This is the way to give glory to God. Let us join both together, our own ease and gloiy to God. When we have laid open our souls to God, and laid as much against ourselves as the devil could do that way — for let us think what the devil would lay to our charge at the hour of death and the day of judgment, he would lay hard to our charge this and that — let us accuse ourselves as he would, and as he will ere long. The more we accuse and judge om-selves, and set up a tribunal in our hearts, certainly there will follow an incredible ease. Jonah was cast into the sea, and there was ease in the ship ; Achan was stoned, and the plague was stayed. Out with Jonah, out with Achan, and there will follow ease and quiet in the soul presently ; conscience will receive wonderful ease. It must needs be so, for when God is honoured conscience is purified. God is honoured
188 THE church's complaint and confidence.
by confession of sin every way. It honours his omniscience ; that he is all-seeing, that he sees our sins and searcheth the hearts. Our secrets are not hid from him. It honours his power. What makes us confess our sins, but that we are afraid of his power, lest he should execute it ? And what makes us confess our sins, but that we know there is ' mercy with him that he may be feared,' Ps. cxxx. 4, and that there is pardon for sin ? We would not confess our sins else. With men it is confess and have execution, but with God confess and have mercy. It is his own protesta- tion. We should never lay open our sins but for mercy. So it honours God; and when he is honoured, he honours the soul with inward peace and tranquillity. We can never have peace in our souls till we have dealt roundly with our sins, and favour them not a whit ; till we have ripened our confession to be a thorough confession. What is the difference between a Christian and another man ? Another person slubbers over his sins ; God is merciful, &c. ; and he thinks if he come to the congregation, and follow the minister, it will serve the turn. But a Christian knows that religion is another manner of matter, another kind of work than so. He must deal thoroughly and seriously, and lay open his sin as the chief enemy in the world, and labour to raise all the hatred he can against it, and make it the object of his bitter displeasure, as being that that hath done him more hurt than all the world besides ; and so he confesseth it with all the aggravations of hatred and envy that he can.
But to come more particularly to the confession here spoken of: 'We all are as an unclean thing,' &c.
' We all.'
We see here holy men themselves confess their sins, and rank themselves among sinners in their confessions. So we learn hence this,
That we in our confessions (in our fastimjs especially) oiujlit to rank our- selves among the rest of sinners, and not to exempt ourselves from other sinners. Perhaps we are not guilty of some sins that they have been guilty of. God hath been merciful to us and kept us in obedience in some things. But, alas ! there is none of us all but we have had a hand in the sins of the times. The best of all conditions are guilty of them. Therefore we have cause to rank ourselves among others, as he saith here, * We are all as an unclean thing ; ' and as Daniel, he makes a confession of the sins of all, ' we are all of us guilty.'
How are we all guilty ?
(1.) We are all guilty in this respect, we receive sometaint and soil from the times lue live in. Either our zeal is weakened ; we do not grieve so much for the sins of the times ; and who is not guilty in this respect ? We do not grieve and lament as we should ; as St Paul tells the Corinthians, they should have been sorry and humbled, 1 Cor. v. 6. They were guilty of the sin of the incestuous person, because they were not humbled for it. We are thus far guilty at least, the best of us, that we do not sorrow for the common sins. Alas ! how many sins are there that everybody may see in the times in all ranks ! In pastors, what unfaithfulness, and in governors and in places of justice ; what crying of the poor and men oppressed ; and in all ranks of people we see a general security ; we see filthiness and hear oaths, ' for which the land mourns,' as Jeremiah saith, Jer. xxiii. 10. These and such like sins provoke God and solicit the ven- geance of God ; and will have no nay till they have pulled down vengeance. Who hath been so much humbled for these sins as he ought? Perhaps ourselves are not personally guilty of them. But are they not our sins, so
THE church's complaint AND CONFIDENCE. 189