For the connection, many copies have oun 'confess your
faults therefore,' as inferring this direction from what was said before.
However it be, there is a connection between the verses, for therefore would he
have the special fault acknowledged, that they might the more effectually pray
one for another. From whence note:-
Obs. That there is a connection
between pardon and confession. The apostle saith 'his sins shall be forgiven
him;' and then 'confess therefore your faults.' See the like in other places:
Prov. xxviii. 13, 'He that confesseth and forsaketh his sins, shall find
mercy;' so 1 John i. 9, 'If we confess.' &c. This is the ready way to
pardon, it is the best way to clear the process of heaven; that which is
condemned in one court, is pardoned in others. God hath made a law against sin,
and the law must hare satisfaction; sin must be judged in the court of heaven
or in the court of conscience, by God or us. In confession the divine judgment
is anticipated, 1 Cor. xi. 31, 32; it is the best way to honour mercy. When
sins abound in our feeling, mercy is the more glorious. God will have pardon
fetched out in such a way in which there is no merit; by confession justice may
be glorified, but not satisfied. We cannot make God satisfaction, and therefore
he requireth acknowledgment: 'He keepeth not his anger for ever; only
acknowledge thine iniquity,' Jer. iii. 13. It is the most rational way to
settle our comfort; griefs expressed are best eased and mitigated; all passions
are allayed by vent and utterance. David roared when he kept silence, but 'I
said, I will confess, and thou forgavest,' Ps. xxxii. 5. Besides, it is the
best way to bring the soul into a dislike of sin. Confession is an act of
mortification, it is as it were the vomit of the soul; it breedeth a dislike of
the sweetest morsels when they are cast up in loathsome ejections; sin is sweet
in commission, but bitter in the remembrance. God's children find that their
hatred is never more keen and exasperated against sin than in confessing. Well,
then, come and open your case to God without guile of spirit, and then you may
sue out your pardon. David maketh it an argument of his confidence: 'Blot out
my offences, for I acknowledge my transgression,' Ps. li. 3. Confession doth
not offer a bill of indictment to God's justice, but a sad complaint to God's
pity and compassion. Oh! set upon this duty; it is irksome to the flesh, but
salutary and healthy to the spirit. Guilt is shy of God's presence; the Lord is
dreadful to wounded consciences. Ay! but consider this is the only way to sue
out your pardon. Gracious souls would not have pardon but in God's way: Domine,
da prius poenitentiam, et postea indulgentiam - Lord, give me repentance, and
then give me pardon, saith Fulgentius. But you will say, We confess and find no
comfort. I answer - It is because you are not so ingenuous with God as you
should be; you do not come with a necessary clearness and openness of mind.
David saith none have the comfort of a pardon but those 'in whose spirit there
is no guile,' Ps. xxxii. 2. Usually there is some sin at the bottom, which the
soul is loath to cast up, and then God layeth on trouble; as David lay roaring
as long as he kept Satan's counsel. Moses had a privy sore which he would not
disclose. He pleadeth other things, insufficiency, want of elocution; but
carnal fear was the main: therefore God gently toucheth this privy sore: Exod.
iv. 19, 'Arise, - Moses, for the men that sought thy life in Egypt be dead.' He
had never pleaded this, but God knew what was the inward let. So it is with
Christians, some distemper is cockered in the soul; this guile is shaken off
with difficulty, but always kept with damage. So you shall see in the history
of Job; Job had complained that he did not know the reason of his hard usage;
one of his friends answereth him, Job. xxiii 9, to the end, that God speaketh
'several times, and men note it not;' therefore God layeth on trouble upon
trouble, and temptation upon temptation, and all for want of ingenuous and open
dealing with him, till at length we confess; and then that rare messenger, 'one
of a thousand,' cometh to seal up our comforts to us: for God will not open his
heart to us till we open our hearts to him: 'But if any say, I have sinned, and
it profited me not, then his life shall see light.' Usually thus it is, there
is some sin at the bottom, and therefore God continueth trouble; therefore it
is best to take David's course, Ps. cxix. 26, 'I declared my ways, and thou
heardest me.' He opened his whole estate to God, and then God gave him the
light and comfort of grace.
