Moses his prayer. Or, An exposition of the nintieth Psalme.: In which is set forth, the frailty and misery of mankind; most needfull for these times. Wherein [brace] 1. The sum and scope. 2. The doctrines. 3. The reasons. 4. The uses of most texts are observed. / By Samuel Smith, minister of the Gospel, author of Davids repentance and the Great assize, and yet living.

Whence we learn, [Doct. 5]

That our most secret sins that are committed, are done God looking on. * 1.1 Our secret sins in the light of thy coun∣tenance.

It is true, * 1.2 carnal hearts are ready to reason as Eliphaz with Job, How doth God know, can he judge through the dark? Thick clouds are a covering to him that he seeth not. These and the like are the carnal thoughts of carnal men, Doth God know? or is there any knowledge in the Most High?

Many a wicked and graceless wretch thinks the dark night will cover his sin, and hide his abominations, where as there is nothing that ever we did, but the Lord is privy to it. * 1.3 All my wayes (saith David) are before thee; and There is not a word in my tongue but thou O Lord knowest it altogether. And as Job hath it, * 1.4 There is no thought hid from thee. So that all our wayes, words and thoughts are knowne to him.

Many are those glorious titles that are given to God in the Scriptures: And amongst the rest this, that He is the Searcher of the heart, a property no way communicable to any creature for of him onely it is said, * 1.5 All things are open and naked before his eyes.

This is fully cleared by the Prophet

David, * 1.6 Thou knowest my down-sitting and my up-rising; thou understandest my thoughts afar off: * 1.7 There is not a word in my tongue, but loe thou know∣est it a together. And again, * 1.8 The dark∣nesse hideth not from thee, but the night shineth as the day, the darknesse and the light are to thee both alike. Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, * 1.9 and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? Do not I fill heaven and earth saith the Lord? There is no point of Doctrine in all the Scriptures, more clear and plain then this. That it is God that searcheth the heart, sees all things, and beholds our most secret thoughts and wayes.

The Reasons will make it more clear.

First, [Reas. 1] his Omniscience is a special property of God, an attribute of his; His Knowledge is infinite, hath no bounds nor limits, he knows the Na∣ture, Reason, and Causes of all things. * 1.10 All things are naked and open to his eyes, or as the word is anatomized before him. He is that God that fills

heaven and earth with his presence, and therefore must needs know and observe all our actions, and take notice of our most secret sins. [Reas. 2] Is given by the Prophet, * 1.11 It is he that made the eye, shall he not see? It is he that made the ear, shall he not hear? He teacheth man knowledge, shall he not know? These were all absurd to think or ima∣gine in God, that hath in him perfe∣ction of all things. Can the work be unknown to the workman, or the crea∣ture to the Creator? Since it is in him that we live and move and have our being. * 1.12

The Lord at the last day will then lighten things that are hid in dark∣nesse, [Reas. 3] * 1.13 and will make the counsels of the heart manifest; and bring every secret thing to Judgement. Therefore out of question he knows every secret thing; yea, he is privy to all those se∣cret thoughts, motions, windings and turnings in the heart of man, and every man at last shall receive judge∣ment accordingly. We shall now ap∣ply this. [Use 1]

Seeing that our most secret sins are

done, and committed in the light of his countenance; How may this strike terrour in the hearts of all wicked and ungodly men, that live in the dai∣ly practise of many known sins? Can therebe a greater terror to a malefactor, then to know that the Judge himself is an eye-witnesse of his villany? So what greater terror can there be to the wicked, then this, to have the Lord himself to behold their doings.

Many a wicked wretch thinks with himself, that the sins he daily com∣mits, that no eye sees him nor beholds him, could they be perswaded, that but the eye of some godly man, yea but a childe of five years old did see, and beheld them, what a terror would this have been unto them? O where are our thoughts of the Lords All-seeing Presence, whose eye is ever up∣on us!

