Lord, Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? and though it lay only in rending his clothes, and putting on sackcloth, and in fasting, and in a mournful way, yet the Lord was pleased to promise that the evil threatened should not come in his days, 1 Kings xxi. 29. And such is the repentance Tyre and Sidon would have exercised, had they had the advantages and privileges that some cities had, where Christ taught his doctrines, and wrought miracles; and of this kind was the repentance of the Ninevites which was also regarded of God Matt. xi 21. IV. There is an hypocritical repentance, such as was in the people of Israel in the wilderness, who when the wrath of God broke out against them for their sins, returned unto him, or repented, but their heart was not right with him, Psal. Ixxviii. 34-37. so it is said of Judah, she hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the Lord; and of Ephraim, or the ten tribes, they return, but not to the most High, they are like a deceitful bow, Hos. vii. 16. who turned aside and dealt unfaithfully. v. There is a legal and there is an evangelical repentance. — - A legal one, which is a mere work of the law, and the effect of convictions of sin by it, which in time wear off and came to nothing; for, 1. There may be a sense of sin and an acknowledgment of it, and yet no true repentance for it, as in the cases of Pharaoh and of Judas, who both saith, I have sinned; yet they had no true sense of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, nor godly sorrow for it. 2. There may be a kind of sorrow for it, not for the evil of fault that is in sin, but on account of the evil of punishment for it, as appears in some cases, and in Cain's 3. There may be a great deal of terror of mind because of sin, a great outcry about it, a fearful looking for of judgment for it, abundance of tears shed on the account of it, as were by Esau for the blessing, without success; the devils believe and tremble, but do not repent; there are weeping and wailing in hell, but no repentance. 4. Such a repentance, if no more than a mere legal one, issues in despair, as in Cain, whose words may be rendered, My sin is greater than that it may be forgiven; it is a repentance that may be repented of, and is not unto life, but ends in death, as it did in Judas: it is the sorrow of the world which worketh death, 2 Cor. vii. 1o. There is an evangelical repentance which lies, 1. In a true sight and sense of sin; in a sight of it, as in itself considered as exceeding sinful in its own ną. ture, end not merely as in its effects and consequences ruinous and destructive; not only in a sight of it in the glass of the divine law, but as that is held in the hand, and seen in the light of the blessed Spirit; and in a sight of it as contrary to the pure and holy nature of God, as well as repugnant to his will, and a breach of his law; and in a view of it as it appears in the glass of pardoning love and grace. - 2. In a hearty and unfeigned sorrow for it; this sorrow for it is the rather because it is against God, and that not only as a holy and righteous Being, but as good, and gracious, and merciful, of whose goodness, both in - providence and grace, the sinner is sensible; the consideration of which increases" his sorrow, and makes it the more intense and hearty. 3. It is attended with shame and confusion of face, as in Ezra, chap. ix. 6-10. this shame increases the more, the more a sinner is sensible that God is pacified towards him for all that he has done, Ezek. xvi. 63. 4. Such a repentance is accompanied with a leathing, detestation, and abhorrence of sin as the worst of evils; to truly penitent sinners, sin appears most odious and loathsome; nay they not only loath their sins but themselves for them, and the rather when most sensible of the goodness of God in bestowing both temporal and spiritual blessings on them, and especially the latter; yea they abhor it as of all things the most detestable, when they are in the exercise of this grace; so it was with Job, when favoured with a special sight of the greatness and goodness of God, Job xlii. 6. — 5. Where this repentance is, there is an ingenuous acknowledgment of sin, as may be seen in David, Psal. li. 3. in Daniel, chap. ix. 4, 5. and in the apostle Paul, 1 Tim. i. 13-15. so the prodigal, as soon as he came to himself, and was made sensible of his sin, and repented of it, went to his father, and said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight; and to encourage such a sincere repentance and ing nuous confession, the apostle John says, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, 1 John i. 9.-6. It is followed with a resolution, through the grace of God, to forsake sin; this the sinner is encouraged unto, as before observed, by the abundance of pardon through the mercy of God in Christ, Isai. Iv. 7. and indeed it is only such who can expect to share in it; Whoso confesseth (sins) and forsaketh them, shall have mercy, Prov. xxviii. 13. Now such a repentance appears to be evangelical; inasmuch as, 1. It is from the Spirit of God, who reproves for sin and convinces of it, enlightens the eyes of the understanding to see the exceeding sinfulness of sin; and as a Spirit of grace and supplication works this grace in the heart, and draws it forth into exercise, to mourn over sin in a gospel-manner at a throne of grace, Zech. -2. Such repentance, in the exercise of it, follows upon real conversion and divine instruction, Surely after that I was turned I repented, and after that I was instructed, I smote up on my thigh, Jer. xxxi. 19. upon such a turn as is made by powerful and efficacicus grace, and upon such instruction as leads - into the true nature of sin, the effect of which is blushing, shame, and confusion. 