V. 12.

thanked God that he was not fuch a one as Ver. 11. he. He thanked God that he was not guilty of any open fcandalous Sin; and mightily did he magnify his Fafting and bis Devotion, and his other good Actions. This now was a covering of his Sins; and he fped accordingly. For notwithstanding this magnificent Opinion he had of his devout and ftrict Way of Living, the other poor Sinner, that durft not look up to Heaven, but V.13. fmote his Hand upon his Breaft, crying out, God be merciful to me a Sinner; this Man returned to his Houfe juftified, and accept- v. 14. ed of God, when the other was rejected.

I need make no Application of this to our prefent Purpose, it is fo plain. But I defire every one who is concerned in it, would do it; and I only add this: Let us all look to it, how we cover our Sins in this Way, (viz. by not acknowledging our felves Sinners, but being infenfible of our Faults, and of our Guilt,) upon what Pretences foever it be: Whether it be that we are really fo bad, that we have loft all Senfe and Difcrimination between Good and Evil, as it was in the former Cafe I mentioned ; or whether it be, that we think ourselves. fo perfect that we fee no Sin in ourselves, as in the latter Cafe: I fay, let us all have a Care of this upon the Admonition that St. John gives us in this Matter, and I wish we would all remember it; If, fays he, we fay that we have no Sin, we deceive ourselves, Q. 3

aud

and the Truth is not in us. But if we do confefs our Sins, God is faithful and juft to forgive us our Sins, and to cleanfe us from all Unrighteousness.

2. But in the second Place, a Man is said to cover his Sins not only when he denies them, or thinks himself not guilty of them, but when he excufes them, when he makes Apologies for them, when he fets himself to find out Reasons to juftify himself for the Commiffion of them.

Of this we have a remarkable Inftance in King Saul, who, when he had tranfgreffed the Command of God in fparing Sam. 15. Agag the King of the Amalekites, and the beft of the Spoils that were taken in the War, and Samuel comes from God to reprove him for it, and to charge him with Difobedience and Rebellion against God for doing it, tho' he could not deny the Fact that he was charged with, nor could deny that it was exprefly against God's Order, yet nevertheless infifted ftifly upon this, that he had not done ill in doing what he did for, as for the fparing of the King, it was but an Act of Humanity and Mercy; and as for the Booty that was taken, he thought it a Piece of Religion and Piety to Ver. 15. fave the best of the Sheep and the Oxen for Sacrifices to the Lord. Thus he juftified himself.

But

But did the Prophet approve of this Juftification? No, far from it. On the contrary he tells him plainly, That to obey the Voice of God was more delightful to him than all Sacrifices and Burnt-Offerings. And that Rebellion against a divine Command was as the Sin of Witchcraft: And because he had thus rejected the Command of God, therefore God had rejected him from being King. This was the Confequence of Saul's Sin, and of his covering it. You see he did not profper.

But thus are we in thefe Days too apt to cover our Sins. When we have done Things forbidden by the Laws of God, fuch Things as we know we cannot justify, (if the Scripture and the Light of Nature be to guide us) yet, when we come to reflect upon thofe Actions, it fhall be hard but we will find fome righteous, or fome neceffary End or other, that we had in our Minds and Intentions, when we did thofe Actions, that will clear us from all Blame concerning them: Either the Neceffity of the Times, or the Neceffity of our own Circumftances, or the ferving our Friends, or the shewing our Zeal for Religion, or fome fuch other warrantable Caufe, put us upon those Proceedings, which otherwife we should not have ventured upon. And when we can once fay, I had a good End and Intention in what I did, or it was neceffary for me to do it, or that good Ends were ferved there

V. 22.

v.23.

by, and God in his Providence gave me the Success I defired; why these Confiderations (let the Action in itself have been never fo bad) do fo buoy up a Man's Spirits against all the Reflections which otherwife his Confcience would be apt to make upon fuch an Action, that really he cannot call himself to account for it, nor confefs it before God as a Sin. But this is but another Way of covering of Sin; and he that ufeth it shall not profper. Let us all know and remember, that no Neceffity, no Conveniency, no good Ends, will ever justify an Action that is bad in itself. St. Rom.3.8. Paul having long ago told us, That those which do Evil that Good may come, their Damnation is just.

3. But, Thirdly, A Man may be truly faid to cover his Sins, when he doth what he can to extenuate them; when, tho' he doth not justify them as in the former Cafe, yet he leffens them; when inftead of reprefenting to God, or to himself, his own Wickedness, and manifold Mifcarriages in their juft Dimensions, and with their just Circumftances, he is wholly intent upon thofe Points that take off from the Heinoufnefs of them, and would feem to render that which was a Crime to be but a venial Sin.

And thus really Men do frequently deal with God and with themfelves. They are apt to say of their Sins as Lot, when he

faw

20.

faw Sodom on fire, once faid of the City Zoar, which he would have had preferv'd, Is it not a little one? and my Soul fhall live. Gen. 19. To what Purpose but this were all those foft and genteel Terms invented by which we usually cenfure great and notorious Sins both in ourselves and others? How ufual is it to reprefent Faults of a more than ordinary Malignity by fuch eafy Characters as fhall affright no Body from the doing of them? How many wilful deliberate Transgreffions are not only called, but thought to be Sins of Surprize or pure Infirmity? A Course of Drunkenness and Debauchery paffes often for no more than an Excess of Sociableness, or a little too much good Nature: And the worst Brand of it is, that the poor Man who is guilty of it, is the leaft kind to himself. Do not many of us excufe our violent ungovernable Paffions, our furious, wrathful, quarrelfome, uneafy Converfation to all about us, by fuch foft Cenfures as thefe, that, alas! we are of fomething too hafty a Difpofition, and are too apt to be put out of Humour? Doth not intolerable Uncharitableness and Cenforiousness often pafs under no heavier a Name than of a little too much Freedom of Speech, without any other Mark of Infamy? What amongst a great many is Pride and Contempt of others, but only Refervedness of Temper? Covetoufnefs and Oppreffion, but only Frugality and careful

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