Eighteen Choice and Useful Sermons, Sermon 17
The Seventeenth SERMON.
PROVERBES 28.13.
He that covereth his ſinnes ſhall not proſper, but he that confeſſeth and forſaketh them ſhall have mercy.
Diviſion. WE have here in theſe words a double deſcription, the former of an impenitent ſinner, the latter of a penitent perſon: and each of them is deſcribed both by his property, and by his condition. The impenitent ſinner is deſcribed by this property, that he covereth his ſinnes, and his condition is, that he ſhall not proſper. The penitent perſon is deſcribed (as you ſee) by a double property, he confeſſes his ſinnes and withall forſakes them; and his condition is, that he ſhall have mercy. And theſe are the ſeverall parts of theſe words.
And firſt for the property of an impenitent ſinner, that he covers his ſins. For our better underſtanding thereof, I purpoſe to explaine theſe two things.
1. How ſinne may be ſaid to be covered.
And 2. What is the cauſe that makes a man cover and hide his ſinnes.
For the firſt, we are to know that the Scripture makes mention of a twofold covering or hiding of ſinne; the one by God, the other by man. God is ſaid to cover our ſinnes when he doth forgive them, and doth not impute our ſinnes unto us; and he that hath his ſinnes thus covered by God, is pronounced by David to be happy and bleſſed. Pſal. 32.1. Bleſſed is he whoſe wickedneſſe is forgiven, and whoſe ſinnes are covered;Pſal. 32.1. bleſſed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth no ſinne. He that hath his ſinnes thus covered by God, neede not care though they be known to all the World.
Secondly, there is a covering of ſinne by man, and this is likewiſe twofold, vvhen a man doth cover either the ſinnes of others, or his own ſinnes. The ſinnes of others two wayes eſpecially, by charity or by flattery. By charity, when vve conceal the faults of others, to keep them thereby from ſhame and diſgrace, as Shem and Japhet covered their Fathers nakedneſſe; for charity will cover, as St. Peter ſaith, a multitude of ſinnes. Or elſe by flattery, for the flatterer who is but a fawning friend,1 Pet. 4.8. knowing that men love to be commended, and not to be diſpraiſed, he frames himſelf to ſpeak nothing but that which is pleaſing, and therefore will highly commend men for their virtues, or any good parts that he ſees to be in them; but for their faults or vices, he will be ſure not to ſpeak a word thereof, but he will hide and cover them. But Solomon here ſpeaks not of covering other mens ſinnes, but of covering of our own, when a man doth what he can to conceal his own ſinnes, and to keep them hidden, as Achan hidde and covered his theft that it might not be known.Ioſh. 7.21. And thus a man may be faid to cover his ſinnes four wayes.
Firſt, by a plain and flat denial of them.1. Negando. Thus Sarah when ſhe heard, Gen. 18. that ſhe ſhould conceive,Gen. 18.15. and bring forth a Child in her old age, ſhe laught at it,2 King. 5.25. and being reproved by the Angel for laughing, ſhe preſently denied it. Thus Gebezi, being reprehended by the Prophet for taking a bribe, he would have covered his ſinne by denial of it. And thus many when they are ſuſpected or accuſed of any thing which indeed they have done, but think it cannot eaſily be proved againſt them, they will never confeſſe it, but ſeek by their deniall to keep it ſecret. They will never be brought to confeſſe they have ſinned, till they be taken in their ſinne, ſo that the firſt time of their taking, ſhall be the firſt time of their ſinning; for they will be ſure to confeſſe no more then can be proved againſt them. This is one kind of covering of ſinne. And hitherto may they be referred, who hold with the Pelagians, that they do perfectly fulfill Gods Law, and that they are free from ſinne:Luke 18.11. or that ſay with the proud Phariſee, I am not an extertioner, I am not unjuſt, I am not an adulterer like other men: or with the Church of Laodicea, Revel. 3.17.I am rich, I am increaſed with goods, and I have need of nothing; for theſe do hide and cover their ſinnes by their deniall of them.
In ſtead hereof, we muſt lay our ſinnes open, and ingenuouſly confeſſe them. For he that doth deny his fault, he is not therefore without fault, becauſe he denieth it, but he both doubleth his fault by his deniall thereof, and is the further from obtaining pardon for want of acknowledging it: as he that hath received a wound in his body, both makes it the worſe, and is the further from being cured while he ſeeks to conceale it.
