"Why do I grieve my old age for his madness, that I should suffer punishment for his sins?" Grieving was his punish ment. III. This sensitive sorrow is very apt to extinguish sin, it being of a symbolical nature to the design of God, when he strikes a sinner for his amendment: it makes sin to be uneasy to him; and not only to be displeasing to his Spirit, but to his sense, and consequently, that it hath no port to enter any more. IV. It is a great satisfaction to an inquisitive conscience, to whom it is not sufficient that he does repent, unless he be able to prove it by signs and proper indications. 21. The sum is this. 1. No man can, in any sense, be said to be a true penitent, unless he wishes he had never done the sin. 2. But he that is told that his sin is presently pardoned upon repentance, that is, upon leaving it, and asking forgiveness; and that the former pleasure shall not now hurt him, he hath no reason to wish that he had never done it. 3. But, to make it reasonable to wish that the sin had never been done, there must be the feeling or fear of some evil. Conscia mens ut cuique sua est, ita concipit, intrà Pectora, pro meritis spemque metumque suis. 4. According as is the nature of that evil feared or felt, so is the passion effected, of hatred, or sorrow. 5. Whatever the passion be, it must be totally exclusive of all affection to sin, and produce enmity and fighting against it, until it be mortified. 6. In the whole progression of this mortification, it is more than probable that some degrees of sensitive trouble will come in at some angle or other. 7. Though the duty of penitential sorrow itself be completed in nolitione peccati,' in the hating of sin, and ourselves for doing it, -yet the more penal that hate is, the more it ministers to many excellent purposes of repentance. 22. But because some persons do not feel this sensitive sorrow, they begin to suspect their repentance, and therefore they are taught to supply this want by a reflex act, that is, to be sorrowful because they are not sorrowful. This I must needs say is a fine device, where it can be made to signify something that is material. But I fear, it will not often. For i Terent. Andr. v. 3. 16. Schmieder. how can a man be sorrowful for not being sorrowful? For either he hath reason at first to be sorrowful, or he hath not. If he hath not, why should he be sorrowful for not doing an unreasonable act? If he hath reason, and knows it, it is certain he will be as sorrowful as that cause so apprehended can effect: but he can be no more, and so much he cannot choose but be. But if there be cause to be sorrowful, and the man knows it not, then he cannot yet grieve for that; for he knows no cause, and that is all one as if he had none. But if there be indeed a cause which he hath not considered, then let him be called upon to consider that, and then he will be directly and truly sorrowful, when he hath considered it; and hath reason to be sorrowful because he had not considered it before, that is, because he had not repented sooner; but to be sorrowful because he is not sorrowful, can have no other good meaning but this: we are to endeavour to be displeased at sin, and to use all the means we can to hate it; that is, when we find not any sensitive sorrow or pungency of spirit, let us contend to make our intellectual sorrow as great as we can. And if we perceive or suspect we have not true repentance, let us beg of God to give it; and let us use the proper means of obtaining the grace; and if we are uncertain concerning the actions of our own heart, let us supply them by prayer, and holy desires; that if we cannot perceive the grace in the proper shape, and by its own symptoms and indications, we may be made, in some measure, humbly confident by other images and reflections, by seeing the grace in another shape: so David; “ Concupivi desiderare justificationes tuas;" "I have desired to desire thy justifications;" that is, either I have prayed for that grace, or I have seen that I have that desire, not by a direct observation, but by some other signification. But it is certain, no man can be sorrowful for not being sorrowful, if he means the same kind and manner of sorrow; as there cannot be two, where there is not one; and there cannot be a reflex ray, where there was not a direct. 23. But if there be such difficulty in the questions of our own sorrow, it were very well, that even this part of repentance should be conducted, as all the other ought,by the ministry of a spiritual man; that it may be better instructed, and prudently managed, and better discerned, and firm and sure;" nothing else can do it: but this is a work of time; but such a work, that without it be done, our pardon is not perfect. 27. Now of this contrition, relying upon motives of pleasure and objects of amability, being the noblest principle of action, and made up of the love of God, and holy things, and holy expectations, the product is quite differing from that of attrition, or the imperfect repentance; for that commencing upon fear or displeasure, is only apt to produce a dereliction or quitting of our sin, and all the servile affections of frighted or displeased persons. But this would not effect a universal obedience; which only can be effected by the love and the affection of sons; which is also the product of those objects, which are the incentives of the divine love, and is called contrition; that is, a hatred against sin, as being an enemy to God, and all our hopes of enjoying God; whom because this repenting man loves and delights in, he also hates whatsoever God hates, and is really grieved, for ever having offended so good a God, and for having endangered his hopes of dwelling with him whom he so loves; and therefore, now does the quite contrary. 