The right way to safety after ship-wrack in a sermon preached to the honourable House of Commons, in St. Patrick's Church, Dublin : at their solemn receiving of the blessed sacrament / by John, Lord Bishop of Armagh. Bramhall, John, 1594-1663. 1661 Approx. 39 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 14 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2005-10 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A29204 Wing B4231 ESTC R35340 15260811 ocm 15260811 103291 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A29204) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 103291) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 1144:11) The right way to safety after ship-wrack in a sermon preached to the honourable House of Commons, in St. Patrick's Church, Dublin : at their solemn receiving of the blessed sacrament / by John, Lord Bishop of Armagh. Bramhall, John, 1594-1663. [3], 24 p. Printed for John Crook, Dublin : 1661. Imperfect: print show-through with loss of print. Reproduction of the original in the Huntington Library. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. Gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. 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Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Bible. -- O.T. -- Proverbs XXVIII, 13 -- Sermons. Forgiveness of sin. Sermons, English -- 17th century. 2003-05 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2003-05 Aptara Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2005-03 Emma (Leeson) Huber Sampled and proofread 2005-03 Emma (Leeson) Huber Text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-04 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion 17. June 1661. ORdered , That the undernamed persons , or any three or more of them , do repair unto His Grace the Lord Primate of all Ireland , and in the Name of this House , return thanks unto His Grace for his great pains taken yesterday in Preaching and Administring the Holy Sacrament of the Lords Supper unto the Members of this House , and to desire His Grace that he would cause the same to be Printed . Sir Henry Tichburne . Sir Theophilus Jones . Mr. of the Wards . Sir Francis Hamilton . Sir Robert Forth . Sir Richard Kirle . Copia Vera. Ex. per Philip Ferneley Cler. Parl. THE RIGHT Way to Safety AFTER SHIP-WRACK : IN A SERMON Preached to the Honourable House of Commons , in St. Patrick's Church , Dublin . Jun. 16. 1661. At their Solemn Receiving of the Blessed SACRAMENT . By the most Reverend Father in God , JOHN Lord Archbishop of Armagh , Primate and Metropolitan of all Ireland . DUBLIN , Printed by John Crook , Printer to the Kings most Excellent Majesty : And are to be sold by John North , Bookseller in Castle-street . 1661. PROV . 28. 13. He that covereth his sins shall not prosper : but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them , shall have mercy . IN these Words , two different Ways , which Sinners take to attain to Happiness , are represented to us ; The one short and broad , but impassable , by reason of Thieves and Precipices ; He that covereth his sins shall not prosper : the other long and strait , but certain and secure , Who so confesseth and forsaketh them , shall have mercy . Or if you will , a common Shipwrack , wherein two Planks are presented to us , to save us from drowning ; The one painted , but rotten , which will undoubtedly deceive us , that is , the Plank of Dissimulation : He that covereth his sins shall not prosper : The other rugged , but sound , which will infallibly bring us safe to Land , that is , the Plank of Repentance ; He that confesseth and forsaketh them , shall have mercie . Or lastly , We may consider herein the Sore , the Chyrurgery , and the Success : The Store is Sin , the Course of Chyrurgery is double and different , the one by healing over , or binding up , the other by incision , or cleansing out ; the one with supple Oyl , the other with sharp Vineger ; the one by bathing , the other by lancing ; the one by covering , the other by confessing . The Success is likewise double , and different , proportionable to the two ways of cure ; the one unprosperous , shall not prosper ; the other prosperous , shall have mercy . He that covereth his sins shall not prosper : but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them , shall have mercie . The Sore is spiritual and epidemical , that 's Sin , 2. Chron. 6. When every one shall know his own sore . And more emphatically Isa. 1. 6. it is styled a putrifying sore . So long as our first Parents continued in the state of Innocencie , Roses grew without Thorns , as St. Ambrose observed . As there was no Sin , so there was no Sickness ; no Sores in the World , either of Soul or Body . Indeed it was not impossible for them to sin , so they should have been Gods , not Men ; but it was possible for them not to have sinned , which is as much as the Angels in Heaven can challenge to themselves : for many of them fell irrecoverably , because they found not a Redeemer , and those , which stood , owe their Conservation , as we do our Redemption , to the Cross of Christ , Col. 1. 