The Soul's Preparation for Christ

First, be wise in choosing the party, to whom you must confess your sins,¹ for every wide mouthed vessel is not fit to receive precious liquor; so this confession is not to be opened to every carnal wretch, that will blaze it abroad; the minister to whom you confess, ought to have these three graces.

First, be wise in chusing the party, to whom you must confesse your sinnes,¹ for every wide mouthed vessel is not fit to receive pretious liquor; so this confession is not to be opened to every carnall wretch, that will blaze it abroad; the minister to whom you confesse, ought to have these three graces.

1. 1To whom we should lay open our sins by confession.To whom wee should lay opē our sins by confession.

First, he must be a skilful and able Minister of God,¹ one that is trained up, and is master of his Art, and so experienced, that he may be able in some measure to find out the nature of the disease: (Not that any Minister under heaven can be so wife and holy, as to give pardon to a poor sinner: but only he is able ministerially to do it under God) He must be able to approve himself the Minister of God: he must have the tongue of the learned, and be able to break the heart, and prepare the soul for Christ; and then to apply the cooling promises of the Gospel to him.

First, hee must be a skilfull and able Minister of God,¹ one that is trained up, and is master of his Art, and so experienced, that hee may be able in some measure to finde out the nature of the disease: (Not that any Minister under heaven can be so wife and holy, as to give pardon to a poore sinner: but onely hee is able ministerially to doe it under God) Hee must be able to approve himselfe the Minister of God: hee must have the tongue of the learned, and be able to breake the heart, and prepare the soule for Christ; and then to apply the cooling promises of the Gospell to him.