healed I come now to speak of the last part which is His confession of the cause of those wounds in these words For I have sinned against thee The right method of healing requires that wee shew the cause of the malady as far as we are able for the cause being removed the effect will cease that David doth here in these last words For I have sinned against thee And this last part of my Text is that which we are chiefly to look upon and to take into consideration For before as I have shewed you hee gave occasion to those that were of the Church to sin to those that were out of it to blaspheme first he commits adultery and after that as if adultery were to be purged by murther or as if Uriah's lost honour had been to be repaired by the losse of his life hee commands him to be unjustly murthered But here you may see him marking out the way to repentance and going himselfe before to direct us For as hee was not ashamed to commit sin so hee was not ashamed to confesse it and to make publick satisfaction to the whole world for my Text and many other places of the Psalmes remaine as it were so many publick registers of his sins hee sighed and wept and lamented day and night and in a word shewed all the marks and tokens of an humble and contrite heart broken with the sense of his sins and the apprehension of Gods anger against them If a gold ring be broken it loseth part of its grace and lustre but if ye set a diamond or a saphyr or a ruby in the broken place it gives a greater lustre then it did before so David by his sins lost part of that grace and lustre that made him shine so brightly in the Church of God but his confession humility repentance and other vertues like so many precious stones set in a gold ring in the place where it was broken hath made him shine brighter after his fall then in his former times of innocence for as his sinnes were great so was his sorrow and repentance and I would to God that all men which have eyes to see the one had eyes also to see the other and could learn not to love that in David which David hated in himselfe This generall confession containeth in it three particular confessions which are the heads I purpose at this time by Gods help to insist upon First here is a confession in respect of the subject Secondly here is a confession in respect of the act Thirdly here is a confession in respect of the object The subject I. The act Have sinned The object Against thee I will begin with the first that is his confession in respect of the subject I have sinned that is I alone not as a partiall and lesse principall cause necessitated and compelled by a cause more active and powerfull then my selfe but by the free and full consent of my will I have so sinned that these sins are properly and onely mine It is the custome of many to excuse themselves and impute their sins to others or at least they will charge others to have had such a causality and influence upon them that they will seeme themselves to be but partiall causes at the most In Solomons time two mothers contended for one child and both of them challenged it to be their owne but when sinne is borne and brought into the world the contention is who shall not have it in this case the true mother would have the child divided as in that the false the Will whose child it is will not acknowledge it for her owne and when shee cannot wholly impose it upon others shee desires at least to have it divided between them Some impute their sins to the Devill and to the violence of his temptations as if hee did forcibly and irresistibly procure them to sin and this is a kind of hereditary disease which we take from our first parents for after Eve had transgressed the commandement of God by eating the forbidden fruit to excuse the matter shee laid the fault upon the Divell The Serpent said shee beguiled me and I did eat But David here useth no such evasions I have sinned saith hee hee condemnes himselfe and not the Divell and yet the Divell sinned as well as David and if Saint Augustines opinion be true the Divell sinned worse then David Lib. 3. de libero arbitrio cap. 10. Gravius est peccatum alteri per invidentiam dolúmque suadere quà m ad peccandum alterius suasione traduci saith hee speaking of the temptations of the Divell But yet David accuseth not the Divell who did only tempt but could not constrain him to sin for all that the Divell can doe is to allure and induce men by morall perswasions hee cannot physically determine their wils to evill hee may 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Tom. 6. Homil 91. as Saint Chrysostome speaks supplant cozen and deceive a man but he cannot force him to doe evill When the Divell tempted our Saviour Christ in the wildernesse without question hee imployed all the power hee had to make him sin and yet hee could not force him to it nay hee did not so much as offer to make him sin by force for if yee consider all the passages between them yee shall find great Boldnesse great Pride and great Malice in his temptations but no force at all his first temptation as they are writ in order by Saint Luke was this Luke 4.3 If thou be the Son of God command this stone that it be made bread Here is great boldnesse in this temptation What will nothing but a miracle serve the turne Must Christ turn stones into bread to satisfie his curiosity This was a bold request indeed but yet you see hee doth not force his consent but beg it The second temptation after hee had set him upon a mountaine and showne him all the kingdomes of the world was this All this power will I give thee and the glory of them for that is delivered unto me and to whomsoever I will I give it if thou therefore wilt worship mee all shall be thine Here is great pride in this temptation a pride greater then that that made him fall from heaven for then hee said Ascendam super excelsa nubis similis ero Altissimo I will ascend above the highest of the clouds I will be like the most High Isa 14.14 but here his pride reacheth a degree higher hee desires to be greater then God and requires of him that hee would fall down and worship him but yet you see here is no force in this temptation If thou wilt worship mee saith hee all shall be thine hee leaves him here to his own free choice if hee will hee may if hee will not hee offers not by any violent assault to make him His third temptation after hee had set him upon the pinnacle of the Temple was this If thou be the
