But if you are glad to have Christ with all your heart upon the terms that he is offered to you in the Gospel, and you do walk-daily in the way of duty as you can, and are willing to Pray, and willing to hear and wait on God in his Ordinances, and willing to have all Gods Graces formed within you, and willing to let go your profitablest and sweetest sins, and it is your daily desires, O that I could seek God, and do his will more faithfully, zealously and pleasingly then I do! O that I were rid of this body of sin! these carnal, corrupt and worldly inclinations, and that I were as holy as the best of Gods Saints on earth! And if when it comes to practise, whether you should obey or no, though some unwillingness to duty and ⟨p. 427⟩willingness to sin be in you, you are offended at it, and the greater bent of your Will is for God, and it is but the lesser which is towards sin, and therefore the world and flesh do not lead you captive, and you live not wilfully in avoidable sins, nor at all in gross sin: I say, if it be thus with you, then you have the Blessing of a soft heart, a heart of flesh, a new heart; for it is a Willing obedient tractable heart, opposed to obstinacy in sin, which Scripture calleth a soft heart. And then for the Passionate part, which consisteth in lively feelings of sin, misery, mercy, &c. and in weeping for sin, I shall say but this; 1. Many an unsanctified person hath very much of it, which yet are desperately Hard-hearted sinners. It dependeth far more on the temper of the body, then of the Grace in the soul: Women usually can weep easily (and yet not all) and children, and old men. Some complexions incline to it, and others not: Many can weep at a Passion-Sermon, or any moving duty, and yet will not be persuaded to obedience: these are hard-hearted sinners for all their tears. 2. Many a tender godly person cannot weep for sin; partly through the temper of their minds▪ which are more judicious and solid, and less passionate, but mostly from the temper of their bodies, which dispose them not ⟨p. 428⟩that way. 3. Deepest sorrows seldom cause tears, but deep thoughts of heart: as greatest joys seldom cause laughter, but inward pleasure. I'll tell you how you shall know whose heart is truly sorrowful for sin and tender: He that would be at the greatest cost or pains to be rid of sin, or that he had not sinned. You cannot weep for sin:
But if you are glad to have Christ with all your heart upon the terms that he is offered to you in the Gospel, and you do walk-daily in the way of duty as you can, and are willing to Pray, and willing to hear and wait on God in his Ordinances, and willing to have all Gods Graces formed within you, and willing to let go your profitablest and sweetest sins, and it is your daily desires, O that I could seek God, and do his will more faithfully, zealously and pleasingly then I do! O that I were rid of this body of sin! these carnal, corrupt and worldly inclinations, and that I were as holy as the best of Gods Saints on earth! And if when it comes to practise, whether you should obey or no, though some unwillingness to duty and ⟨p. 427⟩willingness to sin be in you, you are offended at it, and the greater bent of your Will is for God, and it is but the lesser which is towards sin, and therefore the world and flesh do not lead you captive, and you live not wilfully in avoidable sins, nor at all in gross sin: I say, if it be thus with you, then you have the Blessing of a soft heart, a heart of flesh, a new heart; for it is a Willing obedient tractable heart, opposed to obstinacy in sin, which Scripture calleth a soft heart. And then for the Passionate part, which consisteth in lively feelings of sin, misery, mercy, &c. and in weeping for sin, I shall say but this; 1. Many an unsanctified person hath very much of it, which yet are desperately Hard-hearted sinners. It dependeth far more on the temper of the body, then of the Grace in the soul: Women usually can weep easily (and yet not all) and children, and old men. Some complexions encline to it, and others not: Many can weep at a Passion-Sermon, or any moving duty, and yet will not be perswaded to obedience: these are hard-hearted sinners for all their tears. 2. Many a tender godly person cannot weep for sin; partly through the temper of their minds▪ which are more judicious and solid, and less passionate, but mostly from the temper of their bodies, which dispose them not ⟨p. 428⟩that way. 3. Deepest sorrows seldom cause tears, but deep thoughts of heart: as greatest joys seldom cause laughter, but inward pleasure. I'le tell you how you shall know whose heart is truly sorrowful for sin and tender: He that would be at the greatest cost or pains to be rid of sin, or that he had not sinned. You cannot weep for sin:
