[5.] That repentance that accompanies salvation, comprehends loath- ing and abhorring of sin, and of ourselves for sin, as well as shame a/iid blushi/ng for sin, Job xlii. 6 ; Ezek. xvi. 61, 62, 63 ; Amos v. 15 ; Ezek. XX. 41, 42, 43, ' And ye shall remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled ; and ye shall loathe yourselves in your own sight, for all the evils that you have committed.' The sincere penitent loathes his sins, and he loathes himself also because of his sins. He cries out, Oh these wanton eyes ! oh these wicked hands ! oh this deceitful tongue ! oh this crooked will ! oh this corrupt heart ! oh how do I loathe my sins, how do I loathe myself, how do I loathe sinful self, and how do I loathe my natural self, because of sinful self ! My sins are a burden to me, and they make me a burden to myself ; my sins are an abhorring to me, and they make me abhor myself in dust and ashes. A true penitent hath not only low thoughts of himself, but loathsome thoughts of himself^ None can think or speak so vilely of him, as he doth and will think and speak of himself Ezek. vi. 9, ' And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart ' (as the heart of a husband is at the adulterous carriage of his wife), ' which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a-whoring after their idols : an<l they shall loathe themselves for evils which they have
' K'13, hash, to blush, to be abashed, to wax pale and wan, &c. Quantum displicet Deo immunditia peccati, in tantum placet Deo erubescentia pcenitentis. — Bernard. So much the more God hath been displeased with the blackness of sin, the more will he be well pleased with the blushing of the sinner.
* Vis magnus esse ? incipe ab imo, wilt thou be great ? begin from below, saith one. It is very observable that those brave creatures, the eagle and tlie lion, were not offered in sacrifice unto God, but the poor lamb and dove ; to note that God regards not your brave, liigh, lofty spirits, but poor, meek, and contemptible spirits.
Rom. VIII. 32-34.] heaven on earth. 467
committed in all their abominations.' If thy repentance do not work thee out with thy sins, and thy sins work thee out of love with thyself, thy repentance is not that repentance that accompanies salvation.^ And thus you see the particular things that that repentance that doth accompany salvation doth comprehend and include.
(6.) The sixth property. Sixthly, That repentance that accompanies salvation, hath these choice companions attending of it.
[1.] Faith. Zech. xii. 10, II, ' They shall look upon him whom they have pierced, and mourn,' &c. Mourning and believing go together. So in Mat. iv. 17 ; Mark i. 14, 15, ' Now, after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand : repent ye, and believe the gospel.'
[2.] Love to Christ doth always accompany that repentance that ac- companies salvation, as you may see in Mary Magdalene, Luke vii.
[3.] A filial fear of offending Ood, and a holy care to honour God, doth always accompany that repentance that accompanies salvation : 2 Cor. vii. 10, 'For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of : for, behold, this self-same thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of your- selves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge ! In all things ye have approved your- selves to be clear in this matter.' Verily, repentance to life hath all these lively companions attending of it ; they are bom together and will live together, till the penitent soul changes earth for heaven, grace for glory.*
(7.) The seventh property. Seventhly and lastly. That repentance that accompanies salvation is a continued act, a repentance never to be repented of, 2 Cor. vii. 10. Repentance is a continual spring, where the waters of godly sorrow are always flowing. A sound penitent is still a-turning nearer and nearer to God ; he is still a- turning further and further from sin. This makes the penitent soul to sigh and mourn that he can get no nearer to God, that he can get no further from sin, Rom. vii. The work of repentance is not the work of an hour, a day, a year, but the work of this life. A sincere penitent makes as much conscience of repenting daily as he doth of believing daily ; and he can as easily content himself with one act of faith, or love, or joy, as he can content himself with one act of repentance : ' My sins are ever before me,' says David, Ps. li. 3. Next to my being kept from sin, I count it the greatest mercy in the world to be still a-mouming over sin, says the penitent souL The penitent soul never ceases repenting till he ceases living.^ He goes to heaven with the jojrful tears of repent- ance in his eyes. He knows that his whole life is but a day of sowing tears that he may at last reap everlasting joys. That repentance that accompanies salvation is a final forsaking of sin. It is a bidding sin an everlasting adieu ; it is a taking an eternal farewell of sin ; a never
^ Some people can shed tears for nothing, some for anything; but a sound penitent sheds more tears for his sins than he doth for his sufferings.
* Repentance is Post naufragium tabula, the fair daughter of a foul mother. Repentance is a fruitful womb.
' Quid restat, 0 peceator, nisi «t in tola vita tua deplores totam vitam tuam. — Anselmus. Oh, then, what then remains but in our whole life to lament the sins of our whole life ? [' Our Dens Homo-' — G.]
468 HEAVEN ON EARTH. [ROM. YIII. 32-34.
turning to folly more : * What have I to do any more with idols V says Ephraim, Hosea xiv. 8. I have tasted of the bitterness that is in sin ; I have tasted of the sweetness of divine mercy in pardoning of sin ; therefore, away, sin ; I will never have to do with you more ! You have robbed Christ of his service, and me of my comfort and crown. Away, away, sin ! you shall never be courted nor countenanced by me more. That man that only puts off his sins in the day of adversity, as he doth his garments at night when he goes to bed, with an intent to put them on again in the morning of prosperity, never yet truly repented : he is a dog that returneth to the vomit again ; he is a swine that returns to the wallowing in the mire. Such a dog was Judas ; such a swine was Demas.