And therefore whenſoever thou haſt done any thing which thou ſhouldſt not have done, though thou be aſhamed to have it known, yet being charged therewith, beware of denying it, but think thus with thy ſelfe, It is too much that I have done already, let me not therefore double my fault by my deniall of it, but what I was not aſhamed to do, yet let me not be aſhamed to confeſſe, that God may pardon it.
So did David being reproved by the Prophet Nathan, he did not deny, but acknowledge his ſinne, and obtain'd pardon,2 Sam. 12.13. I have ſinned againſt the Lord (ſaith David) and the Lord hath put away thy ſinne, ſaith the Prophet; which queſtion-leſſe had not thus been put away, if David had ſought to have covered his ſin by his deniall of it.
Secondly, A man may be ſaid to cover his ſinnes, by tranſlating the fault,Transferendo and ſhifting it off from himſelfe to another.
And this is a ſinne as old as Adam, and committed firſt by him. For Adam ye know being reproved by God for eating of the forbidden fruit, to excuſe himſelf, he laid the blame upon Eve, Gen. 3.12.The Woman that thou gaveſt me, ſhe gave me of the Tree.
And the Woman that the blame might not reſt upon her,Gen. 3.13. did lay it on the Serpent. The Serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
And this ſhifting off the blame from our ſelves to others, we have learned of them.
If Saul be reproved by the Prophet Samuel, for tranſgreſſing the Commandment of the Lord, in ſparing the king of Amalek, and the beſt of the cattell; he will poſt it from himſelf,1 Sam. 15.20, 21. and lay the blame on the people: I obeyed the voice of the Lord, but, ſaith he, the people took of the ſpoil, And if Aaron be reproved by Moſes, for his ſin in making the golden calf, he will lay the fault on the people for it: Thou knoweſt, ſaith he, this people, that they are ſet on miſchief. And they ſaid unto me, Make us gods. Exod. 32.22.And thus many when the fault which they have committed, is ſo plain and evident that they cannot well deny it, yet to excuſe themſelves, they will lay the blame upon others. This is a ſecond kinde of covering of ſin. And hitherto may they be referred, who to excuſe themſelves, aſcribe their ſins unto fate or deſtinie, as the Priſcilianiſts did; or that make God to be the Author of their ſins as the Libertines did, for theſe do hide and cover their ſins by laying them on others. Inſtead hereof, what ſin ſoever we have committed, we muſt take the blame wholly upon our ſelves, and not ſeek that others may bear the blame for what we have done. If we do any thing which we think is praiſeworthy, and deſerves commendation, we would be loath that others ſhould be ſharers therein, and would think our ſelves to be wrong'd by thoſe, who ſhould take to themſelves the praiſe of that which was done by us. And therefore when we have done amiſſe, great reaſon we ſhould take the blame to our ſelves, and not lay it on others. So did Jonah when he had offended God, by flying to Tarſhiſh, and God therefore puniſhed him with a tempeſt on the Sea, that they were all in danger to be caſt away; he took the blame wholly upon himſelf though it would coſt him his life: Take me up, ſaith he,Jon. 1.12. and caſt me into the Sea, for I know that for my ſake this tempeſt is upon you. And ſo did David, when he had ſinned againſt God, by numbring the people, and God therefore ſent a peſtilence on the Land which ſwept away many thouſands; and David ſaw the Angel which ſmote the people, he took the blame wholly upon himſelf, and ſaid to the Lord, Lo, I have ſinned, I have done wickedly: but theſe ſheep, what have they done? let thy hand I pray thee be againſt me, 2 Sam. 24.17.and my fathers houſe. And thus muſt we do, whenſoever we have ſinned, we muſt take the blame wholly to our ſelves, and not ſeek to hide and cover our ſins, by ſhifting them off from our ſelves to others.
