fore he can truly repent. This Christian duty, this essential and inseparable part of repentance, must be seriously thought upon and studied: it is the scare-crow that frights men from repentance, sets up honour to contest with conscience, and makes shame so impudent as to contradict confession. He who stoops to the lowest and the basest arts and actions to commit a wickedness, would be exempted by honour from acknowledging it; and he that cannot be restrained by modesty from the most impudent transgressions, would be absolved by shame from making any confession of it; and yet will not have it doubted but that he is truly penitent. What is this but mocking God Almighty, and hoping to get into Heaven by a counterfeit and forged pass, which will not get admittance into honourable company, which never remits an injury without a full acknowledgment and entreaty of forgiveness? It is a bare-faced assertion, owned and urged commonly by those, who, being by ill success brought to the brink of despair, carry themselves only to the brink of repentance, That repentance is an act of the heart towards God alone, for some sin committed against his divine Majesty, and a begging of his pardon; and therefore the acknowledging that sin to him alone, and renouncing it with all the resolution imaginable never to fall into the like again, is sufficient, and

need not be attended with any public acknowledgment; which would only expose them to the scorn and reproach of other men. It may be so; there may be such sins, as thoughts and purposes of the heart, which can be known only to God; and it may be, some sinful actions too, the acknowledgment whereof, particularly to God himself, may be sufficient; and the acknowledgment of them in public, how innocently soever intended, may be little less sinful, than the entertaining and committing them. There are thoughts and inclinations, and argumentations of the heart, which, though subdued and repented, may, being communicated to others, propagate vice in them, with the exclusion of all thoughts of repentance; and the very commission of some sins which the world can take no notice of, would be much aggravated (though piously repented of) by a public acknowledgment, which, in many respects, and justly, would be accompanied with shame and reproach; and in such cases, secret and hearty repentance and acknowledgment to God alone, may be sufficient to procure his pardon and absolution. But when the case is not of this nature, nor made up of these circumstances; when the sins and transgressions are public and notorious; when many men have received the injury, and undergone the damage and reproach; when my neighbour hath been de

frauded by my rapine and injustice, or traduced by my slanders and calumny; the acknowledgment ought to be as public as the offence: nor can a secret confession to God alone constitute his repentance, when others are injured, though he be most dishonoured; and we may, without breach of charity, doubt that it is a very faint repentance, that hath not strength enough to come into the air, and to beg pardon and reconcilement of those whom the penitent hath offended. True repentance is a very severe magistrate, and will strip off all that shelter and covering which would make the stripes to be less sensibly felt, and reckons shame an essential part of the punishment. It is a rough physician, that draws out the blood that inflames, and purges out the humours which corrupt or annoy the vitals; leaves no phlegm to cherish envy, nor no choler and melancholy to engender pride; and will rather reduce the body to a skeleton, than suffer those pernicious humours to have a source, from whence they may abound again to infest the body or the mind. True repentance is inspired with so much humility, that it fears nothing so much as to receive too much respect or countenance; and is glad to meet with men as proud and cruel as those sins were which are repented, and receives reproach and shame as bracelets and garlands which become it. They, who will not

willingly acknowledge to those persons who have been injured by them, that they have done them wrong, have made but a half acknowledgment, and half repentance to God himself; have not put in that security which can only give them credit, that they will not do the same again; nor laid that obligation upon themselves, which would startle them when they shall be about to do it again. Men are not so easily tempted to commit the same offence again, and to the same man, which they have before committed and acknowledged to the same person; and men may reasonably doubt, that they will not only be inclined to do the same when they have the same opportunity, but that they resolve to do it, when they pretend to repent, and refuse to acknowledge it: nor is it possible for any man who is penitent in truth, to give any reasons against this acknowledgment, which will not bring a great blemish upon his repentance, and make the sincerity thereof to be justly doubted.

Besides the discredit which this want of particular acknowledgment exposes their repentance to, and the just ground it administers to suspect the truth and reality thereof, it deprives the penitent (if we may so call him) of very great benefit and advantage he might receive thereby: how far he can reconcile himself to heaven without it, is worth at least a very serious doubt; but it is plain enough,

that without it, a reconciliation with men, which is very desirable by all good Christians, is absolutely impossible. Acknowledgment makes all accounts even, often satisfies them, and stops all farther demands; infallibly it prevents the asperity in demanding; without it the debt remains still, with the anger and indignation of the creditor: the debt, how desperate soever, is due; and if it can never be recovered, it will always be objected; nor is there any other way to raze out the memory of it, but a free remitting it, which is often due to the acknowledgment. Acts of state and indemnity may extinguish all penalties and punishments to be inflicted by law, for faults committed and injuries received; and acts of oblivion may so far oblige men to forget the injuries they have received, as neither to reproach or upbraid those who did them, or to require satisfaction for the damage; but no such acts, nor any authority under heaven, can take away the obligation of repentance, or inhibit acknowledgment, which is a branch of repentance, though it cannot be exacted by any earthly tribunal. He that performs this acknowledgment, and hath therewith made his repentance perfect, hath made his peace with God, and hath done his part towards doing it with men ; and if it be refused by them, he hath made himself superior or at least so equal to them, that his former injustice hath