The Dead Saint Speaking to Saints and Sinners Living, Treatise 5 · Character 7
7. Character.
Sincere mourning is a friutfull mourning.
There are paenal tears, and fruitful tears, Worldly ſorrow that is paenal ſorrow, it is a weeping to weeping, but godly ſorrow is a fruitful ſorrow, a weeping to repentance, and amendment, as the Apoſtle, Godly ſorrow, works repentance, not to bee repented of, 2 Cor. 7.10. There is a great deal of difference between the pains of the gout, and of a woman in travel, the one is pain to pain, no fruit of the pain, meer torture, the other is pain to eaſe, travel to reſt, a travel to birth. Other ſorrow is a ſorrow to ſorrow, this is a ſorrow to joy, as Chriſt expreſſeth it under the parable of a woman in travell. Sincere mourning is a fruitfull mourning, for repentance is like the waters of jealouſy, which either rot or make fruitful.
And firſt It is a heart humbling ſorrow.
2 It is a ſoul fattening ſorrow, by the ſadneſs of the countenance, the heart is made better.
3 It is a grace ſtrengthning, a grace increaſing ſorrow. And therefore doth God preſerve ſuch ſprings as theſe in the hearts of his people, on purpoſe to water the ſeed of holineſſe, the garden of graces in the hearts of his people. Every grace within us doth look freſh, every diſpoſition within us buds, ſhoots forth after a ſhowre of repentant tears, that man who hath ſuch ſprings as theſe within him, his graces muſt needs flouriſh, they cannot wither nor decay.
Obſerve it, A mourning Chriſtian is evermore a thriving, a growing Chriſtian.
4 It is a divorcing ſorrow, it breaks the league and union between heart and Sin. There is a league between the heart and ſin, they are as neer together as the skin to the fleſh, as the fleſh to the bones, the bark to the tree: Godly ſorrow doth divorce between a mans heart and ſinne; ſeparates between them, it ſets the ſoul at a diſtance with ſin; Unſound hearts may mourn, may lament ſin, but leave not Sin, they Sin and Repent, and Repent and Sin; as if their Sinning did but make matter for repenting, &c.
This is like the Drunken mans round, his drink goes out in tears, and then to drink again. Pharaoh could ſay hee had ſinned, but hee left not his Sinne, Saul could ſay hee had Sinned too, yet hee retained his ſinne, Judas ſaid the like, yet if he had lived, he had been the ſame, if God had not changed his heart. No, if a man ſhould have lain as long in flames as Cain hath, and ſhould come out of hell, red hot out of flames, hee would bee the ſame man ſtill. All the terrors of God, all the horrors in the World, all the flames of hell cannot change the heart. Theſe may dare a man, make a man afraid to ſin, but not hate Sin, this muſt come from a principle of Grace, a Goſpel work. The juſtice of God may terrify the heart, the power of God may awe the heart, but it muſt be the love and mercy of God, which muſt thaw the heart, muſt change the heart. Now godly ſorrow doth work a change in the ſoul;Job 34.32 ſuch a man ſaith with Job; If I have done iniquity I will do it no more, hee lamenteth ſin and leaveth Sin, he confeſſeth and forſaketh Sin, God forgives, and he alſo foregoes ſin.
Beſide theſe fruits I might name many more, which are the fruits of ſincere mourning. It worketh peace, our tears end in joy, it worketh ſpiritual tranquillity of Conſcience, as it worketh a change.
And beſides theſe you have ſeven ſpecial and particular fruits, ſet down (2 Cor. 7.11.) of godly ſorrow, on which I want time to inſiſt. But now an hypocrites ſorrow is a ſorrow to ſorrow, a paenal not a fruitful ſorrow, hee is never the better for all his howling, his heart never the more humble, his ſpirit never the more broken, his ſoul never the more ſet againſt Sin. Theſe tears they leave him as they found him, they are not changing and transforming tears, hee is never the more watchful, never the more careful to pleaſe God, hee rather grows more ſecure, takes more heart to ſin againſt God, hee thinks hee hath done penance and ſatisfied the Law, hee hath diſcharged the former ſcore by his preſent roarings, and therefore may beginne a new reckoning, a new ſcore, and ſin more freely againſt God: whereas true mourning makes us watchfull, and ſo our falls make us ſecure.
To ſum up all in a little.
1 The unſound heart, hee mourns for Sin either as clad with puniſhment, or as it bringeth the evil of puniſhment after it, the firſt you ſee in Pharaoh, the ſecond in Ahab. The other laments Sin as Sin, ſin abſtracted and ſeparated from wrath and puniſhment.
2 The one howls under the preſent laſhes, the evil of puniſhment, the other under the evil of ſin.
3 Sence doth provoke the one to mourning, faith and love do cauſe the other to mourn.
4 The ground of the one is ſelf-love, the ground of the other, love to God.
5 The one is ſlaviſh, the other childiſh.
6 The end of the one is peace and joy, of the other, it is diſcouragement and diſpair, as in Cain and Judas, &c.
7 The one breeds a bitterneſſe and turbulency of ſpirit, the other humility, mildneſs, ſelf-denial. Thus I have ſhewed you theſe three things, and cleared them.
I beleeve there's many of you, who do not pray at all, many who are yet to ſhed one tear for Sin; Alas! when was the time, thou haſt entred thy Chamber, thy cloſet; and broken thy heart for ſin, humbled thy ſoul for ſin? Let mee tell thee thus much, thou haſt ſinned, this ſinne will have ſorrow one time or other, if not here in fruitful mourning, hereafter in paenal mourning, in weeping and gnaſhing of teeth. If thou wilt not ſorrow for a time thou ſhalt howl for ever; It may bee thou thinks no ſuch matter; conſcience is now at peace,Iſta tranquill…tas tempeſtas erit. it is like a book bound up, if once opened your peace ſhall end in a ſtorm, your joy in ſorrow; happy thou, if God wound thee, that hee may heal thee, break thee, that hee may bind thee, humble thee, that hee may comfort thee. It is better bee broken here, than to go whole to hell, better be wounded here, than to go ſound to hell, better to bee a ſad Saint, than a merry Devil.
What David prayed for his enemies, may wee pray for our beſt friends. Send them down quick to Hell. Send them down here by humiliation, that they may avoid eternal damnation hereafter.
Wee began with the laſt firſt, viz. clear your ſincerity in your performances in particular, wee named three particulars, in
Hearing. Praying. Mourning.
Wee come now to the end, which is the firſt in order of nature, though wee have made it laſt in time.
Clear ſincerity in Obedience in the general.2. Clear the ſincerity of your hearts in Obedience in general. Now to this as to the former. I will give you ſome Characters of a ſincere Obedience. Sincere Obedience is 1. A faithful. 2. An univerſal. 3. A fruitful. 4. A filial Obedience. Wee ſhall only ſingle out ſome of them, becauſe wee are willing to finiſh this Doctrin.