20. But by the fall of Adam the Image of God became defaced in Man , the Rays of heavenly Light eclipsed , the Sparkles of divine Grace cooled , the Understanding infatuated , the Will confounded , the Affections disordered , and in place of these Perfections , Sin entered into the world as an Hereditary Contagion , a spirituall Leprosie , with the Consequents of it , all manner of Sores and Diseases , both of Soul and Body , which cannot be cur'd with all the Balm in Gilead , nor cleans'd with all the Water in the Ocean ; but onely by the Blood of Christ , and in order to that , by Repentance ; which is the Cure commended in my Text. Hence all those swarms of Fevers , Catarrhs , Gouts , Palsies , Apoplexies , and the like , which do infest the Body of Man more than any other living Creatures : We may be burned up with Cholerick Distempers , drowned with Hydropick Humours , choak'd with the Fumes of a vitious Stomack , and buried quick in the Grave of Melancholick Imaginations . But the chiefest Defects are those of the Soul , as 1. Ignorance , that in so thick a mist of Errours and Sects , we know not how to finde out the Truth ; and that , which tops up our Folly , is , That we are grown too wise in our own conceits . 2. Concupiscence , that Pestilence of the Soul , whose cankered Blossoms are still sprouting up in the most Regenerate Hearts ; this weakened the Power of Sampson , infatuated the Wisdom of Solomon , defiled the Holiness of David . 3. Self-love , an hidden Poyson , the Rust of the Minde , the Moth of Holiness , the Parent of Envie , the Original of all Vices . 4. Discontent , which makes up prize what we want , sleight what we enjoy , more sensible of Sufferings than of Blessings ; like little Children , which for want of some Toy which they affect , throw away all they have , and fall a crying : we follow Contentment hard , but as Fools do an Ignis Fatuus , always at a distance . 5. Preposterous fear ; If we do ill , we fear Magistrates ; if we do well , we fear Detractors : if we be rich , we fear Thieves ; if poor , Creditors ; if we hate , we fear Enemies ; if we love , Corrivals . 6. Distrust ; We all say , We trust God , but for the most part sooner with our Souls , than with our Estates , and hardly without a Pawn , as Usurers would trust a Bankrupt . Lastly Hypocrisie : If there be a Mote in the Eye , there is a Beam in the Heart ; if there be a Beam in the Eye , there is a Stack of Mischief in the Heart : We look one way , and row another way ; blow hot and cold with the same Mouth , and have our Hearts more double than our breath : We flatter for advantage , and we slander for advantage ; we serve God for advantage , and if need be , we serve the Devil for advantage . Then since we have all made shipwrack of Baptismal Grace by sin , since all without exception do stand in need of a second Plank to save them from drowning , it remains that we make choice of one of the two presented to us in my Text , Dissimulation , or Conversion ; Covering , or Confessing : That 's the next part : He that covereth his sins shall not prosper : but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy . There are three good covers of sin in holy Scripture , 1. Charity , 2. Conversion , 3. Pardon : The two first are mens covers , the third is Gods cover . 1. Charity , Prov. 10. 12. Hatred stirreth up strife , but love covereth all sins , and 1. Pet. 4. 8. Charity shall cover the multitude of sins ; Charity thinketh no evil , Charity suspecteth no hurt , Charity interprets all things in the best sense ; Charity doth not aggravate or exaggerate the faults of men , but seeks to extenuate them , imputing them to a good Intention , or to Ignorance , or to Surprize , or to the violence of Temptation : Charity delights not in carrying about fardles of Tales and Calumnies , as Pedlars do their Packs , from House to House , nor to divulge the Faults of Men , as cursed Cham did the Nakedness of his Father ; but to conceal them , and to suppress them , as Joseph was not willing to make Mary a publique example : Charity is not vindictive , to write Injuries in Marble , but buries them in oblivion . He that wants this cover , is an unclean Vessel ; He that hath not this wedding Garment , is sure to be cast into outer darkness ; but he that hath it is blessed ; he shall prosper : Judge not , and you shall not be judged . The second good Cover is Conversion , Jam. 5. 20. He that converteth a sinner , shall save a soul , and hide a multitude of sins . Just as he converts a Sinner , and saves a Soul , so he hides sins ; not primitively , but derivatively ; not principally , but subordinately ; not sovereignly , but ministerially . He converts morally , but Grace , Physically ; he by perswading , but Grace by renewing . Now Conversion being an infallible way to Remission , he that helps to convert , helps to cover sin ; that 's one way . 