A guide to godliness or a Treatise of a Christian life showing the dutiesA guide to godlynesse or a Treatise of a Christian life shewing the duties

Thirdly, unto this daily renewing of our repentance, is required an humble confession of our sins, which must be of unknown sins generally, ¹of known sins particularly, with the aggravation of them by their several circumstances. Especially we must acknowledge and lay open the root and fountain of them, our original corruption, from which they have sprung and flowed, and then the cursed fruits and filthy streams that have issued from them; but above all, we must not forget in this our confession, those special sins, unto which we are most inclined, and wherewith we have most offended and dishonoured God; nor those sins which we have committed lately, and since the last time of renewing ⟨p. 174⟩our repentance. And withal we must judge and condemn our selves ²as unworthy, by reason of our sins, the least of Gods mercies, and most worthy of the greatest of his judgements and punishments, coming into Gods presence as Benhadad's followers before Ahab, and acknowledging, that if we had our desert, death and condemnation were due unto us. ³And this we must do, to justify the Lord when he judgeth, and to glorify his name, in giving unto him the praise of mercy and forgiveness; and that thus judging our selves, we may not be condemned of the Lord. Neither are we to stay here under the sentence of the Law, but to flee unto the throne of grace, begging mercy and forgiveness at the hands of God, for his own names sake, for his truth sake in his covenant and gracious promises, and for his Christs sake, his merits, satisfaction and obedience performed for us. The fruit and benefit of which humble confession, is the full assurance of the remission of all our sins, grounded upon the truth of Gods promises; For, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just