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.' And others there be that father their sins on
• Acts xxvi. 10, 11 ; Ezra ix. 9 : Nell. ix. ; Dan. ix. ; Ps. v. ; Job xl. 4, 5. 2 Exod. X, 16 ; 1 Sam. xv. 24 ; Num. xxii. 23-35 ; Mat. xxvii. 3-5.
404 A CABINET OF JEWELS. [ChAP. III.
others, as Adam did, Gen. iii. 12 ; and as Eve did, ver. 13 ; and as Aaron did, Exod. xxxii. 22 ; and as Saul did, 1 Sam. xv. 22. And many there are that hide their wickedness, that conceal their wicked- ness, as that proud pharisee did, Luke xviii. 11, 12. That expression of the prophet Hosea, chap. x. 13, 'You have ploughed wickedness,' is rendered by the Septuagint, ' You have concealed wickedness ;' and, indeed, there is nothing more common to a wicked heart, than to keep close his sin, than to cover and hide his transgressions. And, certainly, this is that sore disease that our first parents were sick to death of, almost six thousand years ago ; and, therefore, it is no wonder if we are all infected with it. Man by nature is a vain-glorious creature, apt to boast and brag of the sins that he is free of, but unwilling to confess the sins that he is guilty of There are no men so prone to conceal their own wickedness, as those that are most forward to proclaim their own goodness. There are many that are not ashamed to act sin, who yet are ashamed to confess sin ; but certainly of all shame, that is the most shameful shame, that leads a man to hide his sins. But now the true penitent, he makes conscience of confessing small sins as well as great sins, secret sins as well as open sins, Ps. xc. S, xix. ] 2. David confesses not only his great sins of murder and adultery, but he confesses also his self-revenge intended against Nabal, and of his knife being so near Saul's throat, when he cut off the lap of Saul's garment.^ A true penitent is much in confessing and lamenting over that secret pride, that secret fleshliness, that secret worldliness, that secret hypo- crisy, that secret vain glory, &c., that is only obvious to God and his own soul. But it is quite otherwise with wicked men ; for they confess their grosser sins, but never observe their lesser sins ; they confess their open sins, but never lay open their secret sins. Cain confesses the murdering of his brother, but never confesses his secret enmitj'', that put him upon washing his hands in his brother's blood. Pharaoh con- fesses his oppression of the children of Israel, but he does not confess the pride of his heart, nor the hardness of his heart. Judas confesses his betraying of innocent blood, but he never confesses his covetousness, that put him upon betraying .of the Lord of glory. And others have confessed their apostasy, who have never confessed their hypocri.sy that hath led them to apostasy, &c. Well, this is certain, that those little sins, those secret sins, that never break a sinner's sleep, do often break a believer's heart.
(3.) Tldrdly, As true penitential confession is full, so it is sincere, it is co7'dial ; it is not a feigned, nor a formal, nor a mere verbal confession, but an affectionate confession. It is a confession that has the mind, the heart, the soul, as well as the lip in it.'' The penitent man's confes- sion springs from inward impressions of grace upon his soul, he feels what he confesses, and his affections go along with his confessions. The poor publican smote upon his breast and confessed. Look, as the