Again, the more a man apprehends of the love of God, and of the love of Christ, and the more a man tastes and is assured of the love of the Father, and of the love of the Son, the more that person will grieve and mourn that he has offended, provoked, and grieved such a Father, and such a Son. Remember this, as a man's assurance of peace and re- conciliation with God rises, so his grief for sin rises. The more clear and certain evidences a man has of the love and favour of God to his soul, the more that man will grieve and mourn for sinning against such a God. There is nothing that thaws and melts the heart, that softens and breaks the heart, like the warm beams of divine love ; as you may see in the case of Mary Magdalene, Luke vii. ; she loved much, and she wept much, for much was forgiven her. A sight of the free grace and love of Christ towards her, in an act of forgiveness, broke her heart all in pieces. A man cannot stand under the shinings of divine love with a frozen heart, nor yet with dry eyes. The more a man sees of the love of Christ, and the more a man tastes and enjoys of the love of Christ, the more that man will grieve and mourn for all the dishonours that he has done to Christ. The more an ingenuous child sees, and tastes, and enjoys of his father's love, the more he grieves and mourns that ever he should offend such a father, or provoke such a father, Avho has been so loving and indulgent towards him. Injuries done to a friend cut deep, and the more near, and dear, and beloved a man's friend is to him, the more a man is afflicted and troubled for any wrongs or injuries that are done to him ; and just so it is between God and a gracious soul.
The free love and favour of God, and his unspeakable goodness and
898 A CABINET OF JEWELS. [ChAP. III.
mercy manifested in Jesus Christ to poor sinners, is the very spring and fountain of all evangelical sorrow. Nothing breaks the heart of a poor sinner like the sight of God's free love in a redeemer. A man cannot seriously look upon the firstness, the freeness, the greatness, the un- changeableness, the everlastingness, and the matchlessness of God's free favour and love in Christ, with a hard heart, or with dry eyes : Ezek. xxxvi. 31, compared with verses 25, 26. Oh ! who is there that has but one spark of ingenuity, that can read over that heart-breaking scripture with dry eyes ? Isa. xliii. 22-24, ' But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob ; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel. Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt-offerings, neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices : I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense. Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices ; but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities,' see Isa. Ivii. 17-1 9. Now a man would think, after all this horrid abuse put upon God, this would certainly follow ; therefore I will plague and punish thee ; therefore my wrath shall smoke against thee ; therefore my soul shall abhor thee ; therefore I will shut up my loving-kindness in displeasure against thee ; therefore I will shew no more mercy towards thee ; therefore I will hide my face for ever from thee ; therefore I will take vengeance on thee ; therefore I will rain hell out of heaven upon thee, &c. Oh ! but read and wonder, read and admire, read and stand amazed and astonished, read and re- frain from tears if thou canst : ver. 25, ' I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.' The prophet's expression in that Zech. xii. 1 0 is very observable, ' They shall look upon him whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one that mourneth for his only son.' Now it is observable in a father's mourning for an only son, there is nothing but pure love, sincere love, hearty love ; but in a son's mourning for his father, there may be, and often is a great deal of self-love, self-respect, because the child may run and read ia his father's death, his own loss, his own ruin, his own undoing ; but in the father's mourning for an only son, a man may run and read the integrity, purity, and ingenuity of the father's love ; and it is only such a love as this as sets the soul a-mourn- ing and a-lamenting over a crucified Christ, The thoughts and fears of wrath, of hell, and of condemnation, works unsound hearts to rnourn ; but it is the sight of a bleeding, dying Saviour that sets ingenuous, gracious souls a-mourning.
[8.] Eighthly, and lastly. Godly sorrow, grief, or mourning, may be known by the insejjarable concomitants or comfanions that attend it and wait on it, 2 Cor. vii. IJ ; and they are these seven :
First, ' What carefulness' or study ; the word errovhr) notes the serious intension of the mind, and the diligence and dexterity of the soul in shunning and avoiding sin, and arming of the soul against all occasions and temptations thereunto. The great care of tlie repenting soul is to leave all sin, to shake off all sin, to avoid all sin, and to weaken and subdue, and bring under all sin. Oh ! the care, the caution, the circumspection, the vigilancy, the strivings and the striigglings of the repenting soul against temptations and corruptions.
Chap. III.] a cabinet of jewels. 399
Secondly, Yea, ' what clearing of yourselves,^ aToXoy/a, apology or defence ; which is not done either by denying of sin, or by excusing of sin committed, but by confession of sin, and dishking of sin, and bewail- ing of sin, and by walking quite cross and contrary to the sin confessed, disliked, and bewailed; as Zaccheus did, Luke xix. 8 ; and as the jailor did, Acts xvi. 13. The true penitent has no ways to clear himself, but by arraigning, judging, and condemning of himself: 1 Cor. xi. 31, 'For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.' When men judge themselves, and condemn themselves, God is prevented, and the devil defeated, as having nothing to say against them but what they have said before. When men acknowledge their sins, and aggravate their sins, and pass the sentence of condemnation upon themselves for their sins, they shall find their acquittance from them fairly drawn in the blood of Christ. Repentance for sin takes off the guilt of sin, and sin bewailed is as if it had never been committed ; and this becomes the soul's apology, Ezek. xviii. 21, 22.^