Son of God cast thy selfe down from hence Here is great malice in this temptation for if hee would have cast himselfe down the Divell thought that in all probability hee should perish by the fall but yet you see no force in this temptation Persuadere potest praecipitare non potest saith S. Jerome upon this passage the Divell might perswade him to throw himselfe head-long but could not throw him head-long by force and this is all that the Divell can doe if wee will not cast our selves head-long the Divell cannot For sins are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as St. Cyrill calls them they are plants set by the Will and are not planted by the Divell in the soile where they grow For God hath not onely given a man the government of the world but also the government of himselfe and hath made him so independent in respect of all other creatures that if all the powers of hell should set themselves in opposition against one single man they could not force his Will the Will like Sampson cannot be bound either with ropes or wit hs her liberty sits on her like a coat of male and like the scales of the Leviathan it is impossible to offend her or hurt her by force It is true I confesse that humane nature is corrupted and depraved and cannot without the help of supernaturall grace performe a good action it cannot work out of faith or love which are necessary qualifications required in all that wee doe but yet it is free in evill it is flexible to this or that object and can doe or not doe any naturall action according to the outward substance and matter of it No man is bound to follow the suggestions of the Divell but may follow the dictate of his own reason all that the Divell can doe is by applying his temptations to move the Will to this or that object hee cannot determine or fix her upon it the Will indeed doth usually goe as it is moved by outward objects being wonne with the charmes and delights which it hopes to find in them but yet her election is free in this case and not wrested from her by force There is a difference between men and beasts beasts are carried away with the outward bravery of every object that presents it selfe unto them and cannot refuse their appetite those things which it requireth but men are moved by inward reason as well as by outward objects and may by the help of the one beat back the impulsions of the other Wee must not therefore make the Divell the authour of our sins for his temptations doe onely move but cannot determine the Will to this or that evill The Divell is a suiter to the Will and not her ravisher Non enim cogendo sed suadendo nocet nec extorquet à nobis consensum sed petit saith Saint Augustine the Divell hurts us by perswasion not by constraint and when wee commit a sin hee doth not ravish our consent but sues for it No man is driven by the Divell to desperate courses but goes willingly and of his owne accord the Divell drives no man but makes use onely of our owne corruption to perswade us Secondly there are some that impute their sins to destiny that is to a necessary concatenation of second causes which are so subordinate one to another that all things happen by necessity inferiour causes and amongst them the wils of men being carried and moved irresistibly by their superiour and this force of moving mens wils irresistibly they attribute chiefly to the planets and to severall constellations of the heavens as if men were necessitated to evill by their malignant influences or as if the starres ruled over mens wils as Dionysius over the Syracusians by an arbitrary and tyrannicall kind of government Saint Augustine in his Commentaries upon the 31. Psalme makes mention of some that were of this opinion which did undertake to fore-tell the sins that any man should fall into by looking upon the starres that ruled at his nativity Et dicunt quis quando vel peccet vel bene vivat quando Mars faciat homicidam Venus adulterum they took upon them to declare who should be good or bad when Mars should force a man to commit murther or Venus to commit adultery But David here accuseth not the starres hee clears them and condemns himselfe Uriah might have growne gray-headed in the chaste imbraces of his wife hee might have long enough enjoyed his breath and shee her honour had David done no more but what the influence of the heavens compelled him to for the heavens force no man to sin Had they the conduct of our wils there would not be so many sins committed as there are they would govern us better then wee doe our selves When our Saviour Christ was crucified the sunne and the starres withdrew their light and were ashamed to looke upon the cruelty and ingratitude that was committed by men Can wee think then the starres were the authors of those evils which they blushed to behold Can deeds of darknesse spring from the fountains of light Without doubt the stars are so farre from constraining any to sin against God that they would sooner withdraw their vertue from the world then afford a sinner either light or influence had not God commanded them to shine upon the unjust as well as upon the just Let no man then accuse the starres for their influence is not hurtfull but good they are the cause of all action and motion the spring of joy and delight they shed abroad their vertue through all inferiour bodies and adde strength and vigour to all things living and if at any time they stirre up our inclinations to any excesse or defect yet they offer no violence to the Will but leave her in possession of her full liberty And indeed if the Will were necessitated by the heavens it were in vaine to consult in vaine to search reasons and motives for those acts whereunto wee are violently carryed by destiny In this constraint as there should be no place left for liberty so there could be none for vertue or vice all punishments how equall soever in outward appearance yet in substance and truth should be unjust seeing they could not reach the principall authour of any sin What can be more unjust then that a man should beare the punishments of those sins which are committed by the heavens If the stars be the principall cause of sin the stars should beare the punishment heaven should go to hell and men which are but subordinate instruments whose wils are over-ruled and over-topt by those superiour powers should be dismissed and freed Thirdly there be some that impute their sins to God Saint Augustine in the place before quoted makes mention of those too affirming that there were divers that gave themselves free scope and liberty to sin and then said they committed those sins quia Deus sic voluit because God would have it so
