<D:lofet~~~a~er, · . 2. God fees in fecre.t, The~·efore he hath feen th~ 1 cret fi1s, and fin~ in 1ecret : Thy clofe and cl~fet wick ednefs is naked and open before the piercing eyes of al1-feeingG~q; Th~refore fhoulq thy Clo1et-tearsan Prayers tefiifie thyfo~nd an~ faving repentance. For thi~ 'is a rule in praCtical divinity, that , forrow for fin rnuA: bear fome propotion to the nature and circum.. fhinces of rqe fin, both as to degree, .and circumftance~ . of time _and place. ,Ya~affih humbled himfe_lf great– Jy for hts gre~tabomtnapons. So for place and mapner, them that fin ·openly muq be r~buked before alJ, and .. ~ tefiifie their repentance before the 1 Ttm. $~ 10 • Church. · So, if ·the fin b~ priva~e or lefs known,the rule iq Mat.I8.r ,.,I6o is 'to beobferved· ~or private admonitionand confeffion: And confequent· ly fecret !ins rnuft be fecr~tly mourned for. When thy fins are known to none b~t to God and thine own con- , fcience, · thou ·art riqt bound to -~ifc~ver them t~ any a– . ther but to God, in an hearty fecr~t repentance, 'except - in fome fe~ cafes.Here then,cori1es in iecret prayer and godly forrow: W~ll then, there's non~ of us withO,~t our fecr~x firi's, and God 1ees theJ!l alJ though never fo privilycorqmitted ; we ~ay hide fin from men; we cannot hide it from the Lord: he fets our fecret fins in the ~ighr of his ~~unten~nce, P[al.9o.8. His eyes are open ' · upon all the wayes of man, and who Job. j4-· 2 r, 2 2 . knows all the errors of his life ? ~er. 3 2 • I 9· ' Therefore mufr we get alone and ro. 5 • 10 " ehumerate all the fins 've ·know of, ~nd defire God to ~·ew us what wedo... not know, ~nd with holy Da11id, breath o~1t that devout Petition,Pfal. 19. 12. Clea~{e thou mefromfecr~t ftiults. · , 4· God (ees infecret,Therefore fhou dofl: pot lofe thy labour:, though men know not where thou art,or what · thou art a doing.,yet thy God takesnotice of thee;t~oli ·: doft not th,y ~ood works in~og1_1,ito; .though thy gro~ns · · · · · ·· ,are
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