We have followed after lying vanities, and forsaken our own mercies ;a have forsaken the fountain of living waters, for cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.b We have panted after the dust of the earth, and have been full of care what we shall eat, and what we shall drink, and wherewithal we shall be clothed, the things after which the Gentiles seek, and the righteousness. thereof.c We have lifted up our souls unto vanity,d and set our eyes upon that which is not, having looked at the things that are seen, which are temporal ;e but the things that are not seen, that are eternal, have been forgotten and postponed.g (5.) The corruption of the whole man ; irregular appetites towards those things which are pleasing to sense, and inordinate passions against those things that are displeasing, and an alienation of the mind, from the principles, powers, and pleasures of the spiritual and divine life. We are born of the flesh, and we are flesh : dust we are i we have borne the image of the earthly; and in us, that is, in our flesh, there dwells no good thing :4 for if to will is present to us, yet how to perform that which is good we find not; for the good that we would do, we do it not; and the evil which we would not do, that we do./ We have a law in our members warring against the law of our mind, and bringing us into captivity to the law of sin that is in our members :m so that when we would do good, evil is present with us.n The whole head is sick, the whole heart faints, from the sole of the foot, even unto the head, there is no soundness in us, but wounds and bruises and putrifying sores.o There is in us a bent to backslide from the living God p our hearts are deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know them ?a They start aside like a broken bow.b (5.) We must lament and confess our omissions of our duty, our neglect of it, and triflings in it; and that we have done so little since we came into the world, of the great work we were sent into the world about so very little to answer the end of our creation, or of our redemption, of our birth and of our baptism; and that we have profited no more by the means of grace. We have been as fig-trees planted in the vineyard, and thou hast come many years seeking fruit from us, but hast found none ;c and therefore we might justly be cut down, and cast into the fire for cumbering the ground ;d thou hast come looking for grapes, but behold wild grapes; for we have been empty vines, bringing forth fruit unto ourselves.e We have known to do good but have not done it ;g we have hid our Lord's money, and therefore deserve the doom of the wicked and slothful servant.h We have been unfaithful stewards,i that have wasted our Lord's goods for one sinner destroys much good./ Many a price hath been put into our hands to get wisdom, which we have had no heart to,or our heart has been at our left hand,m Our childhood and youth were vanity,n and we have brought our years to an end, as a tale that is told.o We have not known or improved the day of our visitation,p have not provided meat in summer, nor gathered food in harvest, though we have had guides, overseers, and rulers.q We are slow of heart to understand and believe ;r and whereas for the time we might have been teachers of others, we are yet to learn the first principles of the oracles of God; have need of milk, and cannot bear strong meat.s We have cast off fear, and restrained prayer, before a Jer. 17, 9. d Matt. 3. 10. h Matt. 25. 18, 26, / Prov. 17. 16. o Psalm 90. 9. Luke 24. 25, b Hos. 7. 16. c Luke 13.6, 7. g James 4. 17. God ;a have not called upon thy name, nor stirred up ourselves to take hold on thee.b We have come before thee as thy people come, and have sat before thee as thy people sit, and have heard thy words, when our hearts at the same time have been going after our covetousness.c And thus have we brought the torn, and the lame, and the sick for sacrifice, have offered that to our God, which we would not have offered to our governor; and have vowed and sacrificed to the Lord a corrupt thing, when we had in our flock a male.d 6. We must likewise bewail our many actual transgressions, in thought, word, and deed. We have sinned, Father, against heaven and before thee ;e we have all sinned, and come short of the glory of God ;g for the God in whose hand our breath is, and whose are all our ways, have we not glorified.h Against thee, thee only, have we sinned, and have done much evil in thy sight :i neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws which he hath set before us ;k though they are holy, just,' and good./ Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou us from secret faults.m In many things we all offend ;n and our iniquities are more than the hairs of our head,o As a fountain casteth out her waters, so do our hearts cast out wickedness ;p and this hath been our manner from our youth up, that we have not obeyed thy voice,q Out of the evil treasure of our hearts we have brought forth many evil things.r (1.) We must confess and bewail the workings of pride in us. We have all reason to be humbled for the pride of our hearts,s that we have thought of ourselves above a Job 15. 4. h Dan. 5. 23. / Rom. 7. 12. b Isa. 64. 7. e Luke 15.18. i Psalm 51.4. c Ez. 33. 31. what hath been meet,a and have not thought soberly, nor walked humbly with our God.b We have leaned on our own uderstanding,c and trusted in our own hearts ;d and have sacrificed to our own net.e We have sought our own glory more than the glory of him that sent us,g and have been puffed up for that which we should have mourned.h (2.) The breaking out of passion and rash anger. We have not had the rule which we ought to have had over our own spirits, which have therefore been as a city that is broken down, and has no walls.i We have been soon angry, and anger hath rested in our bosoms. And when our spirits have been provoked,l we have spoken unadvisedly with our lips :m and have been guilty of that clamour and bitterness which should have been put far from us.n (3.) Our covetousness and love of the world. Our conversation has not been without covetousness, nor have we learned in every state to be content with such things as we have p Who can say that he is clean from that love of money which is the root of all evil,g that covetousness which is idolatry ?r We have sought great things to ourselves, when thou hast said, Seek them not.s (4.) Our sensuality and flesh pleasing. We have minded the things of the flesh more than the things of the spirit,t and have lived in pleasure in the earth, and have been wanton, and have nourished our hearts as in a day of slaughter.v We have made provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts of it :w even those lusts which war against our souls ; and in many instances have acted, as if we had been lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.y a Rom. 12. 3, b Mic. 6.8. e Hab. 1. 16. c Prov. 3. 5. When we did eat, and when we did drink, did we not eat to ourselves, and drink to ourselves ?a (5.) Our security and unmindfulness of the changes we are liable to in this world, We have put far from us the evil day, and in our prosperity have said, we should never be moved,c as if to-morrow must needs be as this day, and much more abundant.d We have encouraged our souls to take their ease, to eat and drink and be merry, as if we had goods laid up for many years, when perhaps this night our souls may be required of us.e We have been ready to trust in uncertain riches, more than in the living God ;g to say to the gold, Thou art our hope, and to the fine gold, thou art our confidence.h (6.) Our fretfulness and impatience, and murmuring under our afflictions, our inordinate dejection and distrust of God and his providence. When thou chastisedst us, and we were chastised, we have been as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke; and though our own foolishness hath perverted our way, yet our heart hath fretted against the Lord; and thus in our distress we have trespassed yet more against the Lord.k We have either despised the chastening of the Lord, or fainted when we have been rebuked of him ; and if we faint in the day of adversity, our strength is small,m We have said in our haste, We are cast off from be'fore thine eyes ; and that the Lord hath forsaken us, our God hath forgotten us, as if God would be favourable no more ;o as if he had forgotten to be gracious, and had in anger shut up his tender mercies. This has been our infirmity.p (7.) Our uncharitableness towards our brethren, and unpeaceableness with our relations, neighbours, and friends, and perhaps injustice towards them. We have been very guilty concerning our brother :q a Zech. 7.6. d Isa. 56. 12. h Job. 31.24. ? Prov. 3. 11. o Isa. 49. 14, b Am. 6. 3. c Psalm 30.6. |