matter of the act and this considered apart by it selfe is neither morally good nor evill The second thing to be considered in every act is the obliquity and defect which accompanies it that is the disorder which is in it which makes it an evill act and which doth as it were set a byas upon it that drawes it awry For the substance and matter of the act God goes along with it hee gives it the free contribution of his help and concourse but for the obliquity and defect of the act to that he doth not contribute at all for it hath no efficient cause but a deficient onely When a lame man goes there are two things in that act his going and his lamenesse his going proceeds from his soule but his lamenesse from some defect in the matter And so it is in evill actions the actions themselves proceed from God as motion proceeds from the soule but the obliquity of the actions proceeds from some defect in men as lamenesse proceeds from some defect in the matter So that Gods concourse to our actions doth not as you see suppose his concourse to the obliquity and defect which is in them the evill of every action is our own though the action it selfe be Gods And this is the first thing wee are to acknowledge when wee make our confession namely that our sins are our own and that wee are not necessitated to commit them by any over-ruling power And so much of the first part of Davids confession which is his confession in respect of the subject I come now to the second which is his confession in respect of the act I have sinned David proceeds here you see to confesse the act Before hee confess'd the efficient cause of his hurt and that was himselfe he goes forward now and confesseth the instrumentall cause and that was sin hee wounded himselfe by sin For I have sinned And in this confession hee layes open the nakednesse of his soule without using vain excuses to defend himselfe For although this confession be delivered in generall terms so that he seems not by it to acknowledge himselfe so notorious and scandalous a sinner as hee was yet if yee read over the whole Psalme and consider it well you shall find that this confession must have reference of necessity to his worst sins namely to those particular and individuall sins of Adultery and Murther and it is generally by Expositors chiefly applyed to them For those sins which this confession hath reference to are those which were publickly knowne and which made him be evill spoken of amongst his enemies as wee may read in the rest of the Psalme now those were chiefly his Adultery and Murther so that though they be not named in expresse termes yet if yee consider the reference my Text hath to other things contained in the Psalme there is enough expressed to make them known And this must wee doe also in our confession it is not enough for us to confesse our sins to be our owne but wee must confesse the act also wee must lay open as far as we are able every particular and individuall sin which wee commit There are two wayes as it hath been observed by some to procure the favour of a Judge in civill Courts and Consistories of justice 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 either an open confession or else some colourable excuse but in Gods court there is but one of these wayes availeable we may make him propitious and favourable by confessing our sins and relating all circumstances that do aggravate them but not by using colours to extenuate and lessen them they that deny or excuse their sins must look for no favour at the hand of God Behold saith God I will plead with thee because thou saist I have not sinned Jer. 2.35 Behold I will plead with thee that is I will alledge all that I can against thee I will give thee the very extremity and rigour of justice I will prove thee faulty and convince thee to thy face But on the other side if men confesse their sins then is God ready to acquit and pardon them If wee confesse our sins God is faithfull and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousnesse 1 Joh. 1.9 Now confession is either publick or private publick confession is when the people at a publick congregation confesse their sinnes together or when some Minister of the Church confesseth in the name of all the people and this may be either ordinary or extraordinary ordinary confession is at ordinary times as upon Sabbath or festivall dayes when the people meet together to confesse their sinnes extraordinary confession is when the people meet together at extraordinary times upon speciall emergent occasions and wee have divers examples in the Scripture of both these kinds of confession which I cannot now stay to mention Private confession is when a private man confesseth his sins and it may be done publickly at a solemn assembly or in private before a Minister of the Church or to a friend or before God The first kind of confession was much in use in the primitive times of the Church and it was performed many severall wayes which are frequently mentioned by the Fathers The second kind of confession is exacted by the Church of Rome with great strictnesse and severity and imposed upon mens consciences as a thing absolutely necessary to salvation The third kind of confession hath been alwayes practised by good Christians as a thing conducing to the glory of God The last kind of confession is of absolute necessity and is generally exercised in the Church As for our Church wee allow all these kinds of confession for the first kind of confession which is to be made before a publick assembly our Church in many cases commands it and enjoineth publick and scandalous sinners which cause the Church wherein they live to be evill spoken of to do penance to make an honourable amends and to give a publick testimony of their sorrow and repentance for it For the second kind of confession which is to be made privately before a Minister of the Church wee enjoine it not but yet our Church in some cases counsels it as namely when the conscience is distressed and perplexed and cannot free it selfe from feares and doubts For the third kind of confession that is to be made to a friend it is approved also and commended by our Church and is counselled by the Apostle Saint James who admonisheth the children of God to confesse their sins one to another For the last kind of confession as I said it is of absolute necessity and is taught by our Church as a doctrine fundamentall and necessary to salvation Now if I should speak of all these kinds of confessions first of publick confession both ordinary and extraordinary and then of private confession and all the severall kinds of it if I should speak of the manner how they are to be performed and of