to the hook : he promises himself that nothing very calamitous shall result from his conduct : he trusts that through the mercy of God it shall pass unnoticed ; or that he shall, by repentance, make compensation for it; or that he shall, by some other means, enjoy the pleasures of sin, without experiencing its bitter consequences. With these vain hopes he goes forward, till he finds, too late, that the evils which he would not antici- pate, he is not able to control.]
II. The awakened sinner —
[Thoughtless as is the career of the wicked, they cannot always ward off conviction. Even Judas at last " repented himself." What a different aspect had sin when his eyes were opened, from what it had when he was blinded by his covetous- ness ! The wages of iniquity, which at fii'st promised him so much happiness, were now a burthen to him, insomuch that he tendered them to the chief priests again, and, when they refused his offer, cast them down in the temple with indignation and abhorrence. He proceeded further: he confessed and aggravated his sin ; and strove to imdo the evil he had com- mitted ; yea, and indirectly testified against the wickedness of the priests, who had conspired to shed, and tempted him to betray, the innocent blood of Jesus.
All this indeed proceeded only from a selfish terror, and from a vain hope of pacifying his conscience by these means. In the midst of all, there was no real contrition, any more than in Saul'^ or Pharaoh^: there was no prayer to God; no faith in Christ. Though, therefore, he was awakened and terrified, he was far from being truly converted to God.
In him we may see the picture of thousands, both in ancient and modern times. Many will make restitution of their ill- gotten gain : many under a sense of guilt will confess some heinous crime ; especially when the consequences of it far exceed their expectations. We do not wish indeed to depre- ciate the value of such changes : but it is incumbent on us to declare that they are far from constituting true repentance. They argue an awakened, but not a converted mind. There must be, in addition to all this, a deep humiliation, a lively faith, and an earnest crying unto God for mercy. And if, like Judas, we do not hate sin, but only its consequences ; if we confess to man only, and not to God ; if we labour to ex- piate our guilt by restitution or reformation, instead of fleeing for refuge to the blood of atonement ; we shall, like him, have no solid benefit from our repentance : our very sorrows will be only an earnest of hell itself.]
III. The hardened sinner —
J 1 Sam. xxvi. 21. « Exod. ix. 27.