SERMON XXV.

THE EVIDENCES OF TRUE REPENTANCE.

2 COR. vii. 9-11.-"Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance; for ye were made sorry after a godly sort, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. 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."

THIS was an instance of genuine repentance, and the things here enumerated are characteristics of true repentance. The case referred to was one in which manifest wrong had been done by the church at Corinth, 1 Cor. v. Paul had written to them respecting the wrong, enjoining on them to take the speediest measures to put it away. This letter had had all the effect which he wished. They had seen the error; they were deeply grieved and pained on account of it; they felt the force of the reproofs of the apostle; and the sorrow which they experienced was such as God approved, and such as was fitted to work salvation. There was deep distress of mind—evinced in their "sorrowing after a godly sort ;" there was "carefulness,”- -or diligence, effort, forwardness in removing the evil; there was a "clearing of themselves,"—not an apology for the sin, but a desire to state all the mitigating circumstances of the case, and to show that the church was not disposed to be the defender of evil; there was "indignation,”—indignation against the sin, and a cordial hatred of it; there was fear,"-fear lest the thing should be continued or repeated a state of mind anxious that the whole evil might be corrected, and that no vestige of it should remain among them; there was "vehement desire," a fervent wish to remove all cause of complaint; there was "zeal,"―zeal in putting away the sin, and in producing a reformation; there was "revenge”—that is, they immediately set about the work of punishing the offender. This sorrow, and ardour, and earnestness, and promptness, the apostle regarded as good evidence of

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the genuineness of their repentance; as a specimen of that "godly sorrow which worketh repentance unto salvation not to be repented of."

The subject which will now be considered is, the evidences of true repentance. The inquiry is, What are the evidences of true repentance? What distinguishes true repentance from false ? How may we satisfy ourselves that we have truly repented of our sins?

The characteristics of repentance may be arranged under three heads, or three things seem necessary to the full and complete proof of true repentance. They are these:-the internal feeling of regret or sorrow which is experienced in view of sin; the purpose deliberately formed in the mind to abandon it; and the actual forsaking of the evil. I say these are necessary to the full and complete evidencing of real repentance. It is true that there may be circumstances where the first alone, or the first and second combined, would be indicative of genuine repentbut there might be no opportunity to test them, and the three are necessary to furnish evidence that shall be of the highest kind, or that shall be satisfactory in the highest degree. I propose to illustrate these in their order.

ance,

I. The first which I specify is, the internal feeling; the regret for the wrong; the sorrow of heart which is experienced. This, of course, will be known only to the individual, except so far as he chooses to make others acquainted with it.

I do not say that mere regret or sorrow, of itself, is full evidence of repentance, for it may not be the right kind of sorrow— it may not be such as would bear the application of a test—it may not be permanent in its influence; but regret, or sorrow, enters always into true repentance. It results from the laws of the mind that where a wrong which we have done is contemplated in a proper manner, it should produce regret and pain. It enters into the meaning of all the words by which we are accustomed to express repentance. Thus in the text and context, the apostle says that the letter which he had sent to the Corinthians had made them " sorry though it were but for a season;" he says that they "sorrowed to repentance;" he speaks of their "mourning;" he speaks of their "sorrowing after a godly sort." There may, indeed, be great diversity in the depth, and pungency, and duration, and external expressions of sorrow experienced by true penitents. This diversity arises much from a difference of temperament; from the previous character; from the extent and aggravation of sin; and, so far as appearances are concerned, from the habits of self-control or the want of it in

individuals. There is often the most deep and permanent feeling when there are no tears; and the sorrow which is accompanied by loud and boisterous outcries, is often a sorrow which lies very near the surface of the soul, every trace of whose existence soon vanishes. But sorrow of some kind is necessary to repentance; and if we have never had a pang of regret for the past, if we have never felt that we have done wrong, if we have never felt ashamed, and humbled, and confounded in view of our errors and faults, if we have never had anything of the spirit of the publican when he said, "God be merciful to me a sinner," or of the prodigal when he said, " Father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son," or of David when he said, 'I acknowledge my transgression, and my sin is ever before me," we may be sure that we have never truly repented.

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Yet we should not suppose that all sorrow experienced in view of past sins is necessarily true repentance. "There is a sorrow of the world," in view of sin, "which worketh death." Judas the traitor had deep anguish in view of his crime, and went and added to his guilt another enormous act of transgression. Many a gambler has had the keenest feelings of regret when his money is gone, who had no real penitence; and there is deep sorrow in those "doleful regions" where there is "weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth," but there is no true repentance there.