2. He that converts a man helps to amend him , and after amendment the shame of former sins is covered ; the memory of them is rather a Badge of Honour , than a note of Ignominy ; like the scar of a Souldiers wound , after it is healed . Thus he hides the sins of his Convert . But he hides his own sin likewise , that is , dispositively he renders himself more capable of Gods pardon . Blessed are the merciful , for they shall finde mercy : But those busie Bodies , whose Affections are stronger than their Judgements , who labour with tooth and nail to spread abroad their erroneous Dreams , must expect no share in this Blessing : VVo be to you Scribes and Pharisees , hypocrites : for you compass sea and and land to make a Proselyte , and make him two-fold more a child of Hell , than your selves . The third kinde of covering of sin is the forgiving of it . Psal. 85. 2. Thou hast forgiven their iniquity , and covered all their sins : that is , covered them from the eye of thy Justice ; as a Wound is covered with a Plaister , to cure it ; as a dead Body is covered in the Grave , to avoid the stench of it ; as the Doors of the Israelites were covered with the Blood of the Paschal Lamb , to cause the destroying Angel to pass by them . In the same regard elsewhere the Remission of sins is called a forgetting of them , a casting of them behinde the back , a burying them in the bottom of the sea : of all Covers , this is the best , Psal. 32. 1. Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven , and whose sin is covered . But these are not the Covers intended in my Text , the first of which is down-right Denial , as Gehezi thought to have out-faced his Master , and Ananias and Sapphira , St. Peter . Prov. 30. The harlot eateth and wipeth her mouth , and saith , What have I done ? Men are too apt to forget the all-seeing Eye of GOD ; like Woodcocks , which thrust their Heads in a Bush , and think no man sees them , because they see no man. Let the leprosie of Gehezi , let the sudden death of Ananias & Sapphira warn us to take heed how we seek to cover our faults with lyes ; well may it advantage a man a little for the present , as a lye got St. Peter his admission into the high Priests hall , but it hath ever a foul ending , and within a while forfeits the whole stock of a mans credit and reputation : Therefore the Scripture saith , That a lying Tongue is but for a moment ; and to God it is a very abomination , Prov. 12. 22. Then tell the Truth , and shame the Devil : When a Fault is ingenuously discovered , the Amends is half made . The second Cover is mincing or extenuating of our sins , as the Sluggard , Yet a little sleep , a little slumber , and Jonathan did but taste a little Honey upon his Rods end : But a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump , a few dead flies cause the oyntment of the Apothecarie to stink , Eccl. 11. He that clippeth a little of the Kings Coyn , is guilty of Treason ; every little Sand hath his weight ; and it is all one whether a man be pressed to death with an heap of Sand , or a Mass of Lead , whether a Ship be overwhelmed with one great wave , or drowned with many small Leaks . More perish by the daily habitual presumptuous practice of lesser sins , than by one foul act of some greater sin . We detest that horrid Paradox , That all sins are equal ; That he is as great a Transgressor that kills a Cock-Chicken without a cause , as he that murthers a Prince . But he that makes light of any sin , when he comes to make up his account with God , destroys himself ; yet this is often our Condition : A mote in our neighbours eye , shews greater than a beam in our own . The third Cover is that of Excuses . Saul pleads for a Sacrifice to the Lord , to excuse his own Disobedience . Gehezi pleads the necessity of the Sons of the Prophets for his Bribery , Judas alleageth the poor to palliate his Covetousness . When the King of heaven invites Men to his great Supper , one hath married a Wife , another purchased a Farm , the third must go to prove some Oxen ; many frame Excuses to themselves with as much ease as the Spider weaves her Webs . Every Sin hath its Cloak , Malice and Revenge pretends zeal of Justice ; Willful Murther , I mean in our Duellists , which cries to Heaven for Revenge , muffles it self up in the Cloak of Honour and Reputation . These Fig-tree Leaves may serve to cover our Sins well enough , whilst it is Vacation ; but take heed of the Term-time when it comes : When Conscience begins to spit Fire and Brimstone in our Face , when the Devil pulls off the Hood wherewith he hath blinded us ; then all these painted Excuses vanish away , we hear nothing but Hues and Cries , we see nothing but evident Destruction . The fourth Cover is , Transferring of our sins upon others ; as Adam upon the Woman , the Israelites upon their Fathers . The Fathers have eaten sowre grapes , and the Childrens teeth are set on edge ; as if the multitude of Delinquents did lessen the Offence ; nay rather , the more the Transgressors , the nearer are the Judgements of God. Others accuse the Times , and evil Company of their Faults . How should one stick say it remained unscorch'd in the midst of a flaming Bundle ? 