3. Is what is encouraged and influenced by gospel-promises, such as these in Isai. lv. 7. Jer. iii. 12, 13. now when repentance proceeds not upon the terrors of the law, but upon s ch gracious promises as these, it may be called evangelical.4. It is that which is attended with faith and hope: repentance towards : God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, go together as doctrines, and so they do as graces; which is first in exercise is not easy to say; our Lord says of the Pharisees, that they repented not, that they might believe, which looks as if repentance was before and in order to believing, Matt. xx. 32. and elsewhere. faith is represented as first looking to Christ, and then repentance or mourning xii. 10. for sin; repentance, as some have expressed it, is a tear that drops from faith's eye, Zech. xii. 10. However, that is truly evangelical repentance which has with it faith in the bicod cf Christ for the remission of sins; for repentance and remission of sins, as they go together as doctrines, so also as blessings of grace, Luke xxiv. 47. Acts v. 31. for where true repentance for sin is, there must be faith in Christ for the remission of it, at least hope of pardon by his blood, or else such repentance would issue in despair, and appear to be no other than the sorrow of the world which worketh death. 5. It is such a repentance which flows not from dread of punishment, and from fear of the wrath of God, but from love to God, and of righteousness and holiness, and from an hatred of sin; they that love the Lord hate evil, and they love righteousacss and hate evil because he does; and when tempted to sin reason after this manner, How can I de this great wickedness, and sin against Ged, so holy, just, and good, and who has shewn such love and kindness to me? Gen. xxxix. 9. it was love to Christ, flowing from a sense of pardoning grace and mercy, that fetched such a flood of tears from the eyes of the penitent woman at Christ's feet, with which she washed them, and wiped them with the hairs of her head; and which caused Peter under a sense of sin to go out and weep bitterly. III. The object and subjects of repentance; the object is sin, the subjects are sinners. 1. The object of repentance is sin, hence called repentance from dead works, which sins be; and from which the blood of Christ purges the conscience of a penitent sinner, and speaks peace and pardon to it, Heb. vi. 2. and 1x. 14. And, -1. Not only grosser sins, but sins of a lesser magnitude, are to be repented of; there is a difference in sins, some are greater, others lesser, John xix. 11. both are to be repented of; sins against the first and second tables of the law, sins more immediately against God, and sins against men; and some against men are more heinous and enormous than others, as well as those against God; as not only worshipping of devils, and idols of gold and silver, &c. but murders, Sorceries, fornications, and thefts, which ought to be repented of, but by some were not, though they had deliverances from plagues, which was an aggravation of their impenitence, Rev. ix. 20, 21. and not only those, but also sins of a lesser kind are to be repented of; and even sinful thoughts, for the thought of foolishness is sin, and to be repented of; for the unrighteous man is to repent of and forsake his thoughts, as well as the wicked man his ways, and turn to the Lord; and not only unclean, proud, malicious, envious, and revengeful thoughts are to be repented of, but even thoughts of secking for justification, before God by a man's own righteousness, which may be intended in the text referred to, Isai, Iv. 7.2. Not only public but private sius are to be repented of. There are some sins which are committed in a very public manner, in the face of the sun, and are known to all; and there are others that are more secret; and a truly sensible sinner, as he desires to be cleansed from secret faults,, or to - have those forgiven him, so he heartily repents of them, even of sins known to none but God and his own soul; and this is a proof of the genuineness of his repentance.3. There are sins both of omission and commission, which are to be repented of; when a man omits those duties of religion which ought to be done, or commits those sins which ought to be avoided by him; or omits the weightier matters of religion, and only attends to lesser ones, when he ought to have done the one, and not to have left the other undone; and as God forgives both, Isai. xliii. 