properly God is the party offended whether it be done imediatly as in sinnes against the first Table or mediatly as in sinnes against the second table and so the wrong done to the creature is not for the hurt of such a creture but for the interceding command of God which is broken for sinne is the transgression of the Law and were it not for that no wrong were 2. Dauid speaks this acording to his sense for at this time he had no party but God done to the creature Next Dauid speakes this according to his owne sense and feeling at this time he had no partie that troubled him but the Lord for as to him that got the wrong Non timebam Chrysost eum miles meus erat non poterat me iudicare He was my seruant he could not iudge mee As for others Rex sum caeterorum omnium Dominus te solum commissorum â—uthym a me scelerum iudicem habeo I am their King and Lord and finde nothing in them to trouble me but thou O Lord art hee to whom all creatures must render an account thou art higher then the highest and iudgest the King and the subiect alike What peace then can bee to mee so long as thou art against mee pursuing mee for my sinnes Heereof first arises a lesson to men of power in the world let them not thinke the lesse of Let not men thinke the lesse of their sinnes because they are done against weak men their sinnes because they haue to doe with a weake partie that hath neither power nor meanes to redresse their wrongs let them remember that God is their party who will iudge the cause of the poore the widowe and the fatherlesse this should restrain them from doing wrong to any albeit they might doe it vncontrouled of men this was a meanes of awe to Ioseph he might haue reuenged the wrong in Egypt which his brethren had done him in Canaan but hee would not because hee feared God and considered that hee himselfe was also vnder God Secondly wee learne of this that seeing in all sinne God is No discharge of sinne is sufficient but the Lords the party offended the remission and discharge of the sinne should bee sought from him This is for these carnall Atheists who if they can obtaine pardon from the earthly Iudge or a discharge of the partie care nothing for the Lords part but hee will stand to his own part and make thee finde by experience that albeit all the world would forgiue thy sinne yet if the Lord forgiue thee not it shal nothing auaile thee Men of meane estate should haue patieÌ„ce when they are wronged because the offence is done vnto God Last of all let this learne them of meane estate patience for no wrong can be done vnto them which first of all is not done to the Lord he is the principal party offended If men could as I haue said before ponder this it might learne them with patience to commit their cause to the Lord and not rashly to step in into his roome either by imprecations or raylings or any other such carnall meane but to reserue vnto the Lord his owne honour Vengeance is mine and I will repay it saith the Lord. And done euell in thy sight 2 The other argument whereby he amplifies his sinne is that it was done in Gods sight The other circumstance wherby hee amplifies his sinne is that it was done in the sight of God when hee did the sinne God saw him but hee forgot then that God was looking vpon him but now when his conscience is wakened and hee lookes backe againe to his former iniquity he sees now that he did it in the sight of God This is also one of Satan his Satans deceit is to make man conceiue that God seeth him not customable policies whereby he drawes men vnto sinne to couer their minds with a vaile to darken their vnderstanding to steale out of their hearts the remembrance at least the reuerence of the diuine Maiesty so that he is brought to thinke for a time that either God sees it not or then doth not regard it But this is a pittifull blindenesse like the folly of children who when their owne eies are closed that they cannot see do therefore conceit that none other seeth them so is it I say with them whose affections are captiued by a sin they are blinded and haue not an eye to looke vp to God and therefore thinke that hee is not looking down vpon them The best remedy for this is to sanctifie the Lord alwaies in The remeÌ„brance of God is a new band to sinne our hearts let vs set the Lord alwaies in our sight esteeming of euery place as Iacob did of Bethel The Lord is in this place and I was not aware that so his countenance may bee an newe band to keepe vs from sinne otherwise it cannot bee but a deepe contempt of God when in our estimation wee set him inferiour to his creature not ashamed to doe that vnder the eye of GOD which wee would be ashamed to doe vnder the eie of man That thou maiest be iust His The Lord strikes not without a cause meaning is not that he sinned for this ende that God might be iustified quod dicit vt iustificeris non habet causae significationem non eam ob causam peccauit Dauid vt Deus iustificaretur No but that for this end hee confessed his sinne that the iustice of God iudging reprouing and threatning him by Nathan might bee manifested to others It is not Lord without cause that thou hast denounced so sharpe