Yea, the more cunning and slight men have used in covering and concea∣ling their sins, the more doth the Lord abhor them, and the greater weight of vengeance he will at last lay upon them. Inasmuch as their sin went not

alone, but had joyned with it, that cursed Atheisme of the heart, that God saw them not and that there was not knowledge with the Most High. Whereas God ever takes them in the manner, and will bring in evidence a∣gainst them at last; These things hast ••hou done, * 1.14 and I kept silence, and thou thoughtest that I was such an one as ••hy self: But I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thee.

Secondly, [Use 2] seeing our most secret sins are in the light of his countenance, why then should we labour so much to avoid grosse sins in our lives, such as bring a blot upon our Names, and shame before men; And in the mean time make no reckoning at all of lesser sins, but foster and cherish in our bo∣somes noisome lusts, and sinful affe∣ctions, as Envy, Wrath Malice, Pride, Uncleannesse, &c. which makes us odious and abominable in the sight of God, who sees and knows the heart, and takes notice not onely of the grosse evils of our lives, but of the most hid∣den corruptions of our hearts.

Yea more, consider with thy self

that the Lord knows thy heart better then thy self doest; * 1.15 for he is the fear∣cher of the heart: when thou hast been most careful to search into thy thy heart, he knows more by thee, then thou by thy self. And this made David pray so earnestly. * 1.16 Cleanse thou me from my secret faults. O then how careful should we be to avoid not onely the grosser evils of our lives, but to purge our hearts from evill thoughts, unclean thoughts malici∣ous thoughts, and those most secret sins that lie lurking in our souls.

There is no deceit of Satan like un∣to this, to sin under hope of secrecy. * 1.17 The Eye of the Adulterer (saith Job) waiteth for the twylight, and saith, No eye shall see me. * 1.18 But what saith the Lord, I have seen the lewdnesse of thy whoredomes, even I know and am a witnesse, saith the Lord. The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding good and evil. Adams bushes could not hide him from God nor the keele of the ship secure Jonas but God could finde them out.

And last of all seeing our most secret

sins are in the light of his countenance: what a care then ought Christians to have in all those holy duties they per∣form to God that they labour to ap∣prove their hearts to him, in doing them, that they be performed with all sincerity and singlenesse of heart, as in his Presence.

The Lord knows with what minde you come to the Word, with what minde you come to the Sacrament, with what hearts you come to prayer, or any duty you perform to him: Why should we halt and dissemble with him, who is the searcher of the heart?

Wicked men, and the prophanest hypocrite, may in outward shew match the best Christian; he will fre∣quent the Assemblies of Gods people, hear the Word, receive the Sacrament, pray, &c. and carry himself very fair∣ly in outward appearance as the best. You shall have Cain sacrificing as well as Abel; Esau begging a blessing as earnestly as Jacob; Saul confessing his sin as well as David; Ahab humbling himself as well as Hezekiah, and the

Pharisee praying as well as the Publi∣can. But here is the difference; a god∣ly Christian in all these duties seeks to approve himself to God, doing all things with a single heart, with a sin∣cere heart as in Gods presence, as Na∣thaniel, Behold a true Israelite in whom there is no guile. He doth all things as to the Lord Christ, knowing that the All-seeing eye of God is up∣on him.

Notes

• * 1.1

  The most secret sins are done, God loo∣king on.
• * 1.2

  Job 22.13.
• * 1.3

  Ps. 119.168. Ps. 139.4.
• * 1.4

  Iob 42.4.
• * 1.5

  Heb. 4.13.
• * 1.6

  Ps. 139.2
• * 1.7

  verse 4.
• * 1.8

  verse 12.
• * 1.9

  Ier. 23.23, 24.
• * 1.10

  Heb. 4.13.
• * 1.11

  Ps. 94.9.
• * 1.12

  Acts 17.27.
• * 1.13

  1 Cor. 4.5. Eccl. 12.14.
• * 1.14

  Ps. 50.21.
• * 1.15

  Ro. 8.27.
• * 1.16

  Ps. 19.12
• * 1.17

  Iob 24.15.
• * 1.18

  Ier. 29.23.