At this stage of our inquiry, therefore, it is of the highest importance that we should endeavour to lay down some marks by which we may be able to distinguish that sorrow which enters into true repentance from that which constitutes the false;-and this may be done by asking ourselves the simple question, Why do we feel sorrow at all in the case? What is it that produces it? If it is produced by any of the things which I will now specify, it is clear that the sorrow furnishes no evidence of true repentance:

(1.) If it is produced by the mere dread of punishment. It is clear that in such a case the sorrow which exists is not in view of the sin, but only of the penalty. If the apprehension of punishment were taken away, the sorrow also would disappear.

(2.) If it arises from the mere shame of detection. In such a case there is clearly no evidence of true repentance. A man may be greatly ashamed and grieved because some base, or mean, or vile, or detestable act is found out, who would have had no trouble on account of it if it had remained concealed. His grief is, that he has been exposed, not that he has done the wrong; and there are none, probably, who have not done many

things which would suffuse the cheeks with crimson if they were known, but who have no compunctious visitings as long as they are concealed.

(3.) A similar kind of false repentance or sorrow for the past arises from the idea that a man has made a mistake, or is likely to suffer loss on account of his conduct. When a man has made a bargain which is likely to involve him in loss, or when he has missed an opportunity to make an advantageous bargain, he often experiences regret, and in many cases reflects on himself for his folly. So a man may feel in relation to his past life. He looks at the money which he has squandered, and the time which he has wasted which ought to have been employed in study or in honest industry; at the hours of his life which he has trifled away in foolish conversation, or equally foolish reading; and finds himself now placed at an eminent disadvantage on account of it, and if he has any proper sense of it, will regret it. But still he may regret it, not as having any sense of the wrong, or the sinfulness of his course, but only as a matter of loss—and with much the same feeling that the man has who has made a bad bargain. If the loss could in any way be made up to him, he would have no trouble on account of his course considered as sinful. So a daughter of vanity may exercise the same kind of repentance in view of the waste of time, and the loss of health, in the ball-room. She has allowed her rest to be broken; she has exposed herself unprotected by any suitable dress to the cold of a winter's night after being heated in the dance; and she begins to be alarmed at the paleness of her own cheeks, and then at the slight hectic that she cannot conceal, and then at the cough which will not leave her, and she is sad and sorrowful as she sees that the grave must soon close over her in spite of all that friends and physicians can do. But there is necessarily no genuine repentance here-no sorrow for the sin. She mourns over her faded health and beauty; over her imprudent exposure; over the fact that she has wasted her life;-but there is no sorrow that she has done wrong; that she has offended God; that she has spent her time in the neglect of her Saviour and her soul; and that she has jeoparded her salvation.

(4.) There is often sorrow, and deep sorrow, in view of our conduct considered as a violation of some law of etiquette, when there is no sorrow for the act considered as a violation of the law of God. I apprehend, that some of the deepest pangs that are felt in this world are those which arise from the violation of some social law; from something that may expose you to the

censure of so-called "society;" something that may occur to throw you out of the fashionable circle in which you wish to move; something that may forfeit the favour of those distinguished in elevated life, whose "good grace" you would wish to preserve. Many a votary of fashion experiences pangs of this kind keener than ordinarily accompany true repentance towards God; and amidst the ever-varying delusions of the human mind it is possible that this may sometimes be mistaken for true repentance. You have offended the world; you have been disappointed in your attempts to secure its favour; you have been thrown out of the circles where you were ambitious to shine; and you turn your attention to religion, and suppose that you come into the church a true penitent. And yet there may be no evidence of repentance at all. You may never have had one real sigh of regret for anything that you have ever done against God; and you come weeping to the altar of Christ, not because you have offended him, but because you have been disappointed in your foolish ambition to move in a circle from which you have been excluded.

It would be easy to enumerate many other things of this sort which may be mistaken for sincere repentance. The idea is, that the sorrow which is produced by mere loss, or by the disgrace of exposure, or by disappointed ambition-the sorrow which terminates on the world,—has in it necessarily none of the elements of repentance. I will not deny that any one of these things may be the occasion of turning the mind to a contemplation of the evil of the course pursued, and that, impressed with the folly of these things in one point of view, you may be led to see their folly and wickedness in a higher sense. But clearly, in the matter as we have contemplated it thus far, there is of necessity no true repentance, and a man may have all these things, and never experience one pang of regret for his conduct regarded as a sin against God.

The sense of what I have said, therefore, is this:-that true repentance is based on the contemplation of an act regarded as in itself evil and wrong; regarded as a sin against God. Whether it exposes to punishment or not; whether it is detected or undetected; whether attended with loss or with gain; whether reputable in the eyes of the world or disreputable; and whether it will continue us within the limits of the clique, or clan, or caste where we have been, or raise us to that to which we have aspired, does not affect the question. It is seen to be evil and wrong in the sight of God, and the sin is loathed, and we loathe ourselves on account of it. Our thoughts are not occupied