A cabinet of choice jewels, or, A box of precious ointment being a plain…A cabinet of choice jevvels, or, A box of precious ointment being a plain…

and this sin they confess distinctly and particularly before the Lord and Samuel. And so David in that, 1 Chron. 21.17. And David said unto God, is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? Thus that princely Prophet confesses that particular sin that he then lay under the guilt of. And so Zacheus makes a particular confession, he does as it were point with his finger at that wrong and injustice that he had been guilty of; Behold Lord, half my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man, by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. Thus you see that true penitents make a particular confession of their right eye sins, and of their right hand sins; and indeed, what is confession of sin, but a setting our sins in order before the Lord? and how can this be done but by a distinct and particular enumeration of them? But to prevent mistakes, this must be taken with a grain of salt, this must be understood with this limitation; we are to confess our sins distinctly, particularly, so far as we know them, so far as we are acquainted with them. There are many thousand sins which we commit, that we know not to be sins, and there are many thousand sins committed by us, that can't be remembered by us. Now certainly it is impossible for us to recount or confess those sins that we know not, that we remember not; so that our particular confessions can only reach to known sins, so far as we can call them to mind; for indeed our particular acts of sin are innumerable, they are more in number than the hairs of our head; and indeed, we are as well able to tell the stairs of heaven, and to number the sands of the Sea, and to recount all the sparing mercies, the pitying mercies, the preventing mercies, the succouring mercies, the supporting mercies, and the delivering mercies of God, as we are able to tell, to number, to recount, the individual particular acts of sin that we are guilty of; yet so far ⟨p. 242⟩as the knowledge and memory of a penitent Christian reaches, so far his confession reaches. But now, wicked men confess sin in the general, in the lump; as Tharaoh, I have sinned; and their con•essions are commonly confused, and at random. When and where do you find wicked men confessing their sins distinctly or particularly before God or man?