punishments against mee by thy seruant Nathan Ego haec mihi mala conciliaui I haue deserued them all and giuen thee iust cause to speake and iudge against mee as thou hast done and now I humbly confesse it before the world that thou maiest haue the praise of righteousnes in all thy speaking iudging The children of God humbled Men visited with his rods should giue him the prayse of righteousnes with a sense of their sins spare not to shame themselues that they may glorifie God So Daniel ascribeth shame and confusion to himselfe and his people but giues tho praise of righteousnesse to the Lord. Where the Lord strikes with his rods which men may see and hee that is striken will not acknowledge his sinnes in effect hee blames the Lord as if hee did strike without a cause therefore Iosua when Achan was taken by Lot for his sinne and the wrath of God on Israel was manifest but the cause procuring the wrath was hidden from them exhorted him to giue glory to God thou seest doth he say that God is angrie with Israel he hath suffered his people to fall before their enemies this cannot be without a cause seeing the lot is fallen vpon thee and the finger of God points at thee that thou hast procured this euill I pray thee giue glorie to God by confessing the sinne thou hast done that all the people may knowe that the Lord is
as a preseruatiue to keepe Gods children from the like sinnes in time to come And thirdly it teacheth vs to haue compassion on others when they fall in the like sinnes and to restore them with the spirit of meekenes considering also our selues VERSE 4. Against thee against thee onely haue I sinned and done euill in thy sight that thou maiest be iust when thou speakest and pure when thou iudgest NOw Dauid breks forth and giues Confession of sinne most needfull glorie to God by an open and plain Cōfession of his sins he knew it was needfull for him to doe so Because remission of sinnes is promised vpon a condition of the confession of them He that hideth his Prouerb sinnes shall not prosper but he that confesseth and forsake them shall haue mercie And againe If we confesse our sinnes God is faithfull 1. Iohn 1. 9. to forgiue them But here we haue first to consider Before men confession defileth before God it cleanseth why is it that God requires confession is it to get knowledge of that which wee haue done Or to get out of our owne mouth a point of Dittie against our selues Nouit omnia Deus sed expectat vocem Amb. de paenitent li. 2. cap. 7. tuam non vt puniat sed vt ignoscat He knowes all things when thou committedst thy sinne in secret hee saw thee what then craueth he nothing but that thou in thy heart mayest know thy sinne In thy mouth maiest confesse it to the end that he may forgiue it Optat soluere confitentes ne contumaces punire cogatur The best Augu. medicine for a sinne is not to hide or excuse or extenuate it but humbly to confesse it Quēadmodum nobis peccatorum vulnera nunquam desunt sic confessionis medicamenta deesse non debent For it is not with the Lord as it is with men before earthly Tribunales confession of sinne defileth the confessor makes him guiltie and culpable but before the heauenly it absolues him And this is the cause why the Lord requires confession of a sin from man Now we haue to see what Priuate sins in what case should they be publikely confessed sort of confession pleaseth God seeing it is certaine confession of sinne hath beene made by many which the Lord hath not accepted here first wee must distinguish the sinnes to be confessed publicke sinnes whereby God is openly dishonoured and his Church slandered out of all doubt required a publike confession to God and before men In priuate sins the confession is required to God only Plerumque non expedit Ber. m. Cant. ser 42. innotescere omnibus omnia quae nos scimus de nobis atque ipsa charitatis veritate veritatis charitate vetamur palam fieri velle quod noceat agnoscenti yet with this exception that when the priuate sin is done in such a maner as that the euill thereof redounds to the hurt of many and that for this cause also God persewes it to bring it to light in this case priuate sinnes committed by thee knowen to none but to thy selfe should be publikly confessed that thou mayest giue glory to God and doe good to his Church as is euident in the example of Achan and Dauid Next wee must take heed to Three things required in the trew confession of sinne Ber. the manner of the confession if it be trew it must haue these three properties First it must proceed from contrition of the spirit for sinne Primum opus fidei 1. Contrition per dilectionem operantis compunctio cordis est è quo sine dubio eij ciuntur daemonia cum eradicantur è corde peccata confession of sin in the mouth which proceedes not from contrition for sinne in the heart will neuer draw downe mercy to thee more then it did to Saule whose mouth said I haue sinned but his heart was not grieued for sin Secondly true confession 2. Faith proceedes from faith in Christ Iesus for there is a confession which is the daughter of desperation and can not profit thee An example wherof we haue in Iudas I haue sinned in