The truly blessed man

1. Sin must be seen in its colours if ever it be repented of. There must such a Conviction pass upon the man as shall make him to know the sinfulness of his sin, so as to discover it vile and hateful, else he will not repent of it. Every natural man is in love with Sin; natural corruption calls it good, approves of it; he hath chosen it, and till he hath another discovery made of it to him, he will hold it fast, & not let it go. In true Repentance there is a turning from sin, and it is the act of a reasonable Creature, and therefore he must see reason for it, else he will not, because his heart is knit to it; and there are two things necessary to be seen in it, viz. The miseries it hath exposed him to, and the vileness of its nature: for though a legal Repentance may be wrought by the former, yet that which is Evangelical will not be without ⟨p. 226⟩the latter, hence both are put together, Jer. 2.19. The end of Conviction is to drive the man to Repentance, and hence will naturally draw forth such a Confession of it.

2. The Sin thus seen must be heartily bewailed. There is a Sorrow for Sin that accompanieth true Repentance, and helps to make it unrepentable, and is to be a witness that it is sincere. It is not enough that the man leave off the former practice of the Sin, but Repentance requires that he express real grief of heart that ever he was guilty of sinning, so Ephraim, Jer 31.18. And God promiseth to put such a spirit into his people, when he cometh to turn them graciously, Zech. 12.10. &c. In which bewailing of Sin, there is, besides bitter grief for it, a lamentable crying out against it, as that which hath brought all our misery upon us; so Paul, in Rom. 7. And this also carrieth in it▪ an implicit confession, especially when we consider, that he must bewail it as his own,