Luke xv. 10. I say unto you, There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
HOWEVER paradoxical the observation may ap- pear, man is really an enemy to his own happiness. He loves sin, which is the source of all misery: and hates repentance, which is the only remedy for that misery. He cannot persuade himself that that which he professes to seek after, is to be found in penitence and self-denial. But, had we no other proof of the blessedness which attaches to true repentance, it were sufficient to know, upon the authority of Jesus
Christ himself, that the very angels in heaven rejoice over any sinner in whom this good work is begun.
We will take occasion from our text to shew you,
I. What is that repentance which causes joy in heaven —
It is not every kind or degree of repentance that produces this effect : none but that which is effectual to the sinner's salvation, will excite these benevolent emotions in the breasts of angels. It consists in,
1. Sorrow for sin —
[This is absolutely necessary. If sin be not our burthen and grief, we have not the smallest spark of true repentance. There is a great difference indeed between the sorrow of the world, and that which is caused by a sense of sin. But in this there must be an agreement, that sin must lie as a heavy bur- then upon the soul ; and under a sense of it we must experi- ence brokenness of heart and contrition : for it is " the broken and contrite heart, and that only, which God will not despise."]
2. Hatred of sin —
[Many will be sorry that they have brought themselves to shame and trouble, when they have no aversion to the sins which they have committed. Many also will hate sin in others, when they do not hate it in themselves. When David, for in- stance, was totally unhumbled for his own enormous wicked- ness, he was so indignant against the man who was supposed to have taken the poor man's lamb, that he would have had him put to death for his offence. And Jehu was extremely zealous against the idolatry of Ahab, while yet he was very indulgent to his own crimes. But if we are truly penitent, we shall hate our own sins more than any; and shall be disposed to seek their utter destruction, even though they be dear as a right hand, or a right eye. It will teach us to say with David, " I hate every false way."]
3. A lothing of oneself on account of sin —
[Sin is a disorder that defiles and debases the whole soul. That is no exaggerated description of the prophet, who says of us, that " from the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in us, but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores." Now we may conceive in a measure, what lothing we should feel if we saw a person full of sores and ulcers : and such is the disgust which a view of our own souls should create within us. This is repeatedly mentioned as the experience of the Lord's people, even after that God is pacified towards