The Doctrine of Repentance (Puritan Paperbacks)

by Thomas Watson

Question 2: But how great must sorrow for sin be in all? Answer: It must be as great as for any worldly loss.

'They shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn as for an only son' (Zech 12.10). Sorrow for sin must surpass worldly sorrow. We must grieve more for offending God than for the loss of dear relations.

sorrow for sin must exceed sorrow at the grave; and with good reason, for in the burial of the dead it is only a friend who departs, but in sin God departs.

Sorrow for sin should be so great as to swallow up all other sorrow, as when the pain of the stone and gout meet, the pain of the stone swallows up the pain of the gout.

The Christian has arrived at a sufficient measure of sorrow when the love of sin is purged out.

It is a bad sign when a man on his death-bed bequeaths his soul to God and his ill-gotten goods to his friends. I can hardly think God will receive his soul.

True sorrow must be habitual. O Christian, the disease of your soul is chronic and frequently returns upon you; therefore you must be continually physicking yourself by repentance. This is that sorrow which is 'after a godly manner'.

Carnal Protestants, who are strangers to godly sorrow.

Likewise sinners spend their days in mirth; they fling away sorrow and go dancing to damnation. Some have lived many years, yet never put a drop in God's bottle, nor do they know what a broken heart means. They weep and wring their hands as if they were undone when their estates are gone, but have no agony of soul for sin.

firstly, a rational sorrow, which is an act of the soul whereby it has a displacency against sin and chooses any torture rather than to admit

secondly, there is a sensitive sorrow, which is expres...

The first of these is to be found in every child of God, but the second, which is a sorrow running out at the eye, all have not. Yet it is very commendable to see a weeping penitent. Christ counts as great beauties those who are tender-eyed; and well may sin make us weep. We usually weep for the loss of some great good; by sin we have lost the favour of God.

Not every child of God weeps

Before the receiving of the Lord's Supper. This spiritual passover is to be eaten with bitter herbs. Now our eyes should be fresh broached with tears, and the stream of sorrow overflow. A repenting frame is a sacramental frame. A broken heart and a broken Christ do well agree. The more bitterness we taste in sin, the more sweetness we shall taste in Christ.

We should repent now that we repented no sooner, that the garrisons of our hearts held out so long against God ere they were levelled by repentance. We should repent now that we have loved Christ no more, that we have fetched no more virtue from him and brought no more glory to him. It should be our grief on our death-bed that our lives have had so many blanks and blots in them, that our duties have been so fly-blown with sin, that our obedience has been so imperfect, and we have gone so lame in the ways of God. When the soul is going out of the body, it should swim to heaven in a sea of tears.

Sorrow is such a vehement passion that it will have vent. It vents itself at the eyes by weeping and at the tongue by confession:

And the truth is that by this self-accusing we prevent Satan's accusing. In our confessions we tax ourselves with pride, infidelity, passion, so that when Satan, who is called 'the accuser of the brethren', shall lay these things to our charge, God will say, They have accused themselves already; therefore, Satan, thou art non-suited; thy accusations come too late. The humble sinner does more than accuse himself; he, as it were, sits in judgment and passes sentence upon himself. He confesses that he has deserved to be bound over to the wrath of God. And hear what the apostle Paul says: 'if we would judge ourselves we should not be judged'

It must come as water out of a spring, freely. The confession of the wicked is extorted, like the confession of a man upon a rack. When a spark of God's wrath flies into their conscience, or they are in fear of death, then they will fall to their confessions.

The heart must deeply resent it. A natural man's confessions run through him as water through a pipe. They do not at all affect him. But true confession leaves heart-wounding impressions on a man.

The hypocrite confesses sin but loves it, like a thief who confesses to stolen goods, yet loves stealing. How many confess pride and covetousness with their lips but roll them as honey under their tongue. Augustine said that before his conversion he confessed sin and begged power against it, but his heart whispered within him, 'not yet, Lord'. He was afraid to leave his sin too soon.