'T is true , As fire begets fire , so doth sin ; evil manners corrupt good , though the operation be not always present : Poyson must have a time of working : The more our familiarity grows with sin , the less the deformity thereof appears : After the Musick is ended , the Tune still remains in our Ears . He that makes Conscience of his Ways , must avoid evil Company as he would do Poyson , or an house infected with the Plague ; and write , Lord have mercy upon us on the one Door , as well as on the other . Others make Satan their Cover , and cast their Sins upon his Score . The Devil may sollicit us , but he cannot necessitate us : He could not thrust the Apple by force down Eves Throat , nor push Christ by violence down from the Pinnacle : He hath a sleight of perswading , not a power of compelling : He blows the Coals , but the Fire is our own : He bites , but it is those which thrust themselves into his Jaws : Resist the Devil , and he will fly from you . Lastly , Some make GOD himself the Cover for their Sins ; of all Covers this is the worst : So Adam , The Woman which THOU gavest me . Such are they which make all things in the World , even Sin it self , to come to pass fatally , inevitably , by virtue of a necessitating Decree of GOD. Such are they which make their Redeemer their Pack-Horse ( be it spoken with Reverence ) to bear their presumptuous Sins : as if he had shed his precious Blood to purchase our Liberty , that we might turn Libertines : Deceive not your selves ; to whom Christ is made Redemption ; to them he is made Righteousness and Sanctification . This is the fourth Cover , the Transferring of our Sins upon Others . The fifth Cover is Hypocrisie . This was Absalom's Cloak for his Rebellion : Such Covers were Cain's Sacrifice , Esau's Tears , Jezebel's Fast , the Pharisees Alms , the Harlots Vow , the Traytors Kiss . The World is full of such Juglers and Mountebanks in Religion , of all Sects , who cry , Great is Diana ; and magnifie the Image that fell down from Jupiter ; meaning nothing but their Profit : Who cry aloud , Lord , Lord ; and mutter to themselves , Da mihi fallere , da jus●um sanctumque videri : Give me grace to cheat and to delude the Eyes of the World : painted Sepulchres , very Glow-Worms , which have a counterte it Light , without any Heat ; Pictures with double Prospectives , that to the Light , presents an Angel , the other from the Light , a Devil : We have pulled down other Pictures to set these up in our Churches . Nothing is more odious unto God , than to make a stalking-Horse of Religion : Christ throws out seve● woes against Hypocrites : Other Sinners may be converted , the Hypocrite hardly , because he hath converted Conversion it self into sin . Such as devour Widdows houses under a colour of long prayers , shall receive the greater damnation . The sixth and last Cover is Impudence to defend our Sins , and glory in them , which is used by none but those who have already gotten one Foot within the Gates of Hell. Periisse puto cui pudor periit : Past Shame , past Grace . St. Austin bewails his Youth , led in the Streets of Babylon , where when he heard his Companions boasting of their lewdness , he was forced to feign those things he never did , least he should appear so much more vile , by how much he was more innocent . That which was his Detestation , is now the onely Garb for a Gallant : Such a Gallant was Cham , that gloried in the Nakedness of his own Father , whilst his more modest Brethren covered it with their Faces backward : Such another Gallant was Caligula , who said , He liked nothing better in his own Disposition than his Impudence : A Voice fitter for a Hangman than an Emperour . It was the height of Israel's sin , That she had a Whores Forehead , and refused to be ashamed : Shamefastness is the praise of Nature , the Harbinger of Grace , the Ensign of Honesty , the Seat of Virtue , the Witness of Innocencie . But glorying in sin is the next Link to Damnation . They that use such vain Covers as these , shall one day wish for another cover , even the Mountains to fall upon them , and the Hills to cover them from the presence of the Lamb. So unprosperous is this course of concealing : That 's the next part , Shall not prosper . First , He shall not prosper in his sin ; he shall not finde that Happiness and Content in it which he expects . Amon was sick of love until he enjoyed Thamar , that moment passed , his Love