Confess your faults one to another,
exomologeisthe allèlois. - This clause hath been diversely applied. The
Papists make it the ground of auricular confession, but absurdly; for then the
priest must as well confess to the penitent person, as the penitent person to
the priest. For James speaketh of such a confession as is reciprocal, as the
words imply; therefore some of the more ingenuous Papists have disclaimed this
text. Others apply it to injuries; as the sick person must reconcile himself to
God that he may recover, so to his neighbour whom he hath wronged or offended.
But paraptoomata, faults, are of a larger signification than to be restrained
to injuries. Some understand it of those sins in which we have offended by
joint consent, as if a woman hath humbled herself to the lusts of another, she
must confess her sin to him, and consequently and reciprocally he must
acknowledge his sin to her, that they may by mutual consent quicken themselves
to repentance. But this interpretation and application of the words is too
restrained and narrow. I suppose the apostle speaketh of such sins as did most
wound the conscience in sickness as the special cause of it; and therefore
joineth this advice of confession with healing and prayer, this being a means
most conducible to quicken others to actions of spiritual relief, as the
application of apt counsels, and the putting up of fit prayers. Things spoken
at random have not usually such an efficacy and comfort in them. The note is: -
Obs. That there is a season of confessing our sins, not only to God,
but to man. I will not digress into controversy; I shall briefly show - (1.)
The evils and inconveniences of that confession which the Papists require; (2.)
The seasons wherein we must confess to man.
First, For auricular
confession, or that confession which the Papists require, I shall describe it
to you. The Papists call it the sacrament of penance, by which a man is bound,
at least once a year, to confess to a priest all the sins he hath committed
since he was last shriven, with all the circumstances of it, quis, quid, ubi,
quibus, auxiliis, &c., and from this law none are exempted, neither prince
nor king, no, not the Pope himself; in it they place a great deal of merit and
opinion. The truth is, this is the great artifice and engine by which they keep
the people in devotion to their interests, knowledge of secrets rendering them
the more feared. Now that which we disprove in it is - (1.) The absolute
necessity of it; confession to men being a thing only necessary in some cases;
in others confession to God may be enough. Necessity, indeed, is laid upon
that; 1 John i. 9. (2.) The requiring of such a precise and accurate
enumeration of their sins, with all their circumstances, under the pain of an
anathema, which, being impossible, maketh it one of those fortia dusbastakta,
those insupportable burdens which neither we nor our fathers were able to bear.
In short, this scrupulous enumeration is nothing else but a rack to the
conscience, invented and exercised without any reason, no man's memory being so
happy as to answer the requiry, Ps. xix. 12. (3.) Their making of it a part of
a sacrament of divine institution. The jure-divinity of it they plead from this
place, but wretchedly. One of the most modest of their own writers, Gregory do
Valentia, reckoneth up many Papists that say the ground of it only was
universal tradition, although indeed it was instituted twelve hundred years
after Christ, among other superstitions, by Innocent the Third. (4.) The manner
as it is used, and the consequences of it, make it justly odious. It is
tyrannical, dangerous to the security and peace of princes, betraying their
counsels, infamous and hazardous to all men. I know they talk of the seal of
confession; but let a man in Rome or Spain confess but an ill thought of the
court of Rome, or any just scruple of the vanities there professed, and by
bitter experience he will find how soon this seal is broken open, and the
secrets of confession divulged. Besides, it is profane, as appeareth by the
filthy and immodest questions enjoined to be put by the confessarius, mentioned
in Bucharadus, Sanchez, and others.
Secondly, We are not against all
confession, as the Papists slander us. Besides that to God, we hold many sorts
of confessions necessary before men; as: -
1. Some public. And so by
the church in ordinary or extraordinary humiliation: Lev. xvi. 21, 'The
congregation was to confess their sins over the head of the sacrifice.' So Neh.
ix. 3, 'One part of the day they read the law, the other part they confessed.'
Thus, by the church. So also to the church, and that either (1.) Before
entrance and admission, in which they did solemnly disclaim the impurities of
their former life, professing to walk suitably to their new engagement for time
to come: Mat. iii. 6, 'They were baptized of him, confessing their sins.' So
also the apostles, in receiving members into the church, required the
profession of faith and repentance, though there was not that scrupulous and
narrow prying into their hearts and consciences which some practise; as John
did not take a particular confession from every one of that multitude, it was
impossible. So Acts xix. 18, 'And many that believed confessed, and showed
their deeds;' that is, solemnly disavowed their former life and practice. Or
(2.) upon public scandals after admission, for of secret things the church
judgeth not; but those scandalous acts, being faults against the church, cannot
be remitted by the minister alone; the offence being public, so was the
confession and acknowledgment to be public, as the apostle saith of the
incestuous Corinthian, that 'his punishment was inflicted by many,' 2 Cor. ii.
6. And he biddeth Timothy 'Rebuke open sinners in the face of all,' 1 Tim. v.
20, which Aquinas referreth to ecclesiastical discipline. Now this was to be
done, partly for the sinner's sake, that he might be brought to the more shame
and conviction; and partly because of them without, that the community of the
faithful might not be represented as an ulcerous, filthy body, and the church
not be thought a receptacle of sin, but a school of holiness. And, therefore,
as Paul shaked off the viper, so these were to be cast out, and not received
again, but upon solemn acknowledgment. So Paul urgeth, 1 Cor. v. 6, 'A little
leaven leaveneth the whole lump;' and Heb. xii. 15, 'Lest many be defiled,'
&c. In which places he doth not mean so much the contagion of their ill
example, as the taint of reproach, and the guilt of the outward scandal, by
which the house and body of Christ was made infamous.
2. Private
confession to men. And so - (1.) To a wronged neighbour, which is called a
turning to him again after offence given, Luke xvii. 4, and prescribed by our
Saviour, Mat. v. 24, 'Leave thy gift before the altar, and be first reconciled
to thy brother.' God will accept no service or worship at our hands till we
have confessed the wrong done to others. So here, confess your faults one to
another, it may be referred to injuries. In contentions there are offences on
both sides, and every one will stiffly defend his own cause, &c. (2.) To
those to whom we have consented in sinning, as in adultery, theft, &c. We
must confess and pray for each other. Dives in hell would not have his brethren
come 'to that place of torment,' Luke xvi. 28. It is but a necessary charity to
invite them that have shared with us in sin to a fellowship in repentance. (3.)
To a godly minister or wise Christian under deep wounds of conscience. It is
but folly to hide our sores till they be incurable. When we have disburdened
ourselves into the bosom of a godly friend, conscience findeth a great deal of
ease. Certainly they are then more capable to give us advice, and can the
better apply the help of their counsel and prayers to our particular case, and
are thereby moved to the more pity and commiseration; as beggars, to move the
more, will not only represent their general want, but uncover their sores.
Verily it is a fault in Christians not to disclose themselves and be more open
with their spiritual friends, when they are not able to extricate themselves
out of their doubts and troubles. You may do it to any godly Christians, but
especially to ministers, who are solemnly intrusted with the power of the keys,
and may help you to apply the comforts of the word when you cannot yourselves.
(4.) When in some special cases God's glory is concerned; as when some eminent
judgment seizeth upon us because of a foregoing provocation, which provocation
is sufficiently evidenced to us in gripes of conscience, it is good to make it
known for God's glory. Thus David, when stung in conscience, and smitten with a
sudden conviction, said, 2 Sam. xii. 13, 'I confess I have sinned.' So when
Achan was marked by lot, Joshua adviseth him. Josh. vii. 19, 'My son, confess,
and give glory to God.' So when divine revenge pursueth us till we are brought
to some fearful end and punishment, it is good to be open in acknowledging our
sin, that God's justice may be the more visibly cleared; for hereby God
receiveth a great deal of glory, and men a wonderful confirmation and
experience of the care and justice of providence.
And pray for one
another. - From thence note, that it is the duty of Christians to relieve one
another by their prayers. You shall see John, in the close of his epistle,
giveth the same charge: 1 John v. 16, 'If any man see his brother sin a sin
which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for him that
sinneth not unto death;' that is, God shall pardon him, and by that means free
him from everlasting death. Because particulurs affect us more than general
considerations, let me tell you - (1.) You must pray for the whole community of
saints, every member of Christ's body; not only our familiars, but those with
whom we are not acquainted. So Eph. vi. 18, 'Make supplication for all saints.'
