-- CHAPTER VII: The sorrow and repentance which we should have for original sin
was involved and concerned in all this, and thereupon to say, Surely if I were guilty of no more actual sin but this alone, it should be a sufficient motive against all sin, which, by God's manifested distaste at this sin, I see he infinitely abhors; and whilst his thoughts are thus seriously working in himself, let any particular sin come into his thoughts, and he will, in this fresh sense of this first sin, abominate it. But these are but generals, though perhaps sufficient to set our meditations and exercises of our souls a-work this way, and lead us the way into more particular acts of repentance from hence.
CHAPTER VII:
The sorrow and repentance which we should have for original sin The sorrow and repentance which we should have for original sin, move amplified from the effects which godly sorrow wrought in the Corinthians For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.—2 COR. 7:10, 11
I shall endeavour to make a farther essay upon all these particular acts of repentance, which are set out to have been the effects and consequents of godly sorrow in those Corinthians, if we understand that passage of what repentance was wrought in them, for that part
of the guilt which themselves, as a church, had contracted, and for which he had reproved them in the 5th chapter of his former epistle, as those which had not mourned; which occasioned this their repentance here, as ver. 8 informs, and therefore that personal repentance for themselves must be taken in as there intended, and hath also been before animadverted. And so understood, I shall attempt to go over all those particular effects there specified, and demonstrate that they all may as naturally flow from a true godly conviction and sorrow for our share in the guilt of Adam's sin, as upon the guilt of any personal sin of our own committing. The apostle's words are these: 'Godly sorrow worketh repentance,' ver.
10; and the effects thereof do follow: ver. 11, 'For this self-same thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort,' or 'for God,' 1, 'What carefulness wrought it in you;' yea, 2, 'what apology,' Ἀπόλογίαν, or pleading for yourselves; 3, 'what indignation;' 4, 'what fear;' 5, 'what vehement desire;' 6, 'what zeal;' 7, 'what revenge.' These are spiritually natural effects of godly sorrow for any grievous sin, and acts of repentance relating unto time to come; for as Bellarmine well says, There cannot be a true sorrow of heart for a sin that is past, but presently there doth arise a purpose not to sin for the future.
In going over these, I shall couple those of them that are more symbolical and congenial one with another, and so shortly speak of them in the force of what hath been hitherto said.
The first couple shall be care and fear, both which respect avoiding sin for time to come, that we fall not into the like.
1. Care. Let any soul but view the transactions of Satan with Eve, and hers with Adam, and how easily that their feet slipped, and they turned thither (as the psalmist's phrase is, Ps. 73:2), and were eternally lost and gone, and let that soul withal but interest himself in that act of Adam's first sin, and he may find it gives him as great a monition of watchfulness as any of his own sins are like to do against all temptations of Satan, not so much as to listen to them, or to any other motions of sin.
2. What fear. Fear imports a carefulness arising from the sense of a danger, against security or confidence is ourselves. There is no instance will prompt more heedfully for ever to stand upon our guard than this of Adam's sinning; for if thou hast put thyself into Adam's case and condition, &c., thou wilt consider how, though thou hadst in him a fulness of perfect holiness, and nothing within to tempt thee, that yet thou then didst fall in him, and he that was so completely armed then fell, and thou in him; how much more then now, when thou hast so little of grace to preserve thee, and so much of corruption to tempt thee, may it cause thee to work out thy salvation with fear and trembling? 'Let him that standeth take heed lest he fall,' is a natural lesson from hence; and 'Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand,' &c. And this is holy fear and jealousy of ourselves. This for the first couple.
A second pair or couple are indignation and revenge.
The first speaks a throwing away of sin in a chafe: 'What have I to do any more with idols?' as Ephraim, Hosea 14:9. Or such an indignation as Asaph had at himself: Ps. 73:22, 'So foolish was I, and as a beast before thee.' And if ever any sin (take the consequents of it) would raise up indignation in the heart of one supposed guilty of it, this will, to think how triflingly the whole world was lost and cast away, myself and all mankind, at one throw, for less than a mess of pottage. Oh this shews what we are at best, even but creatures; and this is our creation grace, on which a man would not venture the smallest piece of a soul, much less the blessedness of all mankind.
We are apt enough, indeed, to have our spirits fume, at Adam and Eve (as no question, they repenting, did against themselves) for so great an unworthiness, that man in honour should so easily become a beast that perisheth, yea, a devil. But the indignation I call upon thee for is of another kind, to which purpose put thyself into Adam's case, and first think with thyself, If I had been in his stead, I with my creature free-will grace should, vice versa, have served Adam so, and lost all for myself and him, even as he did. And then again, think also that this act of his sin is thy sin, and this will both turn thy
indignation against thyself, and set thy heart to be more resolved against all sin for time to come, for any sin as well as that of eating the forbidden fruit, if it had been committed by them, would have done it. I will never trust creature grace or free-will grace more, for this foul failure of it in him. 'O what indignation!'
