The Dead Saint Speaking to Saints and Sinners Living, Treatise 5 · Character 4 – Character 5
4. Character.
4 Sincere mourning is a proportional mourning, there are two proportions of ſin: Firſt, of the meaſure. Secondly, Of the merit of ſin. Where the heart is ſincere it is proportionable.
1. To the meaſure of Sin. Great ſins muſt have great ſorrows, thou haſt abounded in ſinning, thou muſt abound in ſorrowing. Thus you ſee it was with Manaſses, hee was a great Sinner, and a great ſorrower, hee was humbled greatly ſaith the Text. So Mary Magdalen, a great ſinner, and ſhee is a great ſorrower.
Its true, I grant,Non ex gradu …t menſura paenitenti…, &c. That Sincerity doth not lye ſo much in the meaſure, as the truth of mourning; there may bee godly ſorrow in a drop, in one tear, when there is not godly ſorrow in a Sea of Teares: But this I ſay withall, that ſincere hearts doe ever labour to carry a proportion between their ſinnings and their ſorrowings, between their repentings and their revoltings, and though a man may bee juſtified in heaven, without ſuch a meaſure of ſorrow, yet hee will ſcarce bee juſtified, or get peace in the court of his own Conſcience without it. Thats the firſt.
2 The ſecond Proportion is, To the merit of Sin. Sincere mourning is proportionable to the merit of ſinne;Non actu ſed affectu. as the demerit of ſin is infinite, ſo ſorrow for it muſt bee an infinite ſorrow, infinite I ſay, not in the act and expreſſion, yet in the affection of the ſoul. As it is ſaid of a wicked man, if hee ſhould live for ever hee would ſinne for ever, in reſpect of his deſire and will to ſinne, and therefore becauſe hee ſins in aeterno ſui, hee is puniſhed in eterno Dei.
So I may ſay of a godly man, if hee ſhould live for ever, hee would ſorrow for ever. His ſorrow is infinite in deſire and affection, though finite in the act and expreſſion of it. And indeed a bounded, a ſtinted ſorrow is no ſorrow. Hee whoſe heart and eyes do dry up together, whoſe expreſſion in tears and affections of ſorrow do end together, though hee had wept a ſea of tears, hee hath not yet mourned for ſin. As I told you laſt day, that a Sincere heart doth riſe up praying from Prayer, ſo hee goes away weeping from weeping, with a weeping heart when his eyes are dry. Godly ſorrow hath affections of mourning, when the expreſſions of mourning ceaſeth, becauſe every drop of tears doth ariſe from a ſea of tears within. As every act of faith doth ariſe from a beleeving diſpoſition, a habit of faith within: ſo every expreſſion of ſorrow from an affection of ſorrow in the ſpirit; every drop of tears from a ſpring and fountain of tears within the ſoul. Hence wee read, 1 Sam. cap. 7. verſ. 6. where their ſorrow is expreſſed by this phraſe, They drew water as out of a well, as out of a ſpring, and poured out before the Lord, Their eyes did not empty ſo faſt as their heart filled. Their eyes could not poure it forth ſo faſt, as their hearts did yeild it up. All their expreſſions of mourning were leſs, than their affections of mourning. And ſhall I now tell you, though your ſorrow may bee ſincere, and yet not proportionable to the meaſure of ſin, yet your ſorrow cannot bee ſincere, if not proportionable to the merit of Sin; if it be not infinite ſorrow, infinite I ſay, in the deſire and affection, though not in the act and expreſſion.
And alas how few there are Sincere mourners! you that are ſturdy Sinners, you dry eyed Sinners, you hard hearted Sinners, when was the time you have thus mourned for ſin, wee ſee your ſinnings every day, but who hears of your repentings? wee hear of your drunkenneſſe, your ſwearing, your lying, your gaming, your dicing, and revelling, even till the morning watch upon the Lords day; but wee hear not of your repentings; In ſtead of that wee hear of your new ſinning; you adde Sin to Sin, not repenting to ſinning. As it was ſaid of Herod, that hee added this to all his wickedneſs, that hee ſhut up John in Priſon; this was the great aggravation of his ſin, this fill'd his meaſure, hee added this to all. So there are ſome who will adde this to all their ſins, that adde this to all their drunkenneſs, their ſwearing, gaming, revelling, to perſecute and evilly intreat thoſe who are Gods meſſengers to them.