This is indeed the church's treasury, the common stock of supplications. Paul
prayeth for them that had never seen his face: Col. ii. 1, 2, 'God knoweth what
conflict I have for you, and for many that have not seen my face in the flesh.'
A Christian is a rich merchant, who hath his factors in divers countries, some
in all places of the world, that deal for him at the throne of grace; and by
this means the members of Christ's body have a communion one with another,
though at a distance. (2.) It is our duty to pray for those especially to whom
we are more nearly related; as Paul, Rom. ix. 3, for his own countrymen. So for
our kindred, that they may be converted, and be to us, as Onesimus to Philemon,
dear 'in the flesh, and in the Lord,' Philem. 16. So for the same particular
society and assembly of the faithful in which we are engaged. So the minister
for his people, and the people one for another: Eph. iii. 12, 'For this cause I
bow my knees,' &c. Certainly we do not improve this interest so much as we
should do. (3.) More especially yet for magistrates and officers of the church.
For magistrates: 1 Tim. ii. 1,2, 'For all in authority,' &c. This is the
best tribute you can pay them. So for ministers, the weightiness of their
employment calleth for this help from you. In praying for them you pray for
yourselves. If the cow hath a full dug, it is the benefit of the owner. With
what passionateness doth the apostle Paul call for the prayers of the people 1
Rom. xv. 30, 'For the Lord Christ's sake, for the love of the Spirit, strive
together with me in your prayers.' Oh! do not let us stand alone, and strive
alone, Vae soli. Single prayers are like the single hairs of Samson; but the
prayers of the congregation like the whole bush. Therefore you should, in
Tertullian's phrase, quasi manu facta, with a holy conspiracy besiege heaven,
and force out a blessing for your pastors. (4.) The weak must pray for the
strong, and the strong for the weak. There is none but should improve his
interest. When there is much work to do, you give your children their parts; as
those busy idolaters, Jer. vii. 18, 'The children gather wood, the fathers
kindle the fire, and the women knead the dough,' &c.; all bore a part in
the service. So in the family of Christ None can be exempted: 'The head cannot
say to the feet, I have no need of you,' &c., 1 Cor. xii. 21, 22. God
delighteth to oblige us to each other in the body of Christ, and therefore will
not bless you without the mutual mediation and intercession of one another's
prayers; for this is the true intercession of saints. And so, in a sense, the
living saints may be called mediators of intercession. But chiefly the strong,
and those that stand, are to pray for them that are fallen; for that is the
intent of this place. Oh! then, that we would regard this neglected duty. Not
to pray for others is uncharitableness; not to expect it from others is pride.
Do not stand alone; two, yea, many, are better than one. Joint striving
mutually for the good of each other maketh the work prosper. Especially,
brethren, pray for us, for us in the ministry. Our labours are great, our
corruptions are strong, our temptations and snares are many possibly the more
for your sakes; that our hearts may be entendered to you, and the fitter to
apply reproof, comfort, and counsel to your souls. Oh! pray that we may have
wisdom and faithfulness, and speak the word of the Lord boldly. So also pray
for one another. Some are in better temper to pray for others than they for
themselves; or it may be your prayers may be more acceptable. Job's friends
were good men, yet (as we noted before) the Lord saith, 'I will not hear you;
my servant Job shall pray for you,' Job xlii. 8.
That ye may be healed.
- The word is of a general use, and im-plieth freedom from the diseases either
of soul or body, and the context suiteth with both; for he speaketh
promiscuously of sins and sickness. If you understand it of corporal healing,
with respect to sickness, you may observe: -
Obs. 1. That God will have
a particular confession of the very sin for which he laid on sickness, before
healing. But I chiefly understand this healing spiritually: confess, and the
Lord will purge you from your sins, and heal the wounds of your consciences. So
healing is taken elsewhere in scripture, as Ps. xli. 4, 'Lord, heal my soul,
for I have sinned against thee;' and 1 Peter ii. 24, 'By whose stripes ye are
healed.' I observe hence: -
Obs 2. That sin is the soul's sickness.