Thirdly, a man may be ſaid to cover his ſins, by extenuating, diminiſhing,Extennando. and leſſning the ſin. Thus the harlot when ſhe inticed the young man to commit folly with her, ſhe leſſened the ſin whereunto ſhe inticed him,Prov. 7.18. Come, ſaith ſhe, let us take our fill of love, and delight our ſelves in daliance: giving it the name of love and daliance, which indeed was whoredome. And thus many will leſſen and extenuate their ſins, making their ſins to be leſſe then they are, and themſelves leſſe ſinfull, making great ſins to be but little,Luk. 16 6. and little ſins to be none at all. Ye know how the unjuſt ſteward did with the debts which were owing to his lord, he leſſened the ſumme, ſetting down but fifty for an hundred. So do many with their ſins their debts unto God, they leſſen and diminiſh the ſumme of them, making talents but pounds, and pounds but pence, and pence nothing. This is a third kinde of covering of ſin. And hitherto may they be referr'd, who leſſen and extenuate the heinouſneſſe of ſin, making ſome ſins, as the Papiſts do, to be but veniall, and that they do not deſerve eternall damnation. For theſe do hide and cover their ſins by their leſſening of them. Inſtead hereof we muſt aggravate our ſins, making our ſins, as indeed they are, out of meaſure ſinfull,Ezra 98. the more to humble us. So did Ezra, O my God, ſaith he, I am aſhamed and bluſh to lift up my face to thee: for our iniquities are increaſed over our heads, and our treſpaſſe is grown up to the heavens. And ſo did St. Paul, who becauſe he had perſecuted the Church of Chriſt, though he did it of ignorance, yet he aggravates his ſin,Act. 26.11. that he perſecuted the Church of God above meaſure, that he waſted or made havock of it, that he puniſht them often in every Synagogue, that he compell'd them to blaſpheme, and that he was exceedingly mad againſt them. Thus in extreame deteſtation of his ſin, he ſtrives to make it extreamly heinous,Epheſ. 3 8.1 lim. 1.15. and thought himſelf for his ſin not onelyonly the leaſt of all Saints, but the greateſt of all ſinners. So far was he from covering his ſin by leſſening the ſame.
Laſtly, a man may be ſaid to cover his ſins, by juſtifying, maintaining,Juſtificando. and defending of them. Thus Jonah being angry for the gourd that withered, when God asked him whether he did well to be angrie, he juſtified his fault, I do well, ſaith he,Jon. 4.6. to be angrie even to the death. And thus many when they have no other evaſion, when they can neither deny the fact, nor ſhift it off from themſelves, nor leſſen the ſame, yet they will juſtifie their faults, and ſtand in defence of that which they have done. So do they, who when they have committed a ſin, will pretend very ſpecious and plauſible reaſons why they did the ſame, that ſo it may ſeem to be no ſin in them. We read of Dionyſius the tyrant, that coming into a Temple where there were Idols that were richly adorn'd, he took away from one of them a cloak of gold; and being askt why he did it, He anſwered, that he did it to pleaſure the Idoll, becauſe the cloak was too heavie for Summer, and too cold for Winter: And afterwards taking Sea, and finding the winds to be favourable to him in his navigation, See, ſaith he, how the gods do approve of ſacriledge: but theſe were but pretences to cloak his covetouſneſſe. And hitherto may they be referr'd, who to juſtifie their faults, do alledge examples out of the Scripture of holy men, that have fallen into the ſame ſins; as Noahs example for their drunkenneſſe, Davids example for their adulterie, Peters for their perjurie, for theſe do hide and cover their ſins, by juſtifying the ſame by the examples of others. And this is the worſt kinde of covering of ſin. For is it not a fearfull thing to be imboldned to ſin by their examples, whoſe examples are ſet down to make us afraid to ſin? to follow their examples in ſomething which they did, which they repented that they ever did? and to mark how they ſinned, and not to mark how they were puniſht for it? For their puniſhment is regiſtred as well as their ſin, to keep us from falling into the like ſin, for fear of undergoing the like puniſhment. And yet theſe are not afraid to commit the like ſins, and will juſtifie the ſame by their examples. Inſtead hereof, of covering our ſins by our juſtifying of them, we muſt arraign and condemne our ſins and our ſelves for them: otherwiſe if we juſtifie any of our ſins, thoſe ſins which we juſtifie, and do not condemne, will condemne us. And thus having ſhewed you, how men may be ſaid to cover their ſins, I will now proceed to the cauſes of it.Cauſes why men cover their ſins.
The cauſes which make men thus to cover their ſins, either by denying them, or by laying the blame thereof upon others, or by leſſening their faults, or by juſtifying and ſtanding in defence of them; the cauſes hereof are eſpecially three. Sometimes fear,Fear. ſometimes ſelf love, and ſometimes hypocriſie. Sometimes fear, of ſuffering either diſgrace or puniſhment, or incurring diſpleaſure if their ſins ſhould be known, and not be kept hidden.Act. 5.2. Thus Ananias when he had ſold his poſſeſſions, out of a covetous minde he kept back part of the price, yet he conceal'd what he had done for fear of diſgrace.Ioſh, 7.21. Thus Achan hid his theft for fear of puniſhment. And thus Rachel hid the Idols which ſhe had ſtolne from her father,Gen. 31.34. for fear of incurring her fathers diſpleaſure, if they had been found with her. But is not this a prepoſterous kinde of fear, not to fear to ſin, but to fear what may follow when we have ſinned? To fear diſpleaſure, diſgrace, or puniſhment, and not to fear that which will bring us unto it? For this is all one, as if a man ſhould be afraid to be poyſoned, and yet not be afraid to drink poyſon. O but you will ſay, when I ſin I am in hope to keep my ſin unknown, and therefore am the leſſe fearfull to ſin, as hoping to eſcape diſgrace or puniſhment while my ſin is kept hidden. But though thou mayeſt hide thy ſin from man, canſt thou hide it from God? canſt thou ſin ſo ſecretly that God ſhall not ſee thee? or canſt thou hide thy ſins from thine own conſcience, that is as good as a thouſand witneſſes againſt thee? Quid prodeſt non habere conſcium, babenti conſcientiam? What profits it thee, that no man is privie to that which thou doeſt, having a conſcience that is privie to it, and will condemne thee for it? And therefore thou ſhouldſt be afraid to commit ſin, becauſe God and thy conſcience knows what thou doeſt, though it be unknown to men.
A ſecond cauſe of our covering of ſin is ſelf-love. For as when we bear any hatred to another,Self-love. our hatred will make us aggravate his faults, and to lay them open; ſo ſelf-love will make us to leſſen our own, and to hide and cover them. Thus becauſe the Phariſees hated our Saviour, they never lin maliciouſly ſpeaking againſt him, backbiting his perſon, depraving his miracles, and carping at his doctrine. But for their own ſins, their eyes were ſo blinded with ſelf-love, that they could not ſee them. He that looks upon any thing through a perſpective, if he look one way through it, it makes every thing ſeem to be greater then it is; but turning the perſpective, and looking the other way through it, it makes it ſeem leſſe. So it is with us, while we look through malice and ill-will upon others, and ſelf-love upon our ſelves, it makes other mens ſins ſeem greater then they are, and our own leſſe; but let us turn the perſpective, that their faults and not ours may be leſſened by us.
A third cauſe which makes a man cover and hide his ſins, is hipocriſie; whereby a man deſires to ſeem better then he is,Hipocriſie. and ſo for the ſaving of his good name and credit will conceal his faults. For ſin hath this property, that it leaves a bad report, and an ill name behinde it; and therefore there is not any man though he delight in ſin, but in regard of the ſhame of it, he had rather conceal it then have it known. Therefore ſins are called the works of darkneſſe, Epheſ. 5.11.becauſe he that commits them will avoid the light, that his ſins may be the better conceal'd, and hidden. And therefore the devil,2 Cor. 11.14. who is called the father of ſin and ſinners, he transforms himſelf into an angel of light, that ſo he may ſeem to be better then he is. For there is none ſo bad, but he hath a deſire to ſeem good; and hence it is, that hipocrites deſire to ſeem religious, and though they ſerve the devil, yet they will mask in Gods liverie that they may be counted his ſervants, not deſiring ſo much to be ſo indeed, as to ſeem to be ſo in outward appearance. For the health of the bodie, every man had rather to be well, then to ſeem to be ſo; and therefore if a man have received a wound he will lay it open before the Chirurgion that it may be cured, not caring for a plaiſter that will hide his ſore, but for one that will heal it. But for the health of the ſoul, many had rather to be thought to be well, then to be ſo indeed, taking no thought for their ſins but this, that they may keep them ſecret, and ſo fearing more to be hardly thought of by men if their ſins were known, then to be condemned by God for their covering of them. And thus much for the propertie of an impenitent ſinner, that he covers his ſins: I come now to his condition, that he ſhall not proſper.