28, Now this is not usually the beginning of repentance, but is a great progression in it; and it contains in it obedience. He that is attrite, leaves his sin; but he that is contrite, obeys God, and pursues the interests and acquists of virtue: so that contrition is not only a sorrow for having offended God, whom the penitent loves; that is but one act or effect of contrition; but contrition loves God, and hates sin; it leaves this, and adheres to him; abstains from evil, and does good; dies to sin, and lives to righteousness; and is a state of pardon and acceptable services, 29. But then there is a sorrow also proper to it; for as this grace comes from the noblest passions and apprehensions, so it does operate in the best manner, and to the noblest purposes. It hates sin upon higher contemplations than he that hates it upon the stock of fear: he hates sin as being against God, and religion, and right reason; that is, he is gone further from him: he hates it for itself. Pœnitet, ô si quid miserorum creditur ulli, Cumque sit exilium, magis est mihi culpa dolori; That is, not only the evil effect to himself, but the irregularity and the displeasure to Almighty God, are the incentives of his displeasure against sin; and because in all these passions and effective motions of the mind, there is a sorrow under some shape or other, this sorrow or displeasure is that, which is a very acceptable signification, and act of repentance; and yet it is not to be judged of by sense, but by reason, by the caution and enmity against sin: to which this also is to be added: -- 30. That if any man inquires, whether or no his hatred against sin proceed from the love of God or no; that is, whether it be attrition or contrition, he is only to observe whether he does endeavour heartily and constantly to please God by obedience; for this is love, that we keep his commandments:' and although sometimes we may tell concerning our love as well as concerning our fear; yet when the direct principle is not so evident, our only way left to try, is by the event that is contrition which makes us to exterminate and mortify sin, and endeavour to keep the commandments of God. For that is sorrow proceeding from love. 31. And now it is no wonder, if to contrition pardon be so constantly annexed in all the discourses of divines: but unless contrition be thus understood, and if a single act of something like it, be mistaken for the whole state of this grace, we shall be deceived by applying false promises to a real need, or true promises to an incompetent and incapable state of things. But when it is thus meant, all the sorrows that can come from this principle are the signs of life. His lacrimis vitam damus, et miserescimus ultro. No man can deny pardon to such penitents, nor cease to joy in such tears. 32. The sum of the present inquiry is this: contrition is sometimes used for a part of repentance, sometimes taken for the whole duty. As it is a part, so it is that displeasure at sin, and hatred of it, which is commonly expressed in sorrow, but for ever in the leaving of it. It is sometimes begun with fear, sometimes with shame, and sometimes with kindness, with thankfulness and love; but love and obedience are ever at the latter end of it, though it were not at the beginning and till then it is called attrition. But when it is firm and sure;" nothing else can do it: but this is a work of time; but such a work, that without it be done, our pardon is not perfect. - 27. Now of this contrition, relying upon motives of pleasure and objects of amability, being the noblest principle of action, and made up of the love of God, and holy things, and holy expectations, the product is quite differing from that of attrition, or the imperfect repentance; for that commencing upon fear or displeasure, is only apt to produce a dereliction or quitting of our sin, and all the servile affections of frighted or displeased persons. But this would not effect a universal obedience; which only can be effected by the love and the affection of sons; which is also the product of those objects, which are the incentives of the divine love, and is called contrition; that is, a hatred against sin, as being an enemy to God, and all our hopes of enjoying God; whom because this repenting man loves and delights in, he also hates whatsoever God hates, and is really grieved, for ever having offended so good a God, and for having endangered his hopes of dwelling with him whom he so loves; and therefore, now does the quite contrary. 28, Now this is not usually the beginning of repentance, but is a great progression in it; and it contains in it obedience. He that is attrite, leaves his sin; but he that is contrite, obeys God, and pursues the interests and acquists of virtue: so that contrition is not only a sorrow for having offended God, whom the penitent loves; that is but one act or effect of contrition; but contrition loves God, and hates sin; it leaves this, and adheres to him; abstains from evil, and does good; dies to sin, and lives to righteousness; and is a state of pardon and acceptable services. 29. But then there is a sorrow also proper to it; for as this grace comes from the noblest passions and apprehensions, so it does operate in the best manner, and to the noblest purposes. It hates sin upon higher contemplations than he that hates it upon the stock of fear: he hates sin as being against God, and religion, and right reason; that is, he is gone further from him: he hates it for itself. Pœnitet, ô si quid miserorum creditur ulli, Cumque sit exilium, magis est mihi culpa dolori; |