There are many fair resemblances. (1.) Distemper: the soul is disordered by
sin, as the body is distempered by sickness. (2.) Deformity: therefore of all
diseases under the law sin was figured by leprosy, which most spotteth and
deformeth the body. (3.) Pain: sickness causeth pain, so doth sin a sting in
the conscience, horrors in the hour of death, 1 Cor. xv. 57. (4.) Weakness: the
more sin, the more inability and feebleness for any gracious operation. The
apostle saith, Rom. v. 6, 'We were without strength;' weak, sickly souls that
could do no work: thus we were in the state of nature: yea, after grace, there
is a feebleness; we never have perfect health till we come to heaven. Thus you
see there is a general resemblance between sin and sickness. So in particular
between the kinds of sin, and the kinds of sickness. Original sin is like the
leprosy of Naaman, which God threatened should 'cleave to Gehazi, and to his
seed for ever.' 2 Kings v. 27, so that every child born of that line was born a
leper, as every one born of Adam is born a sinner. So there is the tympany of
pride, the burning fever of lust, the dropsy of covetousness, the consumption
of envy, &c. These allusions are obvious. So Solomon calleth tenacity a
disease. When a man hath abundance, and hath no power to use it, this is, saith
he, vanity, and an evil disease, Eccles. vi. 2. As if a man were hungry, and
had abundance of meat, yet out of dyscrasy of stomach could not taste it. Well,
then, avoid sin as you would avoid sickness; and when you have admitted it,
complain of it as the plague and sore of your souls, 1 Kings viii. 38. Many cry
because of the plague of their bodies; but when they regard the plague of their
hearts, saith the Lord, then will I hear from heaven. The diseases of the soul
are worst. Bodily diseases tend only to the death of the body, but these to the
eternal death of body and soul. Other diseases are but consequents of sin; it
is sin that is the strength of diseases, the sting of death, and the cause of
eternal horror and torment Oh! run to Christ then, he is the great physician of
souls; his skill to cure you cost him dear: 'By his stripes we are healed.'
For the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much, -
This is added by way of encouragement In this sentence there are three things:
-
(1.) The qualification of the prayer, fervent, effectual.
(2.) The
qualification of the person, of a righteous person.
(3.) The effect of the
whole, availeth much.
First, for the qualification of the duty,
deèsis energoumenè. The word in the original is so sublime and
emphatical, that translations cannot reach the height of it. It hath been
diversely rendered. The vulgar, assidua precatio, daily prayer; but without any
reason. Beza, oratio efficax, effectual prayer; but it is not energès
but energoumenè; and, besides, this rendering would impose a tautology
upon the sentence, - effectual prayer is effectual. Others render it, wrought
in us by the Holy Spirit; as they that were possessed with an evil spirit were
called energoumenoi. Our translators, because they know not what fit expression
to use, translate it by two words, fervent, effectual. The phrase properly
signifieth a prayer wrought and excited; and so implieth both the efficacy and
influence of the Holy Ghost, and the force and vehemency of an earnest spirit
and affection. The word will yield us two notes: -
Obs. 1. That a true
prayer must be an earnest, fervent prayer. The ancient token of acceptance was
firing the sacrifice. Success may be much known by the heat and warmth of our
spirits. Prayer was figured by wrestling; compare Gen. xxxii. 26 with Hosea
xii. 4; certainly that is the way of prevailing. So it is resembled to his
immodesty that would take no denial, Luke xi. 8; what we translate
'importunity' is in the original anaideian, 'impudence.' It is said, Acts xxvi.
7, that the tribes served God instantly, en ekteneia; the word signifieth to
the utmost of their strength. Under the law, the sweet perfumes in the censers
were burnt before they ascended. Oh! look to your affections; get them fired by
the Holy Ghost, that they may flame up towards God in devout and religious
ascents. It is the usual token for good that you shall prevail with God as
princes. Luther said, Utinam eodem ardore orare possem - would to God I could
always pray with a like ardour, for then I had always this answer, fiat quod
velis - be it unto thee as thou wilt. Oh! be earnest and fervent, then, though
you cannot be eloquent. There is language in groans, and sighs are articulate.
The child is earnest for the dug when it cannot speak for it. Only beware that
your earnestness doth not arise from fleshly lusts and concernments. The
sacrifices and perfumes were not to be burned with strange fire. When your
censers are fired, let not the coal be taken from the kitchen, but the altar.
God hath undertaken to satisfy spiritual desires, but not fleshly lusts.