Where firſt we may obſerve, that impenitent ſinners who cover their ſins, are croſt in that which they moſt deſire. They deſire nothing more then that they may proſper and thrive in the world, and they think they ſhall proſper and thrive the better while they conceal their ſins; which if they were known, would impair their credit and eſtimation. But God croſſes them in that which they moſt deſire,Ioſh. 7.21. for they ſhall not proſper. No doubt but Achan thought to proſper the better, when he ſtole the two hundred ſhekels of ſilver, the wedge of gold, and the Babyloniſh garment, and hid them in his tent; but it thrived not with him,Ioſh. 7.25. for God brought it to light, and Achan was ſtoned to death for it. No doubt but Gehazi thought to proſper the better by the bribes he took of Naaman, 2 King. 5.23.and would not confeſſe that he had taken them; but it thrived not with him: for though he …id his ſin,2 King. 5.27. yet he could not hide his leproſie which he got with them. No doubt but Jezabel thought to proſper the better, when ſhe cauſed Naboth to be ſtoned to death, and got his vineyard, and yet covered her ſin, under pretence that Naboth had deſerved to be ſtoned, for having blaſphemed God and the King; but it thrived not with her, for God brought it to light, and her to a miſerable end for it. So Herod no doubt thought to proſper the better, when hearing that the King of the Jews was born, he intended to murther him, to prevent the danger of loſing his kingdome; and yet to cover his ſin, willed the Wiſemen as ſoon as they had found the babe to bring him word,Matth. 2.8. pretending that he alſo would go to worſhip him; but it thrived not with him, for God both brought to light his murderous intent, and himſelf to ſhame and diſgrace by it. And not to inſtance in too many examples, the Scribes and Phariſees no doubt thought to proſper the better, while they devoured widows houſes; and to cover their ſin made long prayers, that ſo they might be thought to be devout and religious: but it thrived not with them, for Chriſt both diſcovered what they did,Matth. 13.14. and denounced a wo againſt them for it. Thus God finds them out, and brings them to light that cover their ſins, not ſuffering them to proſper, and ſo croſſing them in that which they moſt deſire. Yet when or wherein they ſhall not proſper is not here ſet down, but onelyonly in generall that they ſhall not proſper; to the intent that they may never be ſecure, but may ſtill expect while they cover their ſins, that God will puniſh them ſome way or other, either in their own perſons, or in their children, or in their goods, or in their good name, or in them all together.
Secondly, here we may obſerve, that to proſper is the gift of God, who therefore denyes it to them that ſin againſt him by covering their ſins. Therefore the Pſalmiſt ſaith of the godly man, that look whatſoever he doth it ſhall proſper: Pſal. 1.3.but for the ungodly he ſaith, It is not ſo with them. So it is ſaid of Joſeph, that he was a proſperous man,Gen. 39.3. and that the Lord made all that he did to proſper in his hand. So it is ſaid of that good King Hezekiah, That the Lord was with him, 2 King. 18.7.and he proſpered whither ſoever he went forth. I might inſtance in others.
But ſome man may ſay, may not the like be ſaid of the wicked? do not they often proſper in the world, and have ſucceſſe in that which they take in hand?Iob 21.7.9. was it not for this which Job complained, that the wicked are mighty in pomer, that they ſpend their dayes in mirth, that their houſes are ſafe from fear, and that the rod of God is not upon them? And was it not for this that David envied the wicked, That they proſper in the world, Pſal. 7 3.12.that they have riches in poſſeſſion, and that they come in no misfortune like other men? We muſt therefore underſtand, firſt, that though to proſper be the gift of God, yet in his wiſdome he gives in ſometimes to the godly, and ſometimes to the wicked. For that which St. Auguſtine ſaith of wealth, may be ſaid of proſperity, Ne putetur eſſe mala datur & bonis, & ne putetur eſſe ſummum bonum datur & malis; Leſt proſperitie ſhould be thought to be evill, it is ſometimes given to thoſe that are good; and leſt it ſhould be thought to be the chief good, it is ſometimes given to thoſe that are bad. If onelyonly the wicked and none of the godly ſhould proſper in the world, it would be a means to draw many to ungodlineſſe, that they might proſper by it. And if onelyonly the godly, and none of the wicked ſhould proſper here, it would be thought they were godly for no other end but that they might proſper. This was that which the devill ye know objected againſt Job, for his ſerving God, Doth Job, ſaith the devill, fear God for nought? Haſt thou not made an hedge about him, and about his bouſe, and about all that he hath on every ſide? thou haſt bleſt, ſaith he, the works of his hands, and his ſubſtance is increaſed in the land. But put forth thy hand and touch all that he hath, and he will curſe thee to thy face. And thus if God ſhould give proſperitie to none but the godly, the wicked would be readie to object againſt them, that they therefore ſerved God, becauſe God would proſper them, and that otherwiſe they would be as ungodly as others.
