14. The happy and glorious reward that follows upon repentance
instead of groans, you will have anthems; instead of the water of tears, you will have the water of life. The mourning of the dove will be past, and the time of the singing of birds will come. Volitant super aethera cantus.
56 This brings me to the next point.
14. The happy and glorious reward that follows upon repentance "Being freed from sin, you have your fruit unto holiness, and the end, everlasting life" (Rom 6.22). The leaves and root of the fig tree are bitter, but the fruit is sweet. Repentance to the fleshy part seems bitter, but behold sweet fruit: everlasting life. The Turks fancy that after this life there is an Elysium or paradise of pleasure, where delicacies will be served, and they will have gold in abundance, silken and purple apparel, and angels will bring them red wine in silver cups, and golden plates. Here is an epicure's heaven. But in the true paradise of God there are astonishing delights and rare foods served, which "eye has not seen, nor have entered into the heart of man"
(1Cor 2.9). God will lead his penitents from the house of mourning to the banquet house. There will be no sight there but of glory, no noise but of music, no sickness unless of love. There shall be holiness unspotted and joy unspeakable. Then the saints shall forget their solitary hours and be sweetly solacing themselves in God and bathing in the rivers of divine pleasure.
O Christian, what are your duties compared with the recompense of reward? What an infinite disproportion there is between repentance enjoined and glory prepared. There was a feast day at Rome, when they used to crown their fountains. God will crown those heads which have been fountains of tears. Who would not be willing to be awhile in the house of mourning, and to possess the glory that put
Peter and John into an ecstasy to see it even darkly, shadowed and portrayed in the transfiguration (Mat17)? This reward which free grace gives is so transcendently great that if we could have but a glimpse of glory revealed to us here, we would need patience to be content to live any longer. O blessed repentance, that has such a light beside the dark, and has so much sugar at the bottom of the bitter cup!
15. The next motive to repentance is to consider the evil of impenitence