betraying of innocent blood but wanting faith he got no remission of his sinne And thirdly true confession hath alway 3. Correction with it an amendment of life otherwise Confessio sine emendatione vitae est professio peccati confession of sinne without amendment is a profession of sinne thou that euery day confessest sin and yet walkest on in the same sinnes art no other but a plaine professor of sinne A threefold happy fruit of true confession Now confession of sin with these properties brings downe to the penitent sinner a threefold fruit first vnion and reconciliation with God ensewes for sin the cause of diuision betweene God and man is now remoued quasi duaeres sunt homo Augu. in Ioan. Tract 12. peccator quod audis homo deus fecit quod audis peccator homo ipse fecit dele quid fecisti vt saluet deus quod fecit Man and sinne are two sundry things destroy sinne which is man his 1. It reconciles thee with God worke and God can not but loue and embrace man as his owne worke So long as man keepes his sinne he workes directlie against the Lord hyding that which God will discouer and harbouring within him the rebel whom God is persewing but when man turnes against sin confessing it bringing it to light that it may be destroyed then works he with Ibid. God qui Confitetur peccata sua et accusat iam cum deo facit accusat deus peccata tua si tu accusas iam coniungeris deo Yea he that in humble manner confesseth giueth to the Lord the praise of iustice that knowes if hee did continew in these sinnes the Lord ought to punish him he giues him also the praise of wisdome that no secret thing can be hid from the Lord and the praise of power hee knowes there is no way to flee from the Lord and therefore in time he flies to him and at last he giues him the praise of mercy that hee is gracious and readie to forgiue Bis deum laudamus vbi pie nos accusamus The second fruit of it is confusion 2. It brings Confusion to Satan to Sathan it is a chiefe point of his labour to accuse vs night and day for in one of these three he is alway exercised either to tempt or to accuse or to torment when hee tempts let vs resist him that we sinne not if we haue sinned let vs preuent the accuser and bee the first accusers of our selues so shall we stop the mouth of our aduersarie that hee shall haue nothing to say Non circumueniet te ante iudicem cum enim tui ipse fueris accusator dominus liberator quid erit ille nisi calumniator The third is that true confession which brings comfort It brings peace and quietnesse to
sinnes are forgiuen thee as heere Nathan doth vnto Dauid and yet thou not feele that it is so wee must not therefore bee so discouraged as to thinke wee want that grace alwaie which we cannot Therefore Dauid craues not onely mercy but sense of mercy feele It is now cleare what is the benefit which DAVID here craues To wit not mercie only that he hath sought before but the sense of mercie also make me to heare ioy so that I may feele it For all the inward senses of the soule are in feeling to heare the Lord to see him to tast how good he is is no other but to enioy him and to feele his consolations It is thy praise ô Lord that thou speak'st peace to thy Saints among the rest speake peace vnto mine heart also O what a ioy was it to that man sicke of the palsie when he heard that voice thy sinnes are forgiuen thee And such like to that sinfull woman when shee heard goe in peace thy faith hath saued thee And how was the soule of that conuerted sinner comforted in the middes of the dolors of death when he hard that voice This night thou shalt be with me in paradise This is the exceeding great Great comfort that God not only forgiues our sinnes but telles vs they are forgiuen loue of the Lord toward his children that he hath not only prouided a sure saluation for them through the remission of their sinnes in Christ Iesus but also seales vp in their heart the testimony thereof by his Holy Spirit of adoption and that for their present consolation least they should bee swallowed vp of heauinesse through continuall temptations Though he speake not to all his children as hee did to Daniel by an Angell O man greatly beloued of God nor as he did to the blessed Virgin Marie haile Marie freely beloued yet doth hee witnesse the same to the hearts of his children by an inward testimonie when they heare it they are aliue when they want it they are but dead their soule refuses all other comfort whatsoeuer That the hones which thou hath A troubled mind sore weakneth the bodie broken may reioyce By these Basil vnderstands Ossa animae spiritualia that is as saith Sauanarola and others Vires animae rationalis but as this agrees not with this sense so there is no reason why it should be enforced Dauid his words Psalme 32. serues for a commentarie to this there hee complaines that through extremitie of the anguish of his Spirit the moisture of his body was turned into the drought of Sommer now the marrow we know is the strength of the bones these being so extenuate no maruell his flesh consumed his skinne was parched his face withered his sight dimmed his knees enfeebled and the whole externall man