The second is revenge. There is a question among the schoolmen,* whether repentance be only an act of love to God, or withal an act of justice, or doing a justice unto God again, by way of recompence for sin, as it is a wrong and an injury to him, by endeavouring what in us lies to destroy the injury done to God, and restore unto God his right? Thus they. This notion they would put upon repentance's revenge, with an intention thereon to found a compensation, a satisfaction made unto God by repentance (such as the creatures can make), and withal thereby to make up a reconciliation with God again, injuriam resarciendo, by making God amends. Thus they philosophise. Yet sever this notion of theirs from this blasphemous affront given unto the satisfaction of Christ alone made for us, instead of which they would set up their satisfactions in penances,
&c., and understand this analogically or similitudinarily, and there is a revenge a penitent soul takes of itself for sin, or rather upon sin; and there is an endeavour to make God an amends, that by how much a man hath the more sinned, by so much the more he would be obedient, and do contrary unto what formerly he hath done; which you see to have been in Paul, who had been so violent in persecuting the church; in the woman of Nain, &c., Luke 7:37; and in the Christians at Ephesus, that burnt their books of curious arts, &c.,
Acts 19:19. And such a revenge is not simply intended as against ourselves (we leave that to the papists), but against our sins; and those not simply as having done ourselves such mischief, but as against God; for as it is sorrow to God, or for God's interest, from whence this revenge here ariseth, so as there is a revenge done on sin for God's sake, wherein the penitent soul can rest satisfied with nothing but the utter destruction of it, for that revenge doth always import. Jealousy is the rage or revenge of a man: Prov. 6:34, 'For
jealousy is the rage of a man; therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.'
Now, as to this of revenge against sin thus understood, how it should be stirred up in us, by the consideration of our guilt of that act of Adam's sin, or upon what thing or sin this revenge should wreak or vent itself? That is the query. Upon that act of sin past? That cannot be; and to revenge ourselves upon some lawful liberty that holds an appearance to that of their eating the forbidden fruit, in the contemplation of this sin, is easily imaginable.
I shall only say as to this point these two things:
1. If a man would have hatred stirred up to purpose against sin (which is the ground and provocative of revenge), let him view but sin in that glass of Adam's fall, and consider but how heinously God took it, and how highly he was displeased at it, and hath shown it in the miserable consequents of it, so as never the like, it being the spoil of all his workmanship, which in the end of the sixth and seventh day he was so refreshed, withal, and a turning the whole wheel and way of the old creation (of man especially) into a contrariety unto him for ever.
There are two great glasses to view the deformity of sin in: the first in this of Adam's fact in paradise; the second in that of Christ's suffering for sin upon the cross. God laid upon him the iniquities of us all, revenge being thus stirred up.
2. Wouldst thou be revenged for this mischief done to God and thee, &c., and know where and how, in a proper way, to point and direct the sword's point of thy revenge against it? Then look as David when he would study how to shew a kindness unto Jonathan who was dead, and so out of a capacity, or the reach of a kindness himself (as the act of this sin also is to ours), yet as David inquired, 'Is there any left of the house of Saul, that I may shew kindness to him for Jonathan's sake?' 2 Sam. 9:1. And they told him he had a son
Mephibosheth, ver. 3, &c. Thus say I, wouldst thou be revenged for the loss, not of thy two eyes only (as Samson, Judges 16:28), but for the loss of the whole image of God, &c., which was 'created in knowledge,' &c., as the apostle speaks? I say, wouldst thou be avenged for this and other mischiefs on this sin? Look first if there be any of its brood left behind it, whom thou mayest fairly wreak thy vengeance on. And for that thou needest to go no farther than thine own heart; behold a whole body of sins, all sorts of lusts therein, that are the brood it hath left behind it, that sin was the father of, besides all the actual sins which are begotten by it, the grandchildren of that grand sin; and if these be not large enough to satiate thy vengeance, thou hast the sins of all the sons of men thou conversest with, that come within thy cognisance, to endeavour to extirpate these in them by all ways and means wherein thy duty lies. These are all of the same stock and lineage, and descended from this root, and cousingermans to thine own sin. But if thou thinkest these too remote and too far off in kindred, look upon thine own children who came out of thine own loins, and all the sins in them, which are all nearer akin unto that corruption in thyself, and next unto thine own. In all these thou hast field enough before thee for revenge to forage in. Only first begin this thy revenge at home; thou hast enough to satiate thy hatred upon there. Slash and cut, and spare not; hew and cut down, and lay the axe to the root of the tree. 'Oh what revenge!' But on a revenge hereon I shall enlarge when I come to the acts of repentance for inherent corruption.
