Serra. C L Of C'onfeffìon, : andSorrow fur Sill. ter into the Kingdom ofHeaven ; and that there is a time, when many fall lick te, enter in, bat fhall not be able. The Sum of this Caution is, that Men fhould take heed of miftakingSori'bw for Sin, for true Repentance, unlcfs it be followed with the forfaking of Sin and the real Reform ition of our Lives. Ahab humbled himfelf, but we do not find thathe was a true Penitent. Judas was forry for hisSin, and yet for all that was the Son ofperdition. Pfau is a fad Type of an ineffectual Sorrow for Sin, Heb. 52. where the Apoftle tells us, that Hefound no placefor Repentance, that is, no way to , change the mind of his Father lfaac, tho he fought it carefullywith tears. If Sor- row for Sin were Repentance, there would be fore of Penitents in Hell ; for there is thedeepeft and moil intenfe Sorrow, weeping and wailing and gnathing of teeth. 2. Anothermiftake which Men ought to be cautioned againft in this Matter, is of thole who exa& from themfelves Inch a degree of Sorrow for 'sin, as ends in deep melancholy, as renders them unfit-both for the Duties of Religion, and of their particular Callings. But becaufe there are but very few who fall into this miftake, I fhall need to fay the lefs to it. This only I fhall fay, that thofe who in- dulge their forrow to fuch a degree, as to drown their Spirits, and to fink them into melancholy and mopifhnefs, and thereby render themfelves unfervieeable to God," and unfit for the neceflities of this life, they commit one Sin more tomourn for, and overthrow the Endof Repentance by the indifcreet ufe of the Means of it. For the End of Sorrow for Sin, is the forfaking of it, and returning to our Duty : But he that forrows for Sin, fo as to unfit him for his Duty, defeats bis own defign, and deftroys the end he aims at. II. The other part of the Applicati.m of this Difcourfe fhould be, to fir up this affe&ion of Sorrow in us. And here, if I had time, I might reprefent toyou thegreat evil of fin, and the infinite Danger and Inconvenience of it. Ifthe holy Men in Scripture, David, and Jeremiah, and St Paul, were fo deeply affe&ed with the fins of others, as to thud rivers of tears at the remembrance of them; how ought we to be touchedwith the fenfe of our own fins, who are equally con- cerned in the difhonour brought to God by them, and infinitely more in the dan- ger they expofe us to ! Can we weep for our dead Friends ? and have we no fenfeof'rhat heavy load of Guilt, of that body ofdeath, which we carry about with us? Canwe be fad and melancholy for temporal Lofhes and Sufferings, and refufe to be comforted ? And is it no Trouble to us to have loft Heaven and Itappinefs, and to be in continual danger of the intolerable Sufferings, and endlefsTormentsofa- nother World ? I (hall only offer to your Confideration, the great Benefit and Advantage which will redound to us from this godly Sorrow ; it worketh Repentance to Salvation, not to be repented of, faith St. Paul. Ifwe would thus fora in Tears, we fhould reap in Joy. This Sorrow would but continue for a time, and in the morningof the Refurre&ion there would be Joy to all Eternity, Joy unfpea- kable and full of Glory. It is but a very little while, and thefe day, of Mour- ning will be accomplif'd ; and then all Tears fhall be wiped from our Eyes and the ranfomed of the Lord fall come to S%on, with Songs, and everlafling Joy (hall be upon their Heads. They fall obtain Joy and Gladnefs, and Sorrow and Sighing fhall flee away. .leffed are they that mourn, for they fall be comforted c but woe unto you that laugh, for ye fhall mourn and weep. If Men will rejoice in the pleafures of Sin, and walk in the ways of their hearts, and in the fight of their eyes ; if they will remove Sorrow from their heart, and put away all fad and melancholy Thoughts from them, and are refolved to barden their Spi- rits againft the fenfe of Sin, againft the Checks and Convi&ions of their own Confciences, and the Suggeftions of God's Holy Spirit, againft all the Argu- ments that God can offer, and all the Methods that God can ufe to bring them to Repentance; let them know, that for all thefe things God will bring them into judgment ; and becaufe they would not give way to a timely and fea- fonable Sorrow for Sin, they [hall lye down in eternal Sorrow, weeping and wail- ing and gnafhing of teeth fhall be their portion for ever. From which fad and mife-
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