The Churches Security Together with the Antidote, Part 9
THe fourth signe or marke is a griefe,2. Cor. 7. 11 4▪ note a Godly sorro…. and Godly sorrow for the offense of God ioyned with an earnest desire of reconciliation and forgiuenesse. It is a Renting of the heart and not of the garments. Examples of this sorrow,Ioel. 2. 13 we hauehave in Daniell confessing his, and the peoples sins, wee hauehave sinned, and committed iniquity and done wickedly,Dan. 9. vers. 6. O Lord righteousnesse belongeth unto thee, and to vsus open pen shame. In the prodigall child, Father I hauehave sinned against heauen, Luke 18. 13.and against thee, and I am no more worthy to bee called thy childe. In the Iewes repenting of their vnthankfulnesse against Christ, of whome its said that they shall lament for Christ as one mourneth for his onelyonly sonne, and bee sory for him as one is one is sorie for his first borne. Zacha. 12, 10.They are blessed that mourne, viz: Math 5.for their owne sinnes, and others, and a broken heart is a sacrifice to God. Let eueryevery man then descend into himselfe, examine his conscience and bewaile his sinnes, whereby hee hath crucified the sonne of God. Let him then sigh and grone and bee afflicted for his offences, which no Man, Angell, or creature els could satisfie for, but onelyonly Christ Iesus the Kings sonne, who both suffered manifold and exquisite paines in bodie, and most inward and vnspeakeable torments in his soule for his sinne and that beeing his vtter enemie, and therefore if hee could shed buckets of teares for his sinnes, yea and teares of bloud all the daies of his life hee must not thinke it sufficient. Now the griefe and sorrow must not bee onelyonly, or cheifely in respect of losses, crosses, extremities, afflictions, punishments, or because hee afraid of hell tormentes and the terrour of the last iudgement;Psal. 130, 4. for reprobates, as Cain, Esau, Iudas, Magus, may and hauehave gone thus farre: but it must bee chiefely because the good maiestie of GOD hath beene offended, his patience and long suffering abused, and his merciemercy and fauour contemned, and this sorrow would appeare in iust and Godly men, albeit there were no conscience to accuse, no iudge to condemne, no temporall plagues to terrifie, and no eternall torments to daunt and dampe him. And if that saying be good oderunt peccare boni virtutis amore: so much more the Godly and regenerate are loath and grieued to displease God for the louelove and reuerence they beare to God and their Sauiour Christ. And as for deprecation,De…re of pardon. and desire of pardon, it is of absolute necessitie, and wee hauehave aboundant scriptures for the illustration and iustification of it. In the Iewes in Hosea his time,Hos. 14, 4. saying. Take away all iniquitie, and receiue vsus gratiously: I say, Daniell. and the Iewes of his time saying. O Lord heare, O Lord, forgiue, O Lord, consider and doe it, Psal. 51.deferre not for thine owne names sake O my GOD. In Dauid, hauehave merciemercy vponupon mee, O GOD according to thy louing kindenesse; according to the mul…itude of thy compassions put away mine iniquities.
And here wee may obserue a notable and a manifest difference betweene Gods children, and the hipocrites and wicked. Gods children desire nothing so much as to bee reconciled vntounto him, and therefore vponupon the sense, and perceiuing of his displeasure, they forthwith fall to prayer and humble suite, for the pardon of their sinnes, and neuer giuegive ouer vntell God from heauen send into their hearts some comfortable assurance thereof. But the wicked in their extremities (if they desire ought of God) either by themselues or others, it is onelie with Pharao, and Simon Magus, for the remoouall, or preuention of Gods iudgement, but as for their particuler sinnes, the cause of all their miseries they hauehave no true touch of, much lesse, then, desire pardon of them; as the examples of the two forenamed persons, as likewise of Cain, Esau, Iudas &c. doe sufficiently testifie. And the reason hereof is for that the wicked, and reprobate are neuer liuely smitten with the sense of their particular offences, nor discerne what an excellent and vnutterable benefit it is for a man to bee eased of them,Psal. 32, 1. 2 but the case is farre otherwise with eueryevery Godly, and truelie regenerate man.
And thus much of Godly sorrow and desire of pardon.