When at any time therefore, thy sins and Gods wrath meeting in thy conscience, make thee deadly sick, as Isay speaks, then pour forth thy soul, lay open and confess thy sin; and as it will ease thee, (as vomiting useth to do) so also it will move God to pity, and to give thee cordials, & comforts to restore thee again. Thus David, Psal. 38. ver. 18. being in great distress, ver. 2, 3, 4, 5. I will declare mine iniquity, and be sorry for my sin: and he makes it an argument to God to pardon him, When his bones were broken, Psal. 51. Cleanse me from my sin, ver. 2. for I acknowledge my transgressions, ver. 3. and when he had confessed, ver. 4, 5, 6. then he cries, Make me to hear of joy and gladness, ver. 8. and restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, ver. 12. and what was the chief ingredient, the main and principal motive, which wrought most kindly with him to confess, and mourn, and brought up all? Against thee: thee only, he puts in twice, as much of the consideration thereof, as of any other ingredient, to make his heart mourn: that chiefly if not only, melted, dissolved him. And in these thy confessions, let the same also mainly work with thee. Against thee, thee, have I sinned, thus oft, thus grievously, thus presumptuously, Against thee, a God so great, and yet withal so good, so kind, so willing to receive and pardon, if my heart (say) ⟨p. 57⟩were but as willing to turn unto thee; and when thy case is as Jobs was, Job 10. 15, 16, 17. That thou art full of confusion (as he speaks there;) so full as thou thinkest thy heart could hold no more; and yet it increaseth (as it is there,) & he fills thee fuller yet; then do thou pour out thy complaints to him, as he pours in confusion into thee; and when he hunts thee, as Job there complains, like a fierce Lion, fall thou down and humble thy self like a poor and silly Lamb; if thou dyest, dye at his feet, mourning, bleeding out thy soul in tears: and when he hunts thee up and down, and pursues thee with blow after blow, follow thou hard after him where ever he goes,1 with complaint after complaint: And when yet he leaves thee not, but again and again returns, (as some read it) after some intermission, and shows himself terrible to thee day after day, night after night, yet do thou look in like manner again and again towards his holy Temple, 2as Jonah did:
When at any time therefore, thy sinnes and Gods wrath meeting in thy conscience, make thee deadly sicke, as Isay speakes, then poure forth thy soul, lay open and confesse thy sin; and as it will ease thee, (as vomiting useth to do) so also it will move God to pitty, and to give thee cordials, & comforts to restore thee againe. Thus David, Psal. 38. ver. 18. being in great distresse, ver. 2, 3, 4, 5. I will declare mine iniquity, and be sorry for my sinne: and hee makes it an argument to God to pardon him, When his bones were broken, Psal. 51. Cleanse me from my sin, ver. 2. for I acknowledge my transgressions, ver. 3. and when he had confessed, ver. 4, 5, 6. then hee cryes, Make me to heare of joy and gladnesse, ver. 8. and restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, ver. 12. and what was the chiefe ingredient, the maine and principall motive, which wrought most kindly with him to confesse, and mourne, and brought up all? Against thee: thee onely, he puts in twice, as much of the consideration thereof, as of any other ingredient, to make his heart mourne: that chiefly if not onely, melted, dissolved him. And in these thy confessions, let the same also mainely worke with thee. Against thee, thee, have I sinned, thus oft, thus grievously, thus presumptuously, Against thee, a God so great, and yet withall so good, so kinde, so willing to receive and pardon, if my heart (say) ⟨p. 57⟩were but as willing to turne unto thee; and when thy case is as Iobs was, Iob 10. 15, 16, 17. That thou art full of confusion (as he speaks there;) so full as thou thinkest thy heart could hold no more; and yet it encreaseth (as it is there,) & he fills thee fuller yet; then doe thou poure out thy complaints to him, as he poures in confusion into thee; and when he hunts thee, as Iob there complaines, like a fierce Lion, fall thou downe and humble thy selfe like a poore and silly Lambe; if thou dyest, dye at his feete, mourning, bleeding out thy soule in teares: and when he hunts thee up and downe, and pursues thee with blow after blow, follow thou hard after him where ever he goes,1 with complaint after complaint: And when yet he leaves thee not, but again and again returns, (as some reade it) after some intermission, and shewes himselfe terrible to thee day after day, night after night, yet doe thou look in like manner againe and againe towards his holy Temple, 2as Ionah did:
- 1Psal. 63. 8.
- 2Jonah 2. 4.Ionah 2. 4.
