The beginning of the doctrine of Christ. Or A catalogue of sins showing how…The beginning of the doctrine of Christ. Or A catalogue of sinnes shewing how…

Trouble not thy head with the thought of any other thing, till this be done: and thou needest not care for order or phrase in setting it down, but do it in such words as thou hast to utter it in, and be sure to spare none of thy ⟨p. 30⟩special known sins, but let the Lord see, that thou art as willing to indict thy self for them in his presence, as thou art willing he should forgive them. When thou hast in this manner taken a particular notice of thy sins, then look upon the Catalogue following, and examine thy self distinctly by it. For this Catalogue will be like a Looking-glass from all parts of Gods Law, to show thee thy offences, and so thou mayest observe, what faults thou couldst not find, or remember by thy private examination, and withal ⟨p. 31⟩see in what phrase or order to digest thy sins. Let not thy thoughts trouble thee, but cheerfully endure this trial of thy self, and take heed thou do it not cursorily, but take time enough, and so thou mayest, if thou wilt only take one of the Chapters, or two of them, as they lye in the Catalogue, and no more in a day, till thou come to the end of the Catalogue, neither needest thou to trouble thy self about such sins, as thou doest not clearly see that thou art guilty of, but take only such, as thou art most sure thou hast offended ⟨p. 32⟩in: It is enough in the practice of Repentance, to take particular notice of known and apparent evils. A general acknowledgement will serve for the rest: If thou think thy sins be¹ innumerable, and so cannot be gathered into a Catalogue, understand, that the acts of sin are innumerable, but not the kinds of sin. There is no sin, but it is condemned in the Scripture: and if there were as many sins, as there be lines in the Scripture, yet they might be numbered; and therefore that speech of David, that his sins were ⟨p. 33⟩innumerable, must be understood of the acts of sin; for he might in one sin be guilty of innumerable acts: as if it were a sin in thought, it might be committed oftener, then can be by us numbered; But in repentance, it is enough to humble our selves for the several kinds of sins we have been guilty of, which will not be so many, but they may easily be numbered. The several acts of the same sin serve but as a general aggravation of the offence: Only in this