374 AN EXPOSITION UPOX PSALM CXXX. [Vcr.S.
expresseth this frame in the performance of his duty : Ps. xxxii. 5, " I acknowledged my sin unto thee^ and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions." His mouth is now open, and his heart enlarged, and he multiplies one expression upon another to manifest his enlargement. So doth a soul rising out of its depths, in this beginning of this address unto God. Having the sense of sin before described Avrought in him by the Holy Ghost, his heart is made free, and enlarged unto an ingenuous acknowledgment of his sin before the Lord. Herein he pours out his soul unto God, and hath not more freedom in any thing than in dealing about that Avhereof he is most ashamed.
2. Full also it must be. Reserves ruin confession. If the soul have any secret thought of rolling a sweet morsel under its tongue, of a bow in the house of Kimmon, it is like part of the price kept back, which makes the whole robbery instead of an offering. If there be remaining a bitter root of favouring any one lust or sin, of any occa- sion of or temptation unto sin, let a man be as open, free, and ear- nest as can be imagined in the acknowledgment of all other sins and evils, the whole duty is rendered abominable. Some persons, when they are brought into depths and anguish about any sin, and are thereon forced to the acknowledgment of it, at the same time they are little concerned with their other follies and iniquities, that, it may be, are no less provoking unto God than that is from whence their present trouble doth arise. " Let not," as James speaks in another case, " such a man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord." It must be full and comprehensive, as well as free and ingenuous.
And of such importance is the right performance of this duty, that the promise of pardon is ofttimes peculiarly annexed unto it, as that which certainly carries along with it the other duties which make up a full returnal unto God, Pro v. xxviii. 13; 1 John i. 9. And that place in Job is remarkable, chap, xxxiii. 27, 28, "He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not ; he will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light." He shall not only be made partaker of pardon, but of consolation also, and joy in the light of God's countenance.
Thirdly. There yet remains self-condemnation with the justifi- cation of God, which lies expressly in the words of the verse under consideration ; and hereof are two parts : —
1. Self-abhorrencp, or dislike. The .soul is now wholly displeased with itself, and reflects upon itself vnth all affections of regret and trouble. So the apostle declares it to have been with the Corin- thians, when their godly sorrow was working in them, 2 Cor. vii. 11. Among other things, it ^vrought in them " indignation and re-
Ver.3.] SELF-CONDEMNATION. 375
venge;" or a reflection on themselves with all manner of dislike and abhorrency. In the winding up of the controversy between God and Job, this is the point he rests in. As he had come in general to a free, full, ingenuous acknowledgment of sin, chap. xL 4, 5, so in par- ticular he gives up his whole contest in this abhorrency of himself, chap. xlii. 6, " I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." " What a vile, wretched creature have I been!" saith the soul. " I blush and am ashamed to think of my folly, baseness, and ingratitude. Is it jDossible that I should deal thus with the Lord? I abhor, I loathe myself; I would fly anywhere from myself, I am so vile and loath- some,— a thing to be despised of God, angels, and men." And, —
2. There is self-judging in it also. This the apostle invites the Corinthians unto, 1 Epist. xi. 81, " If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged." This is a person pronouncing sentence on himself according to the tenor of the law. The soul brings not only its sin but itself also to the law. It puts itself, as to merit and desert, under the stroke and severity of it. Hence ariseth a full jus- tification of God in what sentences soever he shall be pleased to pro- nounce in the case before him.
And these three things which we have passed through compose the frame and first actings of a gracious soul rising from its depths. They are all of them signally expressed in that place where we have a signal recoveiy exemplified, Hos. xiv. 1-3. And this makes way for the exaltation of grace, the great thing in all this dis- pensation aimed at by God, Eph. i. 6. That which he is now doing is to briug the soul to glory in him, 1 Cor. i. 31 ; which is all the return 'he hath from his large and infinitely bountiful ex- penses of grace and mercy. Now, nothing can render grace con- spicuous and glorious until the soul come to this frame. Grace will not seem high until the soul be laid very low. And this also suits or prepares the soul for the receiving of mercy in a sense of pardon, the great thing aimed at on the part of the sinner; and it prepares it for every duty that is incumbent on him in that condi- tion wherein he is. This brings the soul to waiting with diligence and patience. If things presently ansAver not our expectation, we are ready to think we have done what we can ; if it will be no better, we must bear it as we are able ; — which frame God abhors. The soul in this frame is contented to wait the pleasure of God, as we shall see in the close of this psalm. " Oh," saith such a one, " if ever I obtain a sense of love, if ever I enjoy one smile of his countenance more, it is of unspeakable grace. Let him take his own time, his own season ; it is good for me quietly to wait, and to hope for his salvation." And it puts the soul on prayer ; yea, a soul in this frame prays always. And there is nothing more evident than that want of