Take heed of thus adding drunkenneſſe to thirſt, and malice, and rage to drunkenneſſe, leſt Gods wrath and jealouſie ſmoak againſt ſuch exceſſes, Deut. 29.19, 20.
5 Character.
Sincere mourning is a faithfull mourning.
So much faith, ſo much ſincere mourning, ſo much godly ſorrow; They are like the fountain and the flood, the one ariſes no higher than the other. In reſpect of donation, faith and repentance are infuſed at the ſame inſtant of time; though in reſpect of manifeſtation, repentance goes before faith. Faith being like the ſap, which is hid in the root, more ſecret in the heart, and repentance like the bud, which is ſooner diſcerned than faith, both to a mans own ſelf and others. Yet in reſpect of the order of nature, faith doth neceſſarily goe before repentance.Nemo pot…ſt agere paenitentiam, niſi qui ſperat de indulgentia. As a legall faith, before a legall ſorrow, ſo an evangelicall faith, before an evangelicall ſorrow. No man can truely repent, but hee who hath ſome hopes of pardon.
Well then, ſincere Repentance, is a faithful Repentance, ſuch a Repentance as doth ariſe from Faith; by which I mean not, a legal Faith, whereby a man beleeves the threatnings of the Law to bee true, and hee guilty. This is too low. This may breed a vexing, tumultuous, turbulent, ſlaviſh ſorrow, but not a godly, ſweet, evangelical mourning. But I mean here an evangelical Faith, and yet not the Faith of aſſurance, or the Faith of evidence; this is too high. There may bee godly ſorrow, ſincere mourning in that ſoul, which yet for the preſent wants the evidence and aſſurance of Gods love in Chriſt. But ſuch a Faith I mean which is the loweſt ſpring of godly ſorrow. Whereby the ſoul is perſwaded
1. Of the all-ſufficiency of Gods Mercy, and Chriſts Merits for the pardoning of ſin.
2. Of the freeneſs and willingneſs of God to pardon ſin.
3. And then throws it ſelf upon the Mercy of God; the grace of Chriſt, for pardon and forgiveneſs. Which though it appear to bee ſmall, yet it will coſt you ſomething before ever you reach this.
But now the mourning of an Hypocrite doth not ariſe from Faith, but from ſenſe, either from ſome preſent ſting, or trouble of conſcience, or from ſome outward preſſures upon the body. And hence it comes to paſs that his ſorrow is not a conſtant ſorrow, while the trouble laſts, the weight is upon him, ſo long hee howles and cryes; but if once the trouble bee blown over, the Sky clears, his mourning is done. As Job ſaith of his praying, will hee pray alwayes? hee will not. So I may ſay of his mourning, will hee mourn alwayes? hee will not. When conſcience wrings him, when the heart is overwhelmed with trouble, then hee falls a howling, and crying, but when the trouble is over, hee wipes his eyes, and mourns no more. But now again, hee, whoſe ſorrow doth ariſe from Faith, hee doth not only mourn when conſcience is troubled, but when conſcience is at peace. Nay, when the heart is fulleſt of peace and joy, the eyes are biggeſt with tears; when the pearle of joy is in the heart, the dew of tears is in the eyes. I ſay, when the ſoul hath moſt aſſurance of Gods love, then will Faith produce child-like arguments to raiſe up the ſprings of ſorrows in us, to open all the fountains of tears in the ſoul. Oh will the ſoul ſay! hath God been ſo mercifull? and am I ſo ſinfull? Hath hee been ſo good to mee? and I ſo evil to him? As the frowns of God do break the heart, ſo the ſmiles of God do melt and diſſolve it.