judgments, when the harvest seemeth ripe to put the sickle into it.

There is in these two verses, a confession of their own sinfulness, from
which grounds they justify God's proceeding with them, they take the cause
upon themselves, and justify him in his judging, whether temporal or
spiritual plagues were inflicted. In this verse,(304) they take a general
survey of their sinful estate, concluding themselves unclean, and all
their performances and commanded duties, which they counted once their
righteousness: and from this ground, they clear God's dealing with them,
and put their mouths in the dust; and so from the Lord's judgment they are
forced to enter into a search of the cause of so much sin; and from
discovered sin, they pronounce God righteous in his judgment. Perceiving a
great difference in the Lord's manner of dealing with them, and their
fathers, they do not refound(305) it upon God, who is righteous in all his
ways, but retort it upon themselves, and find a vast discrepance between
themselves and their fathers, verse 5. And so it was no wonder that God's
dispensation changed upon them. God was wont to meet others, to show
himself gracious, even to prevent strokes, but now he was wroth with them.
Nay, but there is good cause for it. They rejoice and wrought
righteousness, but we have sinned. And this may be said in the
general,--never one needeth to quarrel God for severe dealing. If he deal
worse with one than with another, let every man look into his own bosom,
and see reason sufficient; yea, more provocation in themselves than
others. Always in this verse, they come to a more distinct view of their
loathsome condition. Anybody may wrap up their repentance in a general
notion of sin, but they declare themselves to be more touched with it, and
condescend on particulars, yet such particulars as comprehend many others.
And in this confession, you may look on the Spirit's work, having some
characters of the Spirit in it.

I. They take a general view of their uncleanness and loathsome estate by
sin; not only do they see sin, but sin in the sinfulness of it and
uncleanness of it.

II. They not only conclude so of the natural estate they were born in, and
the loathsomeness of their many foul scandals among them; but they go a
further length, to pass as severe a sentence on their duties and
ordinances as God hath done, Isa. i. and lxvi. The Spirit convinceth
according to scripture's light, and not according to th