The Exposition.

VNderstand this conclusion as the former, namely, that griefe of heart for the want of any grace necessarie to saluation, is as much with God as the grace it selfe. When being in distresse, wee cannot pray as we ought, God accepts the very groanes, sobbes, and sighes of the perplexed heart, as the praier it selfe. Rom. 8. 26. When we are grieued, because we cannot bee grieued for our sinnes, it is a degree and measure of godly sorrowe before God. Augustine saith well: Sometimes our praier is luke-warme, or rather colde and almost no praier: nay sometime it is altogither no praier at all, and yet we cannot with griefe perceiue this in our selues: for if we can but grieue, because we cannot pray, we nowe pray indeede. Hierome saith, Then we are iust when wee acknowledge our selues to be sinners: Againe, this is the true wisdome of man, to knowe himselfe to be imperfect: And (that I may so speake) the perfection of all iust men in the flesh is imperfect: Augustine againe saith, That the vertue which is now in a iust man is thus far forth perfect, that vnto the perfection thereof there belongs a true acknowledgemēt and an humble confession of the imperfection thereof. A broken and a contrite heart after an offence, is as much with God, as if there had beene no offence at all, and therefore so soone as Dauid after his grieuous fall, in heauinesse of heart confessed his sinne, saying in effect but th[gap]s much: I haue sinned, the prophet in the name of the Lord, pronounceth t[gap] pardon of his sinne in heauē, and that presently.