Whereas the godly indeed do as well ſerve God in the time of adverſitie, as they do in proſperitie; as Job when all that he had was taken from him, did bleſſe God as well as he did when he had them. The Lord, ſaith he, hath given, and the Lord hath taken, bleſſed be the name of the Lord. And therefore proſperitie is commonly given indifferently by God, ſometimes to the godly, and ſometimes to the wicked. But yet there is great difference between their proſperitie, for the proſperitie of the wicked continues not long, but is ſoon gone; They may cover their ſins, and proſper for a time, but God at one time or other, either here or hereafter, brings their ſins to light, and themfelves to confuſion.
Therefore Solomon, ye ſee, ſpeaks not here of the preſent time, but of the future; he doth not ſay they do not, but that they ſhall not proſper, becauſe though they may proſper for a while in this world, yet at laſt they come to a miſerable end; and miſerable, ye know, is that proſperitie which ends in miſerie.
Such was the proſperitie of Haman, and Herod, they proſpered for a while, but their end was miſerable. But the godly on the contrarie proſper more and more; though their beginning be good, yet, as Job was, their end is better. Marke, ſaith David, Pſal. 37 37.Pſalme 37. the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace: and in the next verſe, But the end of the wicked ſhall be cut off. For God being the juſt Judge of the world, it cannot be otherwiſe, but that between the end of the godly, and the end of the wicked, there muſt needs be great difference.
Therefore when Abraham prayed for Sodom, that it might be ſpared for the righteous ſake that were therein,Gen. 18.23.25. wilt thou (ſaith he) Gen. 18. deſtroy the righteous with the wicked? that be far from thee to do after this manner, to ſlay the righteous with the wicked, and that the righteous ſhould be as the wicked that be farre from thee, ſhall not the judge of all the earth do right? to ſhew that it cannot ſtand with the juſtice of God to reſpect them alike, and to make no difference between the godly and the wicked. We ſee many times that the wicked do flouriſh, and proſper in the world, and live in great credit and eſtimation: the godly on the contrary, are many times vilified, and privily ſlander'd, whereby their good name (which is the godly mans Heire) is much called into queſtion: but God who never failes to help them to right, that do ſuffer wrong, at one time or other brings the wicked to ſhame, and makes the innocency of the godly known.
This is that which God promiſes,Pſal. 37.6. Pſal. 37. He ſhall bring forth thy righteouſneſſe as the light, and thy judgement (or juſt dealing) as the noon-day: the meaning is, that though thy innocency and juſt dealing, may be obſcured and hidden for a time, as the light in the night, yet God will bring it forth like the light in the morning, and make it more and more, to appear like the Sun at noone; whereby both thy innocencie, and the falſhood of thoſe that unjuſtly accuſe thee, ſhall be openly known. This we ſee by the example of Daniel, who was caſt by his accuſers into the Lyons Den,Dan. 6.16. Dan. 3.21. and by thoſe who were caſt into the fiery furnace, yet God miraculouſly made known their innocency, and brought thoſe that accuſed them, to ſhame and deſtruction. It is very memorable, which we find recorded to this purpoſe, in the Eccleſiaſticall Hiſtories.
Three grace le…e Companions accuſed Narciſſus, a holy Biſhop of an hainous crime, and uſed fearfull imprecations againſt themſelves, if the thing were not true whereof they accuſed him.
The firſt wiſhed; that if it were not true, he might be burnt.
The ſecond, that he might die of ſome grievous Diſeaſe.
