An exposition with practical observations continued upon the thirty second, the thirty third, and…An exposition with practicall observations continued upon the thirty second, the thirty third, and…

In this latter part of the verse, we have the matter expressed which the Lord looketh upon men for, 'tis repentance and godly sorrow for sin; If any say, I have sinned; That is, if any repent. When the Lord saith, If any say, I have sinned, he doth not mean it of a bare saying so, but, if any say so, laying his sin to heart; if any say so from a true sense of the evil of sin; if any say so burdened with sin, and tasting the bitterness of it; if any shall say, I have sinned, and say it thus, then &c. The word which we translate ⟨p. 448⟩sinned, notes a mistake of our aim or way; As if it had been said; If any man say, I have gone besides the line, and done besides the rule. Sin is in all men a missing of the mark, and a stepping out of the right path; it is also in very many, as 'tis expressed in the next clause, a perverting of that which is right. If any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which is right.

In this latter part of the verse, we have the matter expressed which the Lord looketh upon men for, 'tis repentance and godly sorrow for sin; If any say, I have sinned; That is, if any repent. When the Lord saith, If any say, I have sinned, he doth not meane it of a bare saying so, but, if any say so, laying his sin to heart; if any say so from a true sence of the evill of sin; if any say so burden'd with sin, and tasting the bitterness of it; if any shall say, I have sinned, and say it thus, then &c. The word which we translate ⟨p. 448⟩sinned, notes a mistake of our ayme or way; As if it had been sayd; If any man say, I have gone besides the line, and done besides the rule. Sin is in all men a missing of the mark, and a stepping out of the right path; it is also in very many, as 'tis expressed in the next clause, a perverting of that which is right. If any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which is right.

¹The word implieth more then ordinary sinning, more then sins of infirmity, which arise from ignorance and mistake, even those which are committed with a resolvedness of spirit, and purpose of heart; or they imply not those sins which a man falls into unadvisedly and unawares, but those which he commits upon deliberation, and in the eye of the Law, that showing him plainly what is right, and that he ought not to pervert it. So then in strictness of sense, to pervert that which is right, is to be willingly, yea wilfully unrighteous. The Church making a gradual confession of her sin by three steps, puts this word in the midst (Psal: 106.6.) We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity ('tis this word) or done that which is crooked and perverse) we have done wickedly. Cain, the first man born, sinned thus (Gen: 4.13.) My punishment is greater then I can bear (so we render) or (as we put in the margin) mine iniquity is greater then can be forgiven. Cains sin was a perverseness, he knew he perverted that which was right in slaying his brother. So that, here we have the confession of sin, with the aggravation of it, a notorious sin. The penitent person doth not only say, I have sinned, but I have sinned greatly, or I have perverted that which was right. To sin, and to pervert that which is right, are materially the same; only the latter intimates the manner how a sin is committed, namely, when we would not be ruled by the Law, but accommodate the Law (as if it were a leaden or lesbian rule) to serve our lusts; so perverting that which was right, that we might countenance and embolden our selves in doing wrong. If any ask