was dogged with Hatred and Repentance . What a deal of conveniencie and hearts ease did Ahab promise to himself in Naboth's Vineyard ; and the very first time he goes to take possession of it , he meets there with the Tidings of the utter ruine of Himself and Family . Herod violated all Laws of God and Man , burthened his Conscience , waded through a Sea of Blood , all to settle the Kingdom upon his Son ; and he proves an Unthrift ; offers half of it to a wanton Minion for a Dance . So Goods ill gotten , are like a Coal of Fire in a thatch'd House . Remember Herod . Before Judas had fingered that beggerly sum of thirty pieces of Silver , his Desires were upon the Rack ; he forgot his Duty to God , his Fidelity to his Master , his care of his own soul. But when he once had it , he could not indure to look upon it , as being the cause of his bane ; he casts it away as an infectious Rag ; he disgorgeth it in the very Temple : his detestation of that poysonous Morsel , was greater than his reverence to that Holy Place . When Pharaoh's lean Kine had devoured the fat , they were still no better favoured themselves . Let us all but look back to our former Excesses , and unlawful Pleasures , and see if we may not sighing say with the Apostle , What profit had we of those things whereof we are now ashamed ? So he shall not prosper in his sin . Secondly , He shall not prosper in his Affairs ; not in his temporal Undertakings , Jer. 22. 30. Write this man childless , a man that shall not prosper in his days . Israel could not prosper so long as the accursed thing remained hidden in Achan's Tent. The eleven Tribes prospered not against Benjamin , until they had humbled themselves by fasting . Jonas prospered not in a Ship until he had reconcile himself to God ; then he found safety in the Belly of a Whale . Neither shall he thrive or prosper in spiritual Graces : No Man can serve both GOD and Belial : These hidden Sins do choak the Seed of the Word ; they hinder the Efficacie of our Prayers , they make the blessed Sacrament to become poyson , and our Fasts and Humiliations , to be meer Mockeries . The Grace of God will not suffer Mates , to be chamber-fellows , and fellow-commoners with her in the same Heart . To ask for which of our sins things have succeeded unprosperously with us , were to seek a man in Athens at noon day , with a Candle and a Lanthorn . The Lord sanctifie our sufferings to us ; until then , we cannot prosper in our Affai●s . Thirdly , He shall not prosper in his concealment . God will bring it to light , 2 Sam. 12. 2. Thou didst it secretly , but I will do this thing before all Israel , and before the S●n : — For nothing is covered , which shall not be revealed , Luk. 12. 2. Almost incredible are the ways which God useth for the Discovery of crying Sins ; especially of Murther . Whilst the Earth is covered with Snow , the Ditches , and Dunghills , and Deformities thereof are hid ; but by the melting of the Snow they are discovered : So the vi●lanous Projects of Dissemblers are so covered over with a shew of Snow-white Innocence and Candor , that they are able like Zeuxis his Counterfeit Grapes to deceive a piercing Eye : But when time shall bring Truth to light , their horrid ugliness will appear to the Eye of the World : we may this day observe the footsteps of God's justice , how he brings the same Troubles home to their Doors who have been underhand the Contrivers and Fomenters of them among their Neighbours : And now Bellona begins to shake her bloody Whip among them , as if God should say , Thou didst it secretly , but I will do this thing before all Europe , and before the Sun. Just art thou , O Lord , and right are thy judgements . So he shall not prosper in his concealment . Fourthly , He shall not prosper in obtaining pardon for his sin ; and then all his other Advantages are too much to his cost : What shall it profit a man to gain the whole world , and lose his own Soul. A damned spirit in Hell may as soon hope for forgiveness at the Hands of God , as that person who hides and cherisheth his sins privately in his Heart ; this is to make God Confederate with us in our wickedness and dissimulation : 'T is in vain to skin over a sore , whilst dead flesh remains within ; the Weapon must first be pull'd out , before the Wound can be cured : The Medicines of salvation profit not a wounded Soul , until the firy darts of Satan be drawn out by Repentance . So he shall not prosper in his Recovery . Lastly , These Words , He Shall not prosper , are a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and signifie as much as he shall suffer , he shall smart for it . 1. He shall suffer in his Conscience , those Coeca vulnera , those blinde blows which no man knows but he , which feels worse than all the Plagues of Egypt , and Botches of Job . This made Cain a Runnagate upon the face of the Earth . 