The two great graces essential to
a believer in this life are faith and repentance. These are the two wings by
which he flies to heaven. Faith and repentance preserve the spiritual life as
heat and radical moisture do the natural.
Repentance is never out of season.
Repentance is purgative; fear not the working of this pill. Smite your soul,
said Chrysostom, smite it; it will escape death by that stroke. How happy it
would be if we were more deeply affected with sin, and our eyes did swim in
their orb. We may clearly see the Spirit of God moving in the waters of
repentance, which though troubled, are yet pure. Moist tears dry up sin and
quench the wrath of God.
Repentance is the cherisher of piety, the
procurer of mercy. The more regret and trouble of spirit we have first at our
conversion, the less we shall feel afterwards.
Worldly tears fall to the earth,
but godly tears are kept in a bottle (Ps. 56.8). Judge not holy weeping
superfluous. Tertullian thought he was born for no other end but to repent. Either
sin must drown or the soul burn.
Let it not be said that
repentance is difficult. Things that are excellent deserve labour. Will not a
man dig for gold in the ore though it makes him sweat?
It is better to go with
difficulty to heaven, than with ease to hell.
Therefore, while we are on this
side of the grave, make our peace with God!
Tomorrow may be our dying day;
let this be our repenting day.
How we should imitate the saints
of old who embittered their souls and sacrificed their lusts, and put on
sackcloth in the hope of white robes.
Peter baptized himself with tears;
and that devout lady Paula (of whom Jerome writes), like a bird of paradise,
bemoaned herself and humbled herself to the dust for sin. Besides our own
personal miscarriages, the deplorable condition of the land calls for a
contribution of tears.
(Extracted from ‘THE EPISTLE TO
THE READER’ of ‘Repentance’ by T.Watson)
Now, to fly on heaven, have faith
and repent. Call Jesus in prayer. Pray that He saves you from your sin and from
this sinful world. Invite Him to become the Lord of your life and be your
Saviour. Ask God to forgive you and make you His child.
God bless you.
