I" Rom. vii. 18. " Isai. i. .'>, G. " Acts xx. 21.
il2 2 CORINTHIANS, I. 13. [2000.
have merited : we must cry to him for deHverance from it, as Peter cried for preservation from the waves, " Save, Lord, or I perish :" and this must be our experience, not merely after some flagrant transgression, or on some particular occasion, but at all times : it must be, as it were, the daily habit of our minds.
Is it needful to confirm this from the Holy Scrip- tures ? Surely we need not be reminded of what our Lord has repeatedly affirmed ; " Except ye repent, ye shall all perish^." We need not be told that it is "the weary and heavy laden" whom Christ in- vites'': that it is ** the broken and contrite heart which God will not despise '^:" that we must " lothe ourselves for all our abominations';" that we must ''sow in tears, and go on our way weeping':" that we must cry with Paul, " O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me""?" and with Job, " I repent and abhor myself in dust and ashes \"
Yet, when this is insisted on, and pressed upon the conscience as of universal, absolute, and indispensa- ble necessity, we are told, that we carry matters to excess : that, however such bitter contrition may suit the profligate and abandoned, it is unnecessary in the case of the more moral and decent : thei/ have never done any thing that requires such deep humiliation ; they have no such cause to fear and tremble ; tkei/ have indeed sinned, but are in no danger of perishing ; nor have thet/ ever merited the wrath of God.
But is it not astonishing that any member of the established Church should be so ignorant as to make these vain assertions? What are the terms in which we address the Divine Majesty every time that we attend his worship ? " Do thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offefiders : Spare thou them, O God, which confess their faults : Restore thou them that are penitent" Have we then been dissembling with God
P Luke xiii. 3, 5. i Matt. xi. 28. ■• Ps. li. 17.
* P^zek. xxxvi. 31. ' Ps. cxxvi. 5, 6. " Rom. vii. 24.
X Job xlii, f3.
2000.1 THE churchman's CONFESSION. 413
all our days ; calling ourselves " miserable offenders," when we feel no misery at all ; and when, instead of bewailing our offences, we think ourselves almost, if not altogether, as good as we need to be ? In this prayer we do not presume even to expect mercy, ex- cept as persons deeply penitent and contrite. And let it be remembered, that these petitions are put into the mouths of all the congregation ; there is not one form for one class of persons, and another for another ; but all profess to approach God as the repenting publican, "smiting upon their breasts, and crying, God be merciful to me a sinner^!" We mean not to say, that no person can hope for mercy, who does not feel such or such a measure of contrition (for all who pray in sincerity may hope for acceptance, though ther hearts be not so contrite as they could wish), but to shew, that all members of the Church of England acknowledge that penitence is highly suited to their state.
But, besides their repentance, we observed, that faith also was necessary, even faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This we invariably and inflexibly affirm. As it is not our good works and meritorious life that will save us, so neither will our repentance save us. If we could shed rivers of tears, they would never avail to cleanse us from one single sin. It is the blood of Christ, and that alone, that can atone for our guilt : That is " the fountain that was opened for sin and for uncleanness^:" and as long as the world shall stand, we must require of sinners to wash in it, in order that they may be clean. And, forasmuch as men are with great difficulty turned from endeavour- ing " to estabhsh their own righteousness %" or to unite their own fancied merits with the merits of Christ, we guard them strongly against this fatal error ; we declare to them, that, if they do this, they will invalidate the whole Gospel ; and that, if ever they be saved at all, it must be by a humble, simple rehance on the Lord Jesus Christ. That there are