2. The Judgements of God shall pursue him both in this Life , and the Life to come . Herod did not only not prosper in his aim , to entail the Crown to his Posterity , but the day came that paid for all , such a conglomeration of unmeasurable Torments , as they are described by Josephus , did hardly ever meet together in one man , and which is worse , these were but the fore-runners of greater : Judas did not onely miss his contentment in the thirty pieces of Silver , but he got thirty Curses ; you may finde them Psal. 109. The Money perished , but the Curses stuck by him until they brought him to an halter . Envie not a Murtherer that braves it upon the stage for the first or second Act of a Tragedy , nor an Oxe , that is fatting for the slaughter , nor a Thief that is riding in state to his Execution : Have patience and expect the Catastrophe , Eccles. 8. Though a sinner doth evil an hundred times , and the Lord still prolongeth his days , yet I know it will be well with them that fear the Lord ; but it shall not be well with the wicked . Thus every way he shall not prosper . And so I leave him lurking under a Net , treasuring up to himself wrath against the day of wrath , to come to the true Convert in the next Words . But he that confesseth and forsaketh them , shall have mercie . Confession , with its Requisites , Contrition and Amendment of Life , which is here called forsaking , do make up a compleat Repentance . Which some Fathers style a second Table after shipwrack , others a Baptism of pains and tears : yea , some of them doubted not to say , That Confession did loose the bands of sin , and extinguish the Fire of Hell ; that is , not by way of Merit , but by way of Impetration ; not by paying , but by pacifying the wrath of God , and so averting his Judgements . No , those blessed Saints did never dream that the Covenant of Grace , whereunto we are admitted by Baptism , was evacuated by a Lapse into sin ; or that any new & different Covenant was established by Repentance , grounded partly upon the Merits of Christ , and partly upon our selves . Let Confession and Repentance have their due , but let them not thrust Christ out of the Chair , from whose Grace they flow , from whose Acceptation they have their Efficacy . Thrice happy are they which use this Plank aright , to bring them through the raging Billows of this sinful world , to the Haven of eternal Bliss . Confession is as ancient as our first Parents , whom God himself did call to the performance of this duty . It was practised among the Israelites , by Divine Precept , Num. 5. 7. By those Jews that repaired to the Baptism of John , Matth. 3. By those Ephesian Converts , Acts 19. prescribed by St. James , Jam. 5. Confess one to another , and pray one for another . Endowed with such ample privileges , as in the first Epistle of St. John , If we confess our sins , he is faithfull and just to forgive us our sins , and cleanse us from all unrighteousness . And here in my Text , He that covereth his sins shall not prosper , but he that confesseth and forsaketh them , shall have mercy . There is no better physick for a full stomach than a vomit ; nor for a soul replete with sin , than Confession . Bodily sores do oftentimes compell a man to put off natural shamefac'dness , and to expose his less honourable parts to the view of the Chirurgion . Ought not every one to be as solicitous for his soul ? We offend God three ways ; by the imaginations of our hearts ; by the words of our mouths ; by the actions of our lives . If we intend to please God , we must take a clean contrary course ; for evil thoughts of the heart , bring contrition of the heart ; for corrupt speaches of the mouth , bring Confession of the mouth ; for wicked actions of our life , bring fruits worthy amendment of life . Buy this means we bring glory to God , and shame to our selves ; and prevent that great confusion of face , which otherwise must fall upon us at the day of Judgement , before God and Angels and Men. A contrite sinner stands not upon terms of reputation with God , or with his Church . Why should we be more affraid to confess , than we were to offend ? to make those the Witnesses of o●● Tears , who have been the Witnesses of our Faults to take away the Scandal that we our selves have g●ven ? Let the World take notice of our Sin , so may likewise take notice of our Repentance . 