fold them to him.
David, no doubt, would at any time have confessed that he was a sinner,
but mark how heavy the wrath of God was on him for all that, because he
came not to a plain, ingenuous, and humble acknowledgment of his
particular sins. "I confessed my sin, and mine iniquity I hid not." While
you confess only in general terms, you confess other's sins rather than
yours, but this is it--to descend into our own hearts, and find out our
just and true accusation, our real debt, to charge ourselves as narrowly
as we can, that he may discharge us fully, and forgive us freely.

Next, I say, confession must be universal, that is, of all sin, without
partiality or respect to any sin. I doubt if a man can truly repent of any
sin, except he in a manner repent of all sin; or truly forsake one sin,
except there be a divorcement of the heart from and forsaking of all sin;
therefore the apostle saith, "If we confess our sins," not sin simply, but
sins, taking in all the body and collection of them, for it is opposed to
that, "if we say we have no sin," &c. Then there lies a necessity upon us
to confess what we have; we have all sin, and so should confess all sins.
Now, my meaning is not, that it is absolutely necessary that a soul come
to the particular knowledge and acknowledgment of all his sins, whether of
ignorance or infirmity, nay, that is not possible, for "who can understand
his errors?" saith David, "cleanse thou me from secret sins," Psal. xix.
12. There are many sins of ignorance, that we know not to be sins, and
many escapes of infirmity, that we do not advert to, which otherwise we
might know. Now, I do not impose that burden on a soul, to confess every
individual sin of that kind; but this certainly must be,--there must be
such a discovery of the nature of sin, and the loathsomeness of it in
God's sight, and the heinous guilt of it, as may abase and humble the soul
in his presence, there must be some distincter and clearer view of the
dispositions and lusts of the heart, than men attain generally unto, and,
withal, a discovery of the holy and spiritual meaning of God's law, which
may unfold a multitude of transgressions, that are hid from the world, and
make sin to abound in a man's sight and sense--for when the law enters, sin
abounds, and to close up this, as there are many sins now discovered unto
such a soul, which lay hid before, the light having shined in upon the
darkness, and, above all, the desperate wicked