There is a third pair or couple, what desire! what zeal! Those latter fruits of repentance do, to be sure, spring from pure love to God.
What desires to be rid of sin and to be holy, which are the best fruits of thy grace in this life? And then thy sense of the guilt of this act of sinning will put thee upon hungering and thirsting after righteousness, especially that righteousness of that other Adam,
Christ, of which by and by; and it will stir desires also after the favour of God, for this was the first sin that separated betwixt God and thee.
And zeal is but love and desire, and other affections intended.* Desire is smoke, and zeal is flame. And for a man to consider, I am
guilty of the first sin that ever was committed in the world, and one of the greatest that ever was or will be, this may well provoke him to desire, and to say, That was the alpha of my sins; would to God that which I committed last might be the omega. Again, did I bring sins enough into the world, even of the guilt of that sin, if I had added no more, to have found me work to repent of as long as I have been or am to be in the world; yea, to find me work enough of that kind, if I did nothing else? And shall I sin any one sin more? Oh, if it were possible, not so much as one! Oh what desire, what zeal should this provoke us to?
There is one thing more in that text, 2 Cor. 7, a single seventh, which will not so well yoke with any of the other, a clearing ourselves, or apology in defence of ourselves; and what may that be supposed to have to do with our sense of the guilt of this act? We will be ready to say, that of all sins else we can the best apologise for this, and clear ourselves, and wash our hands of that, and plead in defence of ourselves. It was the sin of another, and not our own; quœ non fecimus ipsi, vix ea nostra voco. That which I did not can hardly be styled mine. This was Adam's fault indeed, in seeking to excuse himself, by laying his sin on his wife, yea, at God's door, Gen. 3 which Job alludes to, chap. 31:33. But as to the Corinthians clearing themselves for that personal share of theirs in that sin (which the apostle had reproved in these Corinthians, 2 Cor. 5:3), that true godly sorrow which their hearts were yet bedewed with, and had brought forth, this apology here was joined with a putting their mouths in the dust, and a taking shame and guilt to themselves, to the utmost grain of weight it will bear. The word here used is an apology, or pleading for pardon and forgiveness, having first taken a sin upon us;* for, as I observed before, true faith is always intermingled with repentance which is evangelical, yea, and causeth it; and the more it is made sensible of its sin through its working, the more it puts the soul upon further exercises of faith, and to seek after the attainment of fresh assurance of forgiveness. This apology the apostle terms elsewhere, the 'answer' or speakings 'of a good conscience,' when through faith the soul is enabled to plead Christ's
resurrection for the justification of itself, 1 Pet. 3:21, which is done, whilst a penitent soul approacheth with fresh and louder cries the throne of grace for God's absolution and forgiveness, and clearing of them to their own sense, for a sin repented of and sorrowed for; as we saw in David, who, though God had, by the prophet's outward message sent him, declared he had forgiven his sin, 2 Sam. 12:13, yet David's soul must hear God himself speak that word over anew to his own soul; and therefore you heard of his pleadings and apologies for mercy and pardon, out of Ps. 51:7.
I shewed before, out of Rom 5:25, that it is and must be the free grace in God, that only must quit and discharge us of the guilt of this sin, as well as from any other sins; yea, and an 'abundant grace' it is to forgive that sin, as well as the many of our other offences, ver. 15,
16. Unto which, as to that other of David's, I add, as I then said, two more scriptures to confirm this. And it is very observable, that in so many places, take them all, where this sin is spoken of, God's free grace in pardoning and saving is eminently spoken of also, as to the forgiveness of them.
The first is Isa. 43:27, 'Thy first father hath sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed against me.' There you have this disobedience of Adam laid to their charge to humble them, as generally, says Calvin, interpreters expound it, and not their forefathers, as to their birth, because he speaks of some one father singly and eminently, which that word first father indigitates, and who was the primo primus, the first-first, whose sin also was so famed and notorious, and the cause of all sin, as Adam is the common father of all; but withal free grace to pardon that and all other their sins, is not far off, yea, had been aforehand set down in ver. 25, 'I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for my own sake, and will remember them no more:' a scripture which speaks mere free grace as amply and as loudly as any place whatever, and speaks it not under the language of that redemption from captivity (though including it), but of blotting out transgressions, and remembering them no more, which is made the proper language of the covenant of grace unto the elect out of