cannot, however, be denied, that both public and private confession unto men, may in many cases be not only warrantable and innocent, but highly useful and expedient. Public and scandalous offences require public acknowledgment, and public satisfaction made to the society to which such offence has been given: And in some cases private confession to a faithful minister of Christ, or to some friend or person of superior knowledge and sanctity, may be necessary for unburdening a troubled conscience, and for obtaining comfort and direction for future conduct.

But none of these is the confession spoken of in the text. It is God's prerogative, and God's only, to forgive sin, and to him, therefore, confession must be made, if we would look for the blessing annexed to this duty. As it is not confession unto men, therefore, but unto God that is here meant, so neither is it the end and design of this duty to inform God of our sins, as if he were ignorant of the least of them. No, my friends, he is fully acquainted with all our ways; he knows the very thoughts of our hearts

afar off. But the great end and tendency of this duty, is to bring us acquainted with our own temper and character, that so our hearts may be suitably affected with a sense of our sins, and our resolutions strengthened for new obedience. Confession, in general, is the lively exercise of the soul, contemplating its own sinful nature, and reviewing the evil of its conduct; unfolding its defilements with humility and self-abasement before God, with a fixed determination of forsaking them, and in the hope of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. It is pleading guilty to all the accusations of a tender and faithful conscience, awakened by due reflection on the spirituality and extent of the divine law, compared with the extreme imperfection of the sinner's obedience. Genuine confession is always attended with shame and sorrow for sin, and never fails, through the aids of the Spirit, to issue in reformation of life. In one word, it is the natural expression of true evangelical repentance.

But let us descend to particulars. Confession unto God includes,

1. Distinct knowledge of sin, and a thorough acquaintance with our own temper and character.

The very mention of this is sufficient to shew its importance. As there are some who have foolishly imagined that they are guilty of no sins, and have been accordingly led to look upon the duty here recommended as unnecessary, so, on the other hand, to make confession of sins with which we are altogether unacquainted, and which we are conscious of never having committed, is so far from being required in the Scriptures, that it betrays the deepest hypocrisy and dissimulation, and is really nothing less than a solemn mockery of the Almighty. There are others, again, whose knowledge of sin is derived more from common report, than from self conviction. They readily confess themselves to be sinners, but look upon guilt as a very trivial thing, and have such ideas of the excellence of their characters, that they fondly imagine their vices are more than compensated by the contrary virtues of which they think themselves possessed. But such false and superficial conceptions of

sin, and of the character, can never make any deep or abiding impressions. They may produce a cold and formal acknowledgment, but can have little effect upon the heart, and can never be supposed to bring forth that unreserved and impartial confession which the gospel requires.

In order to arrive at a thorough knowledge of our sins and of our real character, we ought, with the strictest attention, to review the whole of our past life and conversation. We must recollect, as far as possible, wherein we have failed and come short of our duty, and, still more, the many instances in which we have been guilty of wilful and actual violation of the laws of God. In this review the real penitent will not hurry over, what some may be ready to imagine small or venial sins; he considers no offence against his God a matter of indifference.

With still

great and

greater care will he canvass his presumptuous sins, if such he has committed, and will endeavour to discover every circumstance of their aggravation.

That this self-inquiry may produce the fuller information, it becomes all of you, brethren, to trace your actions to

their proper sources, to attend to the motives by which they have in different instances been influenced, and, in all cases, to pay the utmost regard to the sentence which a faithful conscience pronounces upon them. In a word, you must spare no pains, in order to acquire a thorough knowledge of your own heart, the foul fountain from whence these polluted streams flow.

Here, indeed, we are extremely ready to impose upon ourselves. The understanding proves a dupe to the passions. Corruption prevails against reason and conscience; all the faculties of the soul are swayed by its authority. Loath to part with our darling sins, we are willing to shelter them under the thinnest covering. We readily grasp at every excuse, and eagerly lay hold on the most trifling circumstances which can extenuate our guilt.

In this difficult work we have the Scriptures of truth for our guide, and from them the greatest assistance is to be derived. The law of God, in the hand of the Spirit, is the only effectual and infallible mean of giving us the true know