animate the beasts of the field. But to their eternal sorrow it is far otherwise for there is an account to be given by every man of his immortal soul, and of the image of God stamped thereupon; how this blessed image hath been either defaced, or kept undefiled; how it hath been obscured, or how shined; how deformed, or how beautified, through all the actions of each man's life. For "God

will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evils.'

5. Upon every man's examination, both in his particular, and in the general judgment, depends his everlasting well-being, or undoing for ever: each man's condition then shall be unchangeable, whether it be of glory, or misery. "They that have done good, shall go into everlasting life; and they that have done evil into everlasting fire"." The execution of this saying can no more fail, than the eternal God Himself can fail, who is the Fountain of truth and righteousness.

6. Since this great trial then shall be upon life and death eternal, it will be wisely done to try beforehand. Such is the advice of the wise Siracides; "Before judgment, examine thyself; and in the day of visitation thou shalt find mercy i."

accuse,

To examine, judge, and condemn thyself in this life, may through the merits of Christ, acquit thee in the life to come. So saith the Apostle; "If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged."

7. Now then (sinful man) delay not to pass judgment upon thyself: remember that the great Judge Himself hath said it, "I will reprove thee, and set before thee the things that thou hast done'." Be wise then, and prevent this sad and dismal reproof, by setting in order before thyself all the sins of thy life. And to this trial of thyself, these following particulars do necessarily concur.

(1.) A Tribunal must be erected; and this is not to be without thee, but within thee, even in thine own heart m.

h Matt. xxv. 46. m 1 John

i Ecclus. xviii. 20.

iii. 20, 21.

(2.) The Judge to sit upon this seat of judicature, must be thy reason guided by the law of the Most High; wherein beware of a misunderstanding and "wresting" of the letter of the law, to pass any unjust and partial sentence upon thyself, for that may undo thee for ever".

(3.) The Witnesses to be produced against thee, are, The conscience bearing witness, and the thoughts the mean while accusing, or excusing one another and thus shall it be also "in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Christ Jesus"."

(4.) The Executioners that stand ready to seize the criminal, are Fear and Terror, and an horrible dread overwhelming the soul. These do ever attend ;

(5.) Self-Condemnation, which is an unfeigned and sad acknowledgment to have incurred the dismal sentence of condemnation to death eternal. To prevent which, (6.) Execution must be done, and the blood of the guilty soul must be shed.

It is not to be believed or hoped, that a black, diseased soul, should recover its

health and beauty after the image of God, except she bleed plentifully; bleed in the tears of compunction and godly sorrow; bleed in the confession of her sins, with an abhorrence of them, for the filthiness, guilt, and danger contracted by them, so, as for the future, to renounce and abjure them for ever.

such

8. Thus to examine, judge, and condemn thyself, is the same Christian duty which is called Repentance. For as by self-examination, so by repentance, as know not themselves, through pride and ignorance, attain this saving knowledge in the acknowledgment of the truth, “and recover themselves out of the snares of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will." The great necessity of repentance, in order to escape eternal perdition, is most clearly and positively affirmed by our Lord, saying, "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish"." And He saith the same words again, at the same time, and in the same text recorded; 1. To enforce the great necessity of repentance, against all car

P Phil. ii. 12; Ps. lv. 5. Luke xiii. 3, 5.

nal, careless, self-conceited and seduced persons. 2. To manifest His great goodness, "Who would not have any to perish, but that all should come to repentances."

9. Sinners we are all, less or more'; but God, in great mercy, has ordained and commanded repentance, as the great antidote against the poison of sin, and preservative from death". And that repentance, which is thus salutary, consists of two general parts: 1. To confess with sorrow our sins past; 2. For ever to abjure and forsake them. And to such a true penitent only is mercy promised.

10. To both these general heads of true repentance, a full knowledge and deep sense of all heinous sins, even punctually and particularly, is absolutely necessary. For no man can confess his sins, who knows them not; nor forsake them, who is not feelingly sensible of the guilt and danger contracted by them'.

Self-examination is therefore commanded, as a previous duty necessarily conducing to a true conversion,

2 Pet. iii. 9. James iii. 2.

or (which is the same) to a true repentance, both in respect of all its integral parts, and also of the fruits meet for repentance, which are no other but the "good works a" of a new obedience.

11. "The just man falleth seven times." and upon consideration of his seven times daily failings, he hath seven times daily confessions to the praise of Godd; with frequent lamentations in the night also. At least twice a day, morning and evening, he takes a view of his miscarriages the by-past day and night, confessing and bewailing his frequent backslidings; and in all holy humility imploring, with tears of godly sorrow, the pardon of his daily offences, with firm resolution of more care and caution, more zeal of innocence and purity both in heart and life, for the time to come.

12. It is a great imprudence, even madness, in the hearts of men, to put off from day to day this self-examination, or reckoning with ourselves. Since it is difficult to account strictly for the misde

* Prov. xxviii. 13;

Lam. iii. 40.

a Col. i. 10.

d Jos. vii. 19.

• Psalm cxix. 164.

meanors of one day, how much more hard then to set straight and even the accounts of a long sinful life! whereas he who daily accounts with himself, and his offended God, for his daily transgressions, shall have but one day's sins to account for upon his dying day'.

13. We read of Moses, that his leprous hand was made whole, and recovered its native whiteness, by thrusting it into his bosoms and thus is the soul cleansed from the leprosy of sin, by thrusting the hand, which is the instrument of action, into the bosom of thine own conscience, to enter, and strictly to search into the inner man; to ransack all the corners of the deceitful heart; to examine what affections lurk there, and what excursions they have thence made into any extravagant and sinful actions; that they may be thence ejected and abandoned.

This is the way both to keep the heart pure, and the hands clean: hence comes both the knowledge of thyself, and the fear of God: hence comes sense of sin, holy compunction, godly sorrow, humiliation, and

f Luke xii. 42, 43.

true repentance, in all its branches and worthy fruits. Hence the soul becomes inflamed with the ardent heats of holy devotion, and fervent prayers for pardon and peace, mercy and grace, sanctification and redemption. Hence arise in the heart holy resolves of new obedience, with holy breathings after God and His salvation. Therefore is this duty of self-examination, called the magazine or storehouse of all Christian virtue.

14. And because, to receive worthily "the Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ," is the chiefest of all Christian performances, and requires the practice of all Christian virtues; therefore, after an especial manner is selfexamination commanded as a necessary preparative to that Sacramental feast which, from the doctrine of St. Paul, we are taught in the principles of our religion, where, in the last question of the Catechism it is demanded, "What is required of them that come to the Lord's Supper?" and it is answered, "To examine themselves, whether they truly repent them of their former sins."

Exod. iv. 7.