Seven treatises containing such direction as is gathered out of the Holy Scriptures, leading…Seuen treatises containing such direction as is gathered out of the Holie Scriptures, leading…

And first, of confession of sins, as in order it is to be used, next unto thankfulness: and afterwards, of the making or offering up of our requests and suites unto God,¹ and namely, for the remission of sins, with the which, it is §Iever to be joined. Now this is an acknowledging of our selves to be guilty, and worthily to have deserved Gods wrath, and manifold punishments, for our grievous faults and offences: and an acknowledging of them also, with a free and humble bewailing of them before the Lord; such as are unknown to us, in a general manner, but those which we do know (according to the nature of them) particularly. And this duty is rightly done and practised of us:² first, when we feel our sins odious, and burdensome to us. Secondly, when we accuse our selves of them to God. Thirdly, when we confess them to him (having examined our life) and that we stand at his mercy deserving to be condemned. And fourthly, when we abase our selves thereby, and so §Kare meekened, and our pride abated. In all the confessions of the servants of God, all these four are to be found; that I may show it at once, and not stand long about every one of them. As in Davids confession, after that Nathan the Prophet had accused him, saying, thou art the man, even this great offender, he answered,³ I have sinned: in which one word, he found and showed all things that are required in a true and penitent confession: that is, that he both had ⟨p. 285⟩§Ahis sin in a detestable execration, accused himself to God of it, confessed that he had justly provoked God against him, and was greatly humbled by it. In the Psalm, if any doubt of this,⁴ he may see them particularly described. The same may be said of Daniel his confession in the ninth chapter;⁵