374 tL.trcs JLcafe. multitude of your fins : lhou1d _I tell you , that you brought fin enough with you to l:lahui you, when you firft came mto thts world; lhould.J tell you that you have every one committed thoufands, and thoufand of thoufands .ofactual fins, and yet any one bf thofc thoufands isc)lough to fend you !'ackmg to hell: Yo .. would think there lhang points: but if God_be true'· there ts no fin of man, either original or actual, either of omiflion br conimtflion, etther of the body, or of the foul, which without repentance will.not produce~eternal death, and therefore in God~.fear take notice. of your fins, fcs.J1efo·rc .you the uqmmandments of God, and thereto comparing your life, •you may find ou~f~ch a·ta,tnloguc of your !ins,ihat wtll throughly convince you of your tiamnable eHate; ~' , , , you ma¥ ask, to wbat.en.d lhottld we be fo careful to fi~td out our fins? I anf;t•er, to a very good end, both m rcfpeCl of the ) Unregenerate, · . l Regenerate. ' . Firll:, in refpect of the unregenerate : this is the firltltcp of repentance, this is one of thofe paces that will lead you towards heaven. You may be furc, without repen– tance, no heaven; without COJlfeflion 3 no repentance; and without finding out fin,there c"n be no confcflion. lt were good therefore, and a fingular means to bring you out of corruption into Chrifiianity, and out ofthe lhtc of nature into the Kingdome of grace that you would every one oi ycu .\la\le a Catalogue of your fins. Ifyou will not> I ea~ tell you who will; there is an adverfary called S4tan (the adverfary of mankind) that ftands at your back, nnd (I may f•y figuratively) with a fcroll in his hands, wherein he wri,tes down your fins: not a day pa!li:th on, but he can eafily tell how many fins you havhommitted all day. Lord, that n>cn would think on't! Arc you about any !in ?-at that very time Satan is regillring the aCt, aM time, and place, and every circumftance : now wo, wo to man, that lets Satan do his work for him! Would you do this your felf, would you bot fludy .{Qr a Catalogue of your own fins, that fo you might confelfe them toGod, and repent you"thcreof, this woulq be a dalh in the Devils book, fo that he could not have \~he)"eof to accufc you ; but if fl:ill you go on fecurely in !in, and never go about to call ypur fi>iS toJemembcrance, a day will come (wo'worth the day!) when that roaring Lion lhall fct all your fins and tranfgrcffions in order before you: then lhall you read (pcrf9rcc).,youdins original and actJJal, ofomiflion and commiflion, of your bodies and fouls. And I muft tell YC)U , herein is a great policy of Satan, he lets you alone in your fecurity a~vlltl~; ·jf you will not trouble him, he will not trouble vou;if you will not tell your own fins,he"lther will he te!l you ofthem;but he will change his note ( at furthefl:) when your few eyi/ dayes finilh: It js the very cafe, as many creditours deal with th.eir debtors, while tliey have any doings as they f~y, and arc in trading, they will let them alone, in policy they will fay nothing; but if orice do~vn the winde; in ficknefs, poverty, difgrace, or the like, then comes Serjcant after Serjeant, :lrrcfl: upon arre.ft, a(lion upon a(lion: juft thus is ·fatans dealing with the unreg·ene- . rat~.man ; if you will but fin, and never call your felves ro a reckoning, in policy he will fay nothing; but when the fcore is full, and death comes to arrefl: you, then he will bringouthis black book of all your !inscommitted·allyourdayu.- 0, I tremblet!> fpeak of it! then lhall your fins fall as foul bn your fouls, as ravens on the fallen fbeep, and keep you dow1.1 for ever in the dufigeon ofdefpair. · . . Secondly., in refpe(t of the regenerate; drat you have ready by you (or by heart) a Catalogue of your fins, is ne:cffary in many refpcc.'ts. , ., ·• Firlt , to humble you: for no fooner lh_all the poor foul look on all the fins hehar).t commit(ed, both before and after his regeneration, but confefling thC!Il in Prayer, it y;.ill pull down his·heart, and make thcwounc! of his rel)torfc to bleed afreflt, as-beforeJ an<;! therefore;this catalog"e is moft ncceffary. in dayes of.humiliation. l . Secondly, it is neccffary to·prepare you for the receiving of the Sacra~tcnt ; fori~· 9e~d, I would have,none to prefume to tafl:e on that Supper, but firft to vte\v over aU his ijns , and to confeffe the)ll in Prayer to his heavenly Father: thqc-be -many that•tn C::onfeilionloq_k on their.fins, as they do on the fl:ars in_a dark ~loudy rilght; they can fee none-,bllt the great ones , of the firfl: or fecond magnttude , tt may be here on~ and there one; ~ut if they wcre.t.ruly enlightped, and informed aright '. they mi_ght rather ltf:~'!ld- : tlretr fin~ • as thofe mnumerablc fiars that appqr )n a {~tr fro~y '!Yillrers n_ight ; they ar~ m,any , anq m_any ; and thc~efore take a lJttlc patns 1 in compofing your catalogue , that fo you may confelfe ah ( at !call for th~ kmd~)
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