greatly weakned the Spirit of a man sayes Salomon will sustaine his infirmitie but a wounded spirit who can beare it Of this let vs learne that if The miserable state of the wicked who must beare the burden of their owne sinnes the sight of sinne presented to the godly from a iust accusing conscience doe so terrifie them and breede them such excessiue trouble as for a time doth sorely torment them In what state shall the wicked be when the Lord shall present their sins to them wake their conscience vpon them not in mercie as he doth to his owne but in wrath not for a time but for euer O what anguish and remedilesse tribulation shall be vnto them the dayes of wicked mens sinning are compared to the time of a womans conceiuing but the daies of their punishment are compared to the time of her trauelling they conceiue their sinnes with wantonnesse and pleasure but shall beare them with dolor vnspeakeable their dolors shall exceede the dolor of a woman for shee knowes once to bee deliuered of her paine either by life or death but the wicked shall neuer bee lighter of their sinnes nor bee deliuered from the anguish of their accusing conscience from which most miserable condition the Lord deliuer vs for Christ Iesus sake VERSE 9. Hide thy face from my sinnes and put away all mine iniquities DAVID yet from Guiltinesse of sin soone contracted not so soone put away God the fourth time seekes the remission of his sinnes the gilt of sinne is soone contracted but not so soone gotten away wee are happie if the examples of other men may learne vs to be wise he was a man deerely beloued of God and yet how manie requests makes hee before he can get his heart assured of mercy but the presumption Foolish are they who thinke they may get mercy for a word of this age is so great that men feare not to offend the Lord because they thinke mercie may be gotten for a word But let men remember that fearful sentence which the L. pronounc't vpon the people of the Iewes for the abuse of his mercy When they fast I will not heare their crie And againe Thougb Moses and Samuel stood before me yet mine affection could not be toward this people that so our hearts may be humbled with holy feare which may restraine He that seekes not to hide his sinnes prouokes the Lord to inquire it vs from offending our God vpon presumption of mercy Hide thy face All Dauid his care when hee had committed his sin was to hide it from the Lord for this cause he committed murther and slew Vriah thinking if he were not aliue to perceiue it his iniquity should neuer come to light Now he sees it with a vaine labor Vriah is dead but the angry countenance of God looking vpon his sinne troubles him As the fish called Sepia casting forth a black liquor out of hir mouth of purpose to lurke vnder it doth therby giue notice to the fisher of the place wherin they shall finde hir so foolish man while he thinks to hide one sin by another doth but cast himself the more opē to the eye of God who then looks most narrowly to a sin when man most craftily labours to conceale it Euery sinner in sinning takes frō God the praise of righteousnes as if the Lord were like him were not a God that loues righteousnesse and hates iniquity But he that thinkes to hide Hee that seekes to hide his sin from the Lord makes an idole of him his sinne from the Lord when he hath done it takes also from him the praise of wisedome and makes the Lord so far as he may like an Idoll of the Nations that hath eyes and sees not And therefore the Lord as he will be auenged of euery one that offends so principally vpon them who scorne him by hiding their sinnes from him Woe be to them that seeke in deepe We to such to hide their Councell from the Lord their workes are in secret and they say who sees it At this time Dauids sin was vnknowen to the world no lyuing No man knew Dauids
not angrie without cause It is a dangerous thing to hide our sinnes where the hiding of them may hide and obscure the glorie of God as the maner of hypocrites is who grudge and murmure when God strikes them with his rods as if either they were punished without a cause or then worse handled then they had deserued Againe let vs marke here Happie are they whom God iudges now in such sort that he corrects them the manner of God his dealing with his own he iudgeth them in this life that they should not be condemned hereafter This he doth partly by his word reproouing them of sinne partly by his rods correcting them Happie are they who now are so iudged for they who profit not neither by his rebukes nor his rods what else doe they but reserue them selues to a sharper iudgment VERSE 5. Behold I was borne in iniquitie and in sinne hath my mother conceiued me HE still proceedes Dauid serches out the first originall of his sinne in the amplification of his sin and now he rippeth it vp from the verie foutaine and first original thereof entring in a deep consideration of the vniuersall corruption of his Nature It is not in this fact onely will hee say that I am culpable I confesse my whole Nature to bee so corrupt from the verie wombe through sinne as most iustly making me odious abhominable in the