not diffemble and cloak them before the "Face of Almighty God our heavenly Fa"ther, but confefs them with with an hum"ble, lowly, penitent, and obedient Heart." For certainly the Text fpeaks of covering and confeffing our Sins with refpect to God, and not with refpect to Men. Indeed, to conceal our Sins from Men, except in the Cafe of Injuries done to our Neighbour, (and there we are bound to acknowledge our Fault, and make Satisfaction) is fo far from a Fault, that in many Cafes it would be great Imprudence not to do it; fince to make them publick might do a great deal of Hurt both to ourselves and others.

;

And as for Confeffion to a Minifter (tho' that is always lawful, and fometimes highly expedient; and if People among us did more practise it, there is no doubt they would find both great Comfort and great Benefit thereby, yet) it cannot reasonably be thought to be intended in this Place and fome of the Papifts themselves, and those the most learned of them, do in plain Terms acknowledge as much, telling us, that thefe Words of Solomon are not spoken of Auricular or Sacramental Confeffion, because the Sacrament of Penance was not in being at that Time, but was inftituted by Chrift long after. So that he doth not here fpeak of confeffing our Sins to Men, but to God; that being the Confeffion that is every where in the Old Testament insisted

on

tance.

on as a neceffary Expreffion of our RepenSo alfo the covering our Sins which we are here cautioned against, and which is opposed to confeffing, must be the covering them with refpect to God. He that covereth his Sins fhall not profper: But whofo confeffeth them, and forfaketh them, shall find Mercy.

In fpeaking to which Words I fhall fhew,

I. First, What is meant by covering, cloaking, or diffembling our Sins, together with the Danger of fo doing. He that covereth his Sins Jhall not prosper.

II. Secondly, What kind of Confeffion that is which is here made an Effential Part of Repentance towards God; and how it comes to be so neceffary. Whofo confeffeth, and forfaketh them, fhall find Mercy.

I. First of all, What is meant by covering our Sins; or, as our Liturgy expreffes it, diffembling and cloaking them before the Face of Almighty God. For here a Queftion arifeth, How can any Man cover or hide his Sins from God?

To which I answer, That truly and literally speaking he cannot; for, as St. Paul tells us, All things are naked and open to the Heb.4.31; Eyes of him with whom we have to do. He fees every Action of our Lives, and hears every Word of our Mouths, and understands

VOL. V.

every

every Thought of our Hearts. So that to hide any thing from God is perfectly impoffible; and he is a Fool, and ignorant of the Nature of God, who thinks to do it: But yet fuch Fools and Ignorants many of us are, that tho' we cannot conceal any thing from God, we may defire it, and we may endeavour it; at leaft, we may be fo ftupid, fo unattentive, fo very careless of our own Actions, as to think that because we do not look into them, God will not; because we do not fee them amifs in our felves, God doth not; and because we are willing to make the best we can of our own State, to think that God will be willing to do fo likewife: And this, in Scripture Language, is a covering of Sins. Tho' we cannot, in a strict and proper Senfe, cover our Sins from God, yet we may do it interpretatively; that is, we may ufe fuch Arts for the palliating our Sins, that, in God's Account, will amount to the fame thing, as if we thought or endeavoured to blind the Eyes of his Sovereign Majefty, fo as that he fhould not fee them. It is worth the while to explain this Matter a little more particularly, and to give an Account of the feveral Ways in which Men may, in this Senfe, be faid to cover their Sins. By which Means we fhall be the better able to examine our own Confciences about this Point, and where we find ourselves guilty, there to make Application to ourfelves.

1. Firft

1. First of all: A Man may be faid to cover his Sins when he hath no Senfe of them; when he is fo little apprehenfive of his Faults that he will not own them to be fuch; but is as eafy and unconcerned about them, as if he was perfectly innocent.

And this happens two Ways. Either thro' a ftupid Inadvertency, or thro' an over-weening Conceit that hath poffeffed a Man of his own Righteoufnefs and Goodnefs.

In the former of thefe Ways the Adulterous Woman, that Solomon defcribes in the 30th of Proverbs, covered her Sins. She eateth, and wipeth her Mouth, and faith, I have done no Wickedness. And this, God knows, is the Cafe of fome among us (tho' I hope they are not many.) They live in a Course of Profanenefs and Wickedness, following their brutifh Devices and Defires. in every thing, without any regard to God. or to good Manners. They stick at nothing that may please their Humour, or gratify their Luft, be it never fo wieked, fuppofing that they keep within fuch Compafs that the Law fhall not take hold of them. And fo far are they from being uneafy and troubled at this Courfe of Life, or owning themselves to be great Sinners before God upon account of these Things, that they rather ftare and wonder at any one that shall blame them for thefe Extravagancies. God help fuch poor Wretches,

V. 20.

for there is no human Means left to help them. These Men do continually cover their Sins, and are juft in the fame Condition with thofe that God fpeaks of the Prophet Jer. 8. 6. Jeremy, I hearkened and beard, but they Spake not aright. No Man repented him of his Wickedness, faying, What have I done? Every one turned to his Courfe, as the Horfe rufbeth into the Battle. O! a fad Condition is this! (even the worst on this fide Hell,) when a Man pursues a wicked Course with the fame Infenfibility of Danger, with the fame Unconcernedness and Fury with which a Horse rusheth into the Battle!

The other Thing, that often occafions the covering of our Sins in this Way (viz. renders us infenfible of them) is an Opinion that we have taken up of our own Righteoufnefs and good Qualities, which doth fo fill our Minds, that we have no Leifure to reflect on our Mifcarriages. Of this we Luke 18. have a notable Inftance in the Pharifee,

10.

that our Saviour brings in as going with a Publican into the Temple to pray. This Pharifee, inftead of acknowledging his Sins to God, (as he ought to have done, and as the Publican did) had other Matters to think of. He was fo full of himself and his own Performances, that he never reflected on any thing wherein he had offended against God; but, on the contrary, instead of condemning himself, he defpifed others, and particularly that poor Publican: He

thanked