A wicked man acknowledges he is a sinner in general. He confesses sin by wholesale.

As it is with a wounded man, who comes to the surgeon and shows him all his wounds — here I was cut in the head, there I was shot in the arm — so a mournful sinner confesses the several distempers of his soul.

Our nature is an abyss and seminary of all evil, from whence come those scandals that infest the world. It is this depravity of nature which poisons our holy things; it is this which brings on God's judgments and makes our mercies stick in the birth. Oh confess sin in the fountain!

Confess sins against knowledge, against grace, against vows, against experiences, against judgments.

I knew better, and this is why

Should the Lord be severe in his providences and unsheath his bloody sword, yet we must acquit him and acknowledge he has done us no wrong. Nehemiah in his confessing of sin vindicates God's righteousness: 'Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us'

I need to do this much more. Instead I have been resenting the lack of rescue.

Now, when we have vomited up sin by confession we must not return to this vomit. What king will pardon that man who, after he has confessed his treason, practises new treason?

One reason I do not bother confessing is because I feel helpless to resist

Those iniquities which men hide in their hearts shall be written one day on their forehea4s as with the point of a diamond.

They do not confess all; they confess the pence but not the pounds. They confess vain thoughts or badness of memory but not the sins they are most guilty of, such as rash anger, extortion, uncleanness,

But if we do not confess all, how should we expect that God will pardon all? It is true that we cannot know the exact catalogue of our sins, but the sins which come within our view and cognizance, and which our hearts accuse us of, must be confessed as ever we hope for mercy.

That is really helpful.

A gracious soul labours to make the worst of his sins, but hypocrites make the best of them. They do not deny they are sinners, but they do what they can to lessen their sins: they indeed offend sometimes, but it is their nature, and it is long of such occasions. These are excuses rather than confessions.

It was an apology, not a self indictment.

Adam acknowledged that he had tasted the forbidden fruit, but instead of aggravating his sin he translated1 it from himself to God: The woman thou gavest to be with me,

If their sin be passion they will justify it: ‘I do well to be angry'

If it be covetousness they will vindicate it.

When men commit sin they are the devil's servants; when they plead for it they are the devil's attorneys...

confession of sin shuts the mouth of hell and opens the gate of paradise.

humble confession exalts God.

While we confess sin, God's patience is magnified in sparing, and his free grace in saving such .sinners.

He who subscribes himself a hell-deserving sinner will have littl...

A true penitent confesses that he mingles sin with all he does, and therefore ...

When guilt lies boiling in the conscience, confession gives ease. It is like the lancing of an abscess which gives ease to the patient.

Confession is like the dung-gate, through which all the filth of the city was carried forth

Better out than in!

If I say I am a sinner, how precious will Christ's blood be to me!

So when we confess the debt, and that even though we should for ever lie in hell we cannot pay it, but that God should appoint his own Son to lay down his blood for the payment of our debt, how is free grace magnified and Jesus Christ eternally loved and admired!

No sooner did the prodigal come with a confession in his mouth, ‘have sinned against heaven', than his father's heart did melt towards him, and he kissed him

He who sincerely confesses sin has God's bond for a pardon: 'If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins' (1 John 1.9).

God's truth and justice are engaged for the pardoning of that man who confesses sin and comes with a penitent heart by faith in Christ.

There remains one case of conscience: are we bound to confess our sins to men?

Firstly, where a person has fallen into scandalous sin and by it has been an occasion of offence to some and of falling to others, he ought to make a solemn and open acknowledgement of his sin, that his repentance may be as visible as his scandal

Secondly, where a man has confessed his sin to God, yet still his conscience is burdened, and he can have no ease in his mind, it is very requisite that he should confess his sins to some prudent, pious friend, who may advise him and speak a word in due season

If there is a thorn sticking in the conscience, it is good to make use of those who may help to pluck it out.