And the third wiſht that he might loſe his ſight. And not long after, God was reveng'd on every one of them in the ſame manner. For the firſt had his houſe ſet a fire in the night, where both himſelf and his houſhold were burnt to death. The ſecond fell ſick of a fearfull diſeaſe, and died of it. And the third ſeeing what … befallen his Companions, confeſſed how they had wrongfully accuſed the Biſhop, and with weeping and mourning loſt his ſight. Whereupon the Biſhop, who had been depoſed upon their accuſation, was reſtored unto his Biſhoprick, God having thus made his innocency known, and brought them to ſhame that ſo falſly accuſed him. And thus much for the former part of theſe words, the deſcription of an impenitent ſinner, who is deſcribed as you have heard, both by his property, that he covers his ſinne, and by his condition, that he ſhall not proſper.
The penitent perſon is deſcribed by a double property, he confeſſeth his ſinnes, and withall, forſakes them, and his condition is, that he ſhall have mercy. I will ſpeak briefly of them in a word or two.
Thoſe words of St. John. 1 John 1.9.If we confeſſe our ſinnes, he is faithfull and juſt to forgive us our ſinnes, and to cleanſe us from all unrighteouſneſſe, are as it were a commentary upon my Text, and the one place may ſerve well to explain the other. St. John names onelyonly our confeſſing our ſinnes. If, ſaith he, we confeſſe our ſinnes, implying under confeſſing our ſinnes, our forſaking of them: becauſe as St. Ambroſe ſaith, Confeſſio peccati eſt profeſſio deſinendi, our confeſſing of ſinne, is a profeſſion of leaving the ſame. Solomon in my Text doth name them both, who ſo confeſſes and forſakes his ſins, and ſo expreſſes what St. John implies. And Solomon addes that he ſhall have mercy, but what mercy he doth not ſhew, St. John therefore ſhewes what this mercy is, that God will forgive him his ſinnes, and will cleanſe him from all unrighteouſneſſe: which you know is the greateſt mercy. For if we conſider how highly God is offended, with ſinners, how deeply we are indebted unto God by our ſinnes, or the great benefit we reape by Gods forgiving us, we cannot but ſee Gods infinite mercy, in forgiving our ſinnes upon ſo eaſie a condition, and requiring no more of us for the forgiveneſſe of our ſinnes, but that we confeſſe them. If a Creditor ſhould require no more of his Debtor, that were indebted in a great ſumme unto him, but to acknowledge the debt, & he would freely forgive him; would not every man magnifie the Creditors bounty, in releaſing his Debtor upon ſo eaſie a condition? but thus deales God with us, he requires no more of us but to confeſſe our ſinnes, and promiſes to forgive us. If (ſaith St. John) we confeſſe our ſinnes, God is faithfull and juſt to forgive us our ſinnes: faithfull and juſt, and ſo we need not make any doubt thereof, becauſe his faithfulneſſe and juſtice are ingaged upon it. But ſome may ſay, it may ſeeme, that ſeeing God is juſt, he ſhould rather puniſh us, then forgive us our ſinnes, becauſe his juſtice requires that we make him ſatisfaction, and that he reward us according to our deſerts. We are therefore to remember, that confeſſion of our ſinnes and faith in Chriſt for the pardon of them do alway go together: ſo that we cannot truly confeſſe our ſins, but we muſt needes have an eye unto Chriſt, for the forgiveneſſe of our ſinnes. God therefore cannot but forgive us our ſinnes, becauſe he is juſt, for otherwiſe he ſhould be unjuſt to his Sonne, who hath made ſatisfaction to God in our roome, and by his active and paſſive obedience, hath merited for us that our ſinnes ſhould be forgiven. And herein appeares the admirable wiſdome and goodneſſe of God, in ſo contriving the work of our redemption, that his juſtice ſhould plead for the forgiveneſſe of our ſinnes, which pleaded before for our condemnation. For if ye aske why God ſhould condemn us for our ſinnes: the Reaſon is, becauſe he is juſt, and juſtice requires that having offended him, we ſhould make him ſatisfaction: And yet if ye aske why he ſhould forgive us our ſinnes, the reaſon is here given by St. John, becauſe he is juſt, and juſtice requires, that Chriſt having made ſatisfaction for us, we ſhould be forgiven. And ſo we ſee what mercy it is which he ſhall have, who confeſſeth his ſinnes: namely, the pardon and forgiveneſſe of them.
FINIS.