〈◊〉 great Sickness often ushers in Health , and a bet●●● Habitude of the Body ; a broken Bone , when it is w●●● knit , grows the stronger : So the first shall be l●●● and the last shall be first . Indeed Innocence ( if t●● Herb of Grace were to be found ) is better than C●●fession : but there is more joy in heaven over one sin●●● that repenteth , than ninety nine just Persons that need●● repentance , among the Holy Angels : Da Pater 〈◊〉 per eis gaudere de nobis , &c. Grant , O Father , t●●● they may always rejoyce over us , that Thou ma●● always be glorified by them for us , that we and th●● together may praise thy Holy Name , O Thou t●●● art the Creator of Men and Angels . No man can doubt but the Romanists have gro●● abused Confession , by tricking it up in the Robes ●● a Sacrament ; by obtruding a particular and plen●● enumeration of all sins , to Man , as absolutely ne●●●sary to Salvation by Divine Institution , by mak●●● it with their commutations , a Remedy rather for Confessors Purse , than the Confitents Soul , by in●●●sing ludibrious Penances : As Chaucer observed , knew how to impose an easie Panance , where he l●●ed for a good Pittance , by making it a Pick-Loc● know the secrets of States and Families , Scire 〈◊〉 secreta domus atque unde timeri , by absolving b●● ●hey enjoyn Ecclesiastical Satisfaction , by reducing to a customary Formality ; as if it were but the ●oncluding of an Old Score to begin a New. So on ●he other side it cannot be denied that our Protestant Confessions are for the most part too General ; We ●onfess we are Sinners , and that 's all , which signifies nothing : And a little too presumptuous : They that dare not trust their own Judgement about their Estates , without the opinion of a Lawyer , nor about ●heir Bodies , without the advise of a Physician , are wise enough for their Souls , without any other Dire●tion : And a little too careless , as if we were telling Story of a third Person that concern'd not us : We ●onfess light Errors willingly , which neither intrench ●pon our Credit , nor threaten us with punishment ; ●ut greater Crimes , where the discovery brings with fear of ignominy and disgrace , or suffering for them , ●e conceal and cover with as much art as may be . ●astly , Even whilst we are confessing , we have too ●ften a minde to return with the dog to his vomit , and ●ith the sow to her wallowing in the mire ; What 〈◊〉 this but a plain mocking of GOD ? Far from ●●y Hopes of Mercy : For though Covering alone be ●sufficient Cause of Punishment , He that covereth ●●s sins shall not prosper : yet Confession alone , with●●t Forsaking , is not a sufficient Cause of Mercy ; But 〈◊〉 that confesseth and forsaketh , shall have mercie . Not ●●rbears them in natural , or onely by an outward ab●●inence , but forsaketh them as a man would cast a ●nake out of his Bosome , with detestation . An outward abstinence is not the true change of a Christian : like a Dog that is muzzel'd , or a Thief that is manacled , which still retain their former dispositions : When the unclean spirit returns to his old habitation , and finds it swept and garnished , not throughly , but superficially cleansed by an outward Reformation , without an inward Renovation , he brings with him seven other spirits , and the latter end of that man is worse than the beginning . He that absteins from an old sin not for Conscience towards God , but for fear of shame or punishment , is like that Wolf whereof the Father speaks , which came unto the Sheepfold , to kill and to devour , the Shepherd waking , the Dogs barking scared him away indeed , but altered not his wolvish nature : Lupus venit fremens , Lupus redit tremens ; Lupus est & fremens & tremens . So forsakes them , not forbears them . Again , Forsakes them , not conceals them : Penetration of Bodies , is a Monster in Philosophy : an Heart inwardly replete with secret sins , hath no room for Grace : A good Lesson , or a good Motion to it , is like a Spark of Fire falling into a Vessel of Water , presently extinguished ; or like good Seed falling among Thorns , soon choak'd . What fellowship hath Light with Darkness , or CHRIST with Belial ? In natural Transelementation , there must be some affinity between the Bodies , as Fire and Air , not Fire and Water ; for the too great contrariety : but in spiritual Conversion , no disparity can hinder the change : The greatest sins do often produce the most signal conversions , as it was in Saul , changed in the height of his fury from a Persecutor to an Apostle , from a Wolf to a Shepheard , from a Pyrat to a Governour . We cannot live as Amphibians in two such contrary Elements , as a resolved course of sin and of Godliness ; such half Converts , who have nothing but a few idle yawning desires , can expect nothing at the hands of God , but to be spewed out of his mouth for their luke-warmness ; the mouth of Hell is full of such vain Wishes and Wishers , which use no serious means to gain them liberty , but onely thrust their heads out of the Grate , to look about them . A man may break all the Commandments of God , and be guilty of none , if it be against his resolution , if he be heartily sorry for it : It is not so much Sin , as Impenitence , for which men are damn'd : And on the other side , he that breaks but one Commandment habitually , and resolvedly , is guilty of all . I fear this is many of our Conditions , we rather cover our sins , or forbear them , than forsake them ; we desire rather to make a Truce with God , than