Andrewes

1THE CONFESSION OF SIN.

2O GOD, thou knowest my foolishness, and my sins are not

3hid from thee.[Ps. 69:5]i

4I also acknowledge it, and my sin is ever

5before me.[Ps. 51:3]

6I hide not my sin, as Adam did.[Job 31:33]ii

7I incline not my heart to words of malice, to make

8excuses in sins.[Ps. 141:4]iii

9But I confess against myself mine own unrighteousness.[Ps. 32:5]

10And all that is within me,[Ps. 103:1]

11And all my bones do say,[Ps. 35:10]

12I have sinned,[Ps. 106:6]

13I have sinned against thee, O Lord.

14I have gone astray like a sheep that was lost.[Ps. 119:176]iv

15I have been froward, like an untamed heifer.[Jer. 31:18]v

16I am turned back like a dog to his vomit:[Prov. 26:11]vi

17like a washed sow, to her wallowing in the mire.[2 Pet. 2:22]vii

18I give thee glory, O Lord, and I confess,

19I have sinned against thee, and thus and thus have I done.[Josh. 7:19, 20]viii

20O Lord, the smoking flax quench thou not,

21the bruised reed break thou not.[Matt. 12:20]ix

22Let not the tempest of water drown me,

23Neither let the deep swallow me up,

24Neither let the pit shut her mouth upon me.[Ps.x

2569:15]

26Lord, all my desire is before thee,

1And my groaning is not hid from thee.[Ps.i

238:9]

3Thou knowest, O Lord, that I speak the truth

4in thy Christ, and I lie not,

5My conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy

6Ghost,[Rom. 9:1]ii

7For I have great heaviness, and sorrow in my heart,[v. 2]

8that I have so sinned against thee;

9That I am become a burden to myself, that my sorrow

10is not greater;[Job 7:20]iii

11That which I beg of thee { a contrite heart. [Ps. 51:17] / groanings that cannot be uttered. [Rom. 8:26] / tears of blood. [Luke 22:44] }iv

12Woe is me { for the dryness. [Is. 24:16] / for the hardness of heart. [Rom. 2:5] / for the dryness of mine eyes. [Jer. 9:1] }v

13O Lord, it repenteth me, it repenteth me, O Lord,

14Help thou mine impenitence,

15And yet more and more

16{ break / rend / prick / smite } my heart.

17Behold, O Lord,

18That I am indignant with mine own self,[2 Cor. 7:11]vi

19for the { foolish / useless / harmful / dangerous } desire of my flesh.

1That I abhor mine own self,[Job 42:6]i

2for the { absurdity / baseness / vileness } of my desire,

3[a desire] worthy of { confusion / reproach }.

4That all the day long my shame is before me, and the confusion

5of my face hath covered me.[Ps. 44:15]ii

6Ah, ah! Alas, alas! that I have not reverenced, neither

7dreaded[Heb. 12:21]iii

8The incomprehensibleness of thy glory,

9Thy dread power,

10The awfulness of thy presence,

11Thine exact justice,

12Thy lovely goodness.

13How was I enticed by mine own lust?[Jas. 1:14]iv

14How have I detested discipline?

15And my heart hath not yielded to reproofs?[Prov. 5:12]v

16Behold, O Lord,

17That fear and trembling are come upon me,

18And the terror of death is fallen upon me.[Ps. 55:5]vi

19What fear, and trembling, and shuddering,

20and agony, and the last extremity, have I to see?

21What confusion shall seize me?

22With what darkness shall I be compassed?

23How dreadful is thy judgement, O Lord?

24When the thrones are set,

25The angels standing by,

26Men brought in,

1The books opened,

2Works searched out,

3Thoughts sifted,

4The secrets of darkness made manifest.

5What judgement shall there be upon me?

6An incorruptible Judge, | A dreadful tribunal,i

7A defence without excuse, | Arguments not to be escaped,

8A bitter punishment, | An everlasting Gehenna,

9Pitiless angels, | Hell widening her mouth,

10A hissing river of fire, | A fire that is not quenched,

11A dark dungeon, | Darkness wholly void of light,

12A couch of live coals, | The restless worm,

13Bonds that cannot be loosed, | Chaos immeasurable,

14A wall we cannot | An inconsolable clamour,

15pass over,

16None to { stand by / plead for / deliver } me.

17Behold, O Lord,

18I judge mine own self

19worthy, liable, guilty

20of eternal punishment,

21Yea, and of all the hardships of this world.

22{ I have deserved death from thee, / Yet still I appeal unto thee, } O Lord, { from thee the just. / to thee the merciful, }ii

23from the throne of justice to the throne of grace.

24Admit, O Lord, this appeal;

25If thou admit it not, we perish.

26And, O Lord, doth it not concern thee, if we perish?[Mark 4:38]iii

1Who willest all to be saved,[1 Tim. 2:4]i

2Who willest that none should perish.[2 Pet. 3:9]

3Behold me, O Lord,

4condemned by mine own judgement.[Tit. 3:11]ii

5Behold! and, O Lord, enter thou not into judgement

6with thy servant.[Ps. 143:2]

7I am less than all, even the least,

8of thy mercies.[Gen. 32:10]iii

9I am not worthy to be made one of thy hired

10servants, no, not the lowest.[Luke 15:19]iv

11I am not worthy of the crumbs which fall from thy table.

13I am not worthy to touch the hem of thy garment.[Matt. 9:21]vi

14And now, O Lord,

15Humbled under thy mighty hand,[1 Pet. 5:6]vii

16I bend my knees unto thee, O Lord,

17I fall down to the earth,

18upon my face.

19I spread out my hands unto thee,

20My soul is unto thee as a land without water.[Ps. 143:6]viii

21I dare not so much as lift up mine eyes to heaven,

22but I smite my breast.[Luke 18:13]ix

23Out of the deep hath my soul cried unto thee,[Ps. 130:1]x

24and all my bones,

25and all that is within me,[Ps. 103:1]

26For thy great mercy,[Ps. 51:1]

27for the multitude of thy compassions.[Ps. 69:16]

28For thy name's sake,

1For the glory of thy name,[Ps. 79:9]i

2Be merciful to my sin,

3For it is great,[Ps. 25:10]ii

4For it is exceeding great.

5For the multitude,[Ps. 69:16]

6the great multitude,[Ps. 51:1]

7the riches,[Eph. 2:4]iii

8the abundance,[1 Pet. 1:3]

9the superabundance[Rom. 5:20]iv

10Of thy mercies,

11Be merciful to me, O Lord, a sinner,

12O Lord, O Lord, be merciful

13to me, the chief of sinners.[1 Tim. 1:15]v

14O Lord, let mercy triumph[Jas. 2:13]vi

15over thy judgement upon my sin.

16My Lord, where my transgression hath abounded,

17let thy grace much more abound.[Rom. 5:20]

18Hear, O Lord,

19Be merciful, O Lord,

20Hearken, O Lord,

21O Lord, hearken and do,

22Do, and defer not,

23for thine own sake.[Dan. 9:19]vii

24Upon the great mystery of godliness,

25for us men, and for our salvation,

26God manifest in the flesh,[1 Tim. 3:16]viii

27the Man JESUS,

28the Son of the Father,

29the Christ of the Spirit,

30our Lord,