Obs. 2. From the word you may observe, that in prayer we must use much
diligence to work our hearts to the duty; so the word signifieth a prayer
wrought and driven with much force and vehemency. It is said of the apostles,
Acts i. 14, 'They continued in prayer and supplication;' in the original,
èsan proskarterountes. The phrase signifieth such a perseverance as is
kept up with much labour and force. It is no easy thing to pray, and to work a
lazy dead heart into a necessary height of affections. The weights are always
running downward, but they are wound up by force: Ps. xxv. 1, 'I lift my heart
to thee.' When our affections are gotten up, it is hard to keep them up; like
Moses' hands, they soon flag and wax faint. A bird cannot stay in the air
without a continual flight and motion of the wings; neither can we persist in
prayer without constant work and labour: our faith is so weak, that we are
hardly brought into God's presence; and our love is so small, that we are
hardly kept there: affections flag, and then our thoughts are scattered;
weariness maketh way for wandering; first our hearts are gone, and then our
minds, so that we have need of much labour and diligence; all acts of duty are
drawn from us by an holy force.
Secondly, The qualification of the
person, of a righteous person; that is, not absolutely, as appeareth by Elias,
the instance brought, who is said to be a man subject to like passions with us;
therefore, it is meant of a man righteous in Christ, justified by faith. Note
hence: -
Obs. That in prayer we should not only look after the
qualification of the duty, but of the person. God first accepteth the person,
and then the duty. So the apostle proveth the acceptance of Abel's person by
God's testimony to his gifts, Heb. xi. 4; and the place to which he alludeth,
Gen. iv. 4, plainly showeth that God's first respect was to Abel, and then to
his offering. I have read of a jewel that being put into a dead man's mouth
loseth all its virtue: prayer is such a jewel in a dead man's mouth; it is of
no force and efficacy: Prov. xxi. 27, 'The prayer of a wicked man is an
abomination, much more when he offereth it with an evil mind.' At the best, it
is naught, if made with a devout aim; but where there is a conjunction of an
evil person and an evil aim, the Lord abhorreth it. Balaam came with seven rams
and seven altars, and all would not do. They urge it as a proverb and known
principle, John ix. 31, 'The Lord will not hear sinners.' Well, then, when you
come to pray, look to the interest of your persons: - (1.) Otherwise you will
be in danger of a legal spirit, to hope to gratify God by your prayers and good
meanings. There is not a surer sign of resting in duties than when you look
altogether to the quality of the duty, and not to the quality of the person; as
if the person were to be accepted for the work's sake, and not the work for the
person. This plainly revolveth you to the tenor of the old covenant, and maketh
works the ground of your acceptance with God. (2.) You will be in danger of
refusal; God will have nothing to do with the wicked: Job viii. 20, he will not
take sinners by the hand; so the original and margin; and God will ask what you
have to do with him, 'What hast thou to do,' &c. Ps. 1. Look to your
interest in Christ; all hangeth upon that.
Thirdly, The effect of the
duty, availeth much. He doth not tell you how much; you will find that upon
trial and experience. Observe: -
Obs. That prayers rightly managed
cannot want effect. This is the means which God hath consecrated for receiving
the highest blessings. Prayer is the key by which those mighty ones of God
could lock heaven, and open it at their pleasure. Among the graces, faith
excelleth, and prayer among the duties; these are most excellent, because most
useful to our present state. It is wonderful to consider what the scripture
ascribeth to faith and prayer; prayer sueth out blessings in the court of
grace, and faith receiveth them. It were easy to expatiate in this argument;
but because this is the usual subject of most practical discourses, I forbear.
God himself speaketh as if his hands were tied up by prayer: Exod. xxxii. 10,
'Let me alone,' &c. Nay, he indenteth with Moses, and offereth him
composition if he would hold his peace, 'I will make of thee a great people,'
&c. So that other expression, if we read it right, 'Concerning my sons and
daughters, command ye me,' &c. These are expressions which are to be
admired with a holy reverence; not strained, lest our thoughts degenerate into
rude blasphemy. Certinly they are mighty condescensions, wherein the Lord would
signify to us the fruit and efficacy of prayer, as he is pleased to accept it
in Christ. Well, then, pray with this encouragement, God hath said in an open
place, that is, solemnly avowed before all the world, that none shall seek his
face in vain, Isa. xlv. 19.
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