The truly blessed man, or, The way to be happy here, and forever being…

3. He only can forgive us our sins. Our great encouragement to confess, is our hope to obtain mercy and pardon, and therefore the Gospel, which made discovery of forgiveness through Christ, is the great motive to poor Sinners to fall down before God, and acknowledge their Sins to him. Well, this is his Prerogative, and he will not give it another, Dan. 9. 9. To the Lord belong mercies and forgivenesses. Men indeed may remit to us the injury done to them, so far as they are concerned; and too often that is all that we trouble our selves about; but the Sin may yet •y upon us: they may do their work, but they cannot do Gods work; and if he be not atoned, that Sin will undo us; but if he forgive us, all is well, and we are happy.

4. If we hope to obtain forgiveness of him, we must seek it in his way. As there is forgiveness with him, Psal. 130. 4. So there is a course to be taken by such as would obtain it of him: and among other things which he requireth, this is •ne, viz. that we confess it to him humbly, heartily, fully: hence the promise is connected with […] Prov. 28. 13. Lev. 26. 40. 1 Joh. 1. 9. God ⟨p. 218⟩will not baulk this, and for us to neglect it, is t• out our selves off from the Gospel hope. No• this Confessing to God intends, not only a co• ming before him in Prayer, and laying open th case, but a particular reflection and animadversio on the sin, under this consideration, that it is again him: to see, and bewail before him, the wrong we have done to his name, the dishonour w have brought to his declarative glory, the re proach to his Gospel, and the profession w have made of it; these are the aggravations w are to put to it, and by them to lay the grea est weight upon it: this was doubtless David aim,