22-25. so both sorts of sins are to be repented of; and a sense of pardoning grace will engage the sensible sinner to it. 4. There are sins which are coinmitted in the most solemn, serious, religious, and holy performances of God's people, which are to be repented of; for there is not a just man that does good and sinneth not in that good he does; there is not only an imperfection, but an impurity in the best righteousness of the saints of their own working out, and therefore called filthy rags; and as there was provision made under the law for the bearing and removing the sins of holy things, as by Aaron the high-priest, so there is a provision made for the atonement of these as well as all other sins, by Christ our high-priest; and therefore these are to be confessed and mourned over the head of him our antitypical scape-goat. 5. The daily sins of life are to be repented of; no man lives without sin, it is daily committed by the best of men, in many things we all offend, and even in all things; and as we have need to pray, and are directed to pray daily for the forgiveness of sin, so we are to repent of it daily; repentance is not only to be exercised upon the first conviction and conversion of a sinner, nor only on account of some grievous sin, or great backsliding he may after fall into, but it is continually to be exercised by believers, since they are continually sinning against God in thought, word, and deed. - 6. Not only actual sins and transgressions in thought, word, and deed, are to be repented of, but original and indwelling sin. Thus David when he fell into some grievous sins, and was brought to a true sense of them, and a sincere repentance for them, he not only made a confession of them in the penitential psalm he wrote on that occasion, but he was led to take notice of, and acknowledge and mourn over the original corruption of his nature, from whence all his sinful actions flowed, saying, Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, Psalm li. 5. so the apostle Paul, though he lived a life unstained, and in all good conscience, free from any public, external, notorious sin, yet owned and lamented the sin that dwelt in him, and the force, power, and prevalence of it, as that it hindered him from doing the good he would, and put him on doing the evil he would not, Rom. vii. 18-24. Now when a sensible sinner confesses, laments, and mourns over the original corruption of his nature, and the sin that dwells in him, it is a clear case his repentance is genuine and sincere, since it is what he himself is only sensible of. Now all this is with respect to God; the sinner repents of sin with regard to God, and as it concerns him, and therefore is called, Repentance towards God, and a sorrow for it after à godesert. Acts xx. 21. 2 Cor. vii. 11. - and he repents of sin because sin is committed against him. All sin is against God in a sense, as it is against his will, yet there is a distinction between sins against God and against men, 1 Sam. ii. 25, now sin committed against God, and considered as such, is a cutting consideration to a sensible sinner, sensible of the greatness and goodness of God, and causes his sorrow and repentance for sin to rise higher, as it was to David, Against thee, thee only have I sinned, &c. Psal. li. 4. Sin is a breach of the law of God, 1 John iii. 4. of that law, which is itself holy, just and good; of that law of which God is the giver, and who is that lawgiver that is able to save and to destroy, and on whose legislative power and authority a contempt is cast by sin, and which therefore gives pain and distress of mind to the penitent sinner. Sin is contrary to the nature of God, as well as to his law; he is of purer eyes than to behold it with approbation; he is not a God that takes pleasure in it, but is displeased with it; it is the abominable thing his righteous soul hates, and therefore they that love the Lord must hate it, and it cannot but give them a concern and cause sorrow when they commit it. By sinning a slight is cast on his goodness, grace, and love, and which occasions severe reflections on themselves, and much shame and blushing that they should sin against so much goodness, and against God, who has shewn them so much favour, loved them so greatly, and bestowed such blessings of grace upon them. It also appears that the sinner in repentance has to do with God, by confessing his sin and nis sorrow for it; and also others giorify God for granting repentance to him as the Christian Jews did on the behalf of the Gentiles, Acts xi. 18. and even there is joy in heaven, and God is glorified by the angels there, on account even of one sinner that repents, Luke XV. 7, 10. - 11. The subjects of repentance are sinners, and only such; Adam, in a state of innocence, was not a subject of repentance, for not having sinned he had no sin to repent of; and such who fancy themselves to be perfectly righteous, and without sin in their own apprehensions, stand in no need of repentance, and therefore Christ says, I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance, Matt. ix. 13.1. All men are sinners, all descending from Adam by ordinary generation; all his posterity being seminally in him, and represented by him when he sinned, sinned in him, and they both have his sin imputed to them, and a corrupt nature derived from him; and so are transgressors from the womb, and are all guilty of actual sins and transgressions; and so all stand in need of repentance, even such who trust in themselves that they are righteous, and despise others as less holy than themselves, and think they need no repentance : yet they do; and not only they, but such who are in the best sense righteous need daily repentance, since they are continually sinning in all they do. 2. Men of all nations, Jews and Gentiles, are the subjects of repentance; for all are under sin, under the power of it, involved in the guilt of it, and liable to punishment for it, and God has commanded all inen every where to repent. During the time of John the Baptist, and of our Lord's being on earth, the doctrine of |