a Peace ; We do with our sins , as Servants do with their fires when they go to Bed , put them not out , but rake them up ; so when we come to reckon with Conscience , and to make up our Accompts with God , we do not desire to take an everlasting farewell of our sins , ab hoc momento in Aeternum , as St. Austin saith , but onely a Coverfen , to hide them in an heap of Devotions , for the present , whilst we are doing some superficial Duties to God , or whilst the blessed Sacrament doth strike a kind of Reverence into our hearts , with a purpose to re-assume them upon the first opportunity ; as the Serpent doth her poyson , which she had left behinde her in her Den. Can any man think that such a fained show of forsaking our sins , can be acceptable to God ? O no! it is too hollow-hearted . That conversion which findes mercy , must be serious and sincere : Gods forgiveness and our forsaking , go still hand in hand together : Forgive us our trespasses , there 's the one ; And lead us not into temptation , there 's the other : Turn thy face from my sins , O Lord , there 's the former ; And make me a clean heart , there 's the latter : Lord have mercie upon us , there 's forgiveness ; And incline our hearts to keep thy Law , there 's forsaking : That brings me to the last Part , Shall have mercy . One might ask , Which of all gods Mercies ? The Air we breathe , the Light we behold , the Ground we tread upon , the Meat we eat , whatsoever we are , or have , or hope for , it is his mercie : By it we live , and move , and have our being : Thou hast crowned me with thy mercie , saith David : it is a Metaphor taken from a Garland , which is composed of many and different Flowers . Gods mercie was the onely motive to our Redemption ; his merciful Grace preventing us and assisting us , is the onely means to apply this Redemption ; the consideration of this mercie is that which incourageth us to Repentance : As Christ prayed Father forgive them ; the poor Thief grew bold , Lord remember me . Mercie is the end of our Repentance , that we may finde forgiveness : Mercie is our supporter in all our sorrows for sin , that we roar not out with Cain , My sin is greater than that it can be forgiven ; nor betake our selves desperately , with Judas , to an halter . Mercie is our onely plea , when we do repent ; we cannot say we have done such and such good offices for the time past , we are too unprofitable Servants , we dare not promise of our selves , to be more serviceable for the time to come , we are too desultory creatures : Lord forsake not us , least we forsake Thee . Mercy is the object of our hopes , the total sum of our desires ; both Grace and Glory do depend upon Mercy . So mercie is the beginning , the middle , the end of our happiness . But St. John will tell us what mercy this is ; If we confess our sins , he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins : This Mercy then is forgiveness of sin . That which is called Mercy here , is called Justice there : It is Mercie to make a gracious Promise , bus it is Justice to keep it . Without this Mercy of Forgiveness , all the other Mercies of God are no Mercies , but Judgements : In this Mercy true blessedness doth consist , Blessed is the man whose iniquities are forgiven : what confort can a person sure to be condemned have , without hope of a pardon ? The best musick in the world , is , Son , thy sins are forgiven thee , when GOD shall stretch forth the Golden Scepter of Mercy , that is , to all those who for his love do mortisie their earthly members , and forsake their own Lusts : For he that hideth his sins shall not prosper , but he that confesseth and for saketh them , shall have mercie . Now among all the means ordained by God for the obtaining this saving mercy mentioned in my Text , after Baptismal Grace , there is none more efficacious than the blessed Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ , the very conduit-Pipe of Grace to all worthy Communicants , the Manna of Life and immortality , the precious Antidote against the sting and infection of the infernal Serpent , that inestimable Love-token which Christ at his departure left to his Church , to keep in remembrance of him ; the true pool of Bethesda , wherein we may be cured of all our infirmities . Preparation of our selves is necessary before the performance of all holy Duties , but especially before the holy Sacrament . We ought to repair to the participation of this with as great care and anxiety , as if we were immediately to depart out of the world . It was death for an uncircumcised person to eat of the Paschal Lamb ; we must circumcise our eyes , our ears , our hands and our hearts ; and take heed how we come to this Wedding Feast , without the Wedding Garment . O Lord , Be merciful to all those who prepare their whole hearts to seek Thee , though they be not purged according to the Purification of the Sanctuary . FINIS .