eyes of God yea now when by occasion of this one sinne which hath broken out in externall action I looke to my inward disposition and consider the originall corruption of my nature con-containing all sorts of sin within it proceeding from the want and priuation of originall righteousnesse I am ashamed of my selfe in the sight of God To expresse this he vses two wordes the first Cholel signifying How originall sinne is expressed by Dauid to creat or forme whereby he will declare that euen in his forming in the wombe he was infected with sinne the other is Iacham signifying to warme thereby declaring that while hee was warmed fostered and nourishedde in his mothers wombe hee was defiled with sin originall At the beginning hee was but an vncleane Creature Where we are not to thinke Mariage is not blamed when it is said that man was conceiued and borne in sinne that hee accuses the formation or fostering of a birth in the mothers wombe these are the great and maruailous workes of God Neither yet that hee reiects the blame on his parents or condemnes mariage or vse of the mariage-bed these are the ordinances of God Non Aug. cont Pelag. lib. 3. cap. 21. De nupt et concupiscen est malum quod natus es sed cum quo natuses And againe Natura humana quae de coniugio nascitur opus est Dei And to this same purpose said Basil non accusat Basil hic nuptias sicut quidam stulte sunt suspicati Sed praeuaricationem quae ab initio mundi a progenitoribus nostris est commissa in medium producit hanc fontem esse factam ipsorum fluentorum dicit Hee doth not here accuse mariage as some haue foolishly suspected but the transgression commited by our first Progenitors he brings out as the foūtain of al these flouds of iniquitie that since sinne haue broken out in our nature Here first we may perceiue The rhetoricke by which godly men moue the Lord to mercie what is the Rhetoricke which godly men vse whereby they would mooue the Lord to bee mercifull vnto them namely to present to the eies of his cōpassion their heauy diseases and the deep wide and inueterate wounds which they haue receiued from their deadly enemie let vs learne by their example not to couer nor hide our sinnes if wee would haue mercie A wise man desires his wound to be ripped vp and not to bee ouerplaistred albeit the Physitian would forget it hee wil remember and request him to doe it How much more should we lay open our woūds to Christ that hee may cure them he is that sweet Samaritan who at the first sight of the wounds of that poore Traueller betwene Iericho and Ierusalem was moued to compassion and powred wine and oyle into his wounds when Priest nor Leuit had pitie vpon him what mercie here he preached in that parable he hath it ready to practise vpon all that frō a penitent and beleeuing heart present their miseries vnto him Secondly wee see heere how Particular sinnes moue the godly to a detestation of the whole corruption of Nature these particular sinnes of Dauid leades him to a narrower inquisition and greater detestation of the whole corruption of his nature thus the children of God are moued by some particular sinnes wherein they are fallen to grow in the hatred of all sinnes whatsoeuer Whereas by the contrary carnall men excuse their particular sinnes by the common corruption of mans nature as if their sinnes were the lesse because all men by nature are sinners but they deceiue themselues for the lesse they thinke of their sinnes the more shall God thinke of them when he shall visit them let vs not sparingly iudge our selues if wee would haue the Lord merciful vnto vs. And lastly since this is true in What great neede man hath to be changed out of Natures estate vs all that we were conceiued and borne in sinne what great need haue we of regeneration for vnlesse a man be borne again hee can not see the kingdome of God Let natural parents who haue been instruments to their children of a naturall generation whereby they are borne heires of the wrath of God do what lies in them by prayer and good education to make them pertakers of regeneration otherwaies they will curse the loines that got them and the wombe that bare them and children againe who glorie in the external priuiledges of blood and heritage which they haue gotten from their parents let them remember vnlesse they be borne againe it had beene better for them neuer to haue beene borne VERSE 6. Behold thou louest truth in the inward affections and haste taught me wisedome in the secret of mine heart HE proceedes still The vilenesse of sin appeares in this that it is contrary to Gods holy disposition to amplifie his sinne by consideration of that contrary holie disposition which is in God the Lord is holy his eye is so pure that it cannot behold iniquity he loueth truth and delights in the holinesse and cleannesse of the heart but alas I am vncleane and therefore so much the more miserable that my disposition is contrarie to his Of this wee learne that the The true knowledge of God workes true humility best way to humble vs in regard of that sinfull corruption which is in vs is the knowledge of God when Esay in a vision saw the maiesty of God as it