The Doctrine of Repentance by Thomas Watson. The Banner of Truth Trust. Paperback, 122 pages. Price £1.95 from the Free Presbyterian Bookroom, 133 Woodlands Road, Glasgow G3 6LE.
THE writings of Thomas Watson (c1620-1686) are characterised not only by scriptural soundness and spiritual richness but also by clarity, conciseness, pithiness, and striking illustrations. This is evident in this little book about repentance, which the publishers first reprinted in 1987 (and from which we give some extracts in another part of this issue).
As would be expected from this illustrious minister, the truth is presented in a most balanced manner. He shows that repentance is both a grace and a duty, as he deals with ‘Counterfeit Repentance’, ‘The Nature of Repentance’, ‘Reasons Enforcing Repentance’, ‘Exhortations’ and ‘Motives to Repent’, the ‘Trial of our Repentance’, ‘The Removing of Impediments to Repentance’ and ‘Means for Repentance’.
He leaves the reader in no doubt that sinners are commanded by God to repent: that they not only have a great need, but also a solemn responsibility, to repent – and to repent without delay. At the same time he shows that repentance is a gift, and that we must have recourse to God for it. “It is His gift… The Arminians hold that it is in our power to repent. We can harden our hearts, but we cannot soften them. This crown of free-will is fallen from our
head… Therefore beg of God a repentant heart.”
He says about the inseparable connection between repentance and faith, “There can be no separation from sin till there be union with Christ. The eye of faith looks on mercy, and that thaws the heart. Faith carries us to Christ’s blood, and that blood mollifies. Faith persuades of the love of God, and that love sets us a-weeping.” Which comes first, faith or repentance? “I am apt to think,” he says, “that the seeds of faith are first wrought in the heart. As when a burning taper is brought into a room the light shows itself first, but the taper was before the light, so we see the fruits of repentance first, but the beginnings of faith were there first.”
Here is a book for both unconverted people, who yet love and live in sin, and believers, who “must offer up a daily sacrifice of tears” because “the issue of godly sorrow must not be stopped till death”. The minister of the gospel who is familiar with Thomas Watson’s works can testify to the fact that they are stimulating and suggestive. A little of Watson’s writing goes a long way. We hope that this reissued title will be spiritually profitable to many.
N.M.R.
Thomas Watson on Repentance
The following sayings have been taken from Watson’s Doctrine of Repentance, published by the Banner of Truth, a review of which appears above. – Ed.
Repentance, says Watson, is a great duty incumbent upon men; ‘Repent therefore, and be converted that your sins may be blotted out’ (Acts 3:19). “Repentance is a grace required under the Gospel. Some think it legal; but the first sermon Christ preached, indeed, the first word of His sermon, was ‘Repent’ (Mat 4:17). . . Repentance is a grace of God’s Spirit whereby a sinner is inwardly humbled and visibly reformed.”
In speaking about repentance being wrought by the word and Spirit of God, and the different effects the word has upon men, he asks what is the reason the word works so differently. “It is because the Spirit of God carries the word to the conscience of one and not of the other. One has received the divine unction and not the other (1 John 2:20). O pray that the dew may fall with the manna, that the Spirit may go along with the word. The chariot of ordinances will not carry us to heaven unless the Spirit of God join Himself to this chariot (Acts 8:29).”
In describing the “special ingredients of sin”, he says about the need to
have a “sight of sin”: “Many who can spy faults in others see none in themselves… They are veiled over with ignorance and self-love; therefore they see not what deformed souls they have. The devil does with them as the falconer with the hawk; he blinds them and carries them hooded to hell.”
With regard to “sorrow for sin”, another special ingredient, he says, “A true penitent labours to work his heart into a sorrowing frame. He blesses God when he can weep; he is glad of a rainy day, for he knows that it is a repentance he will have no cause to repent of.” On the other hand, some people “cannot endure a serious thought, nor do they trouble their heads about sin… They spend their days in mirth; they fling away sorrow and go dancing to damnation.”
Those who do not have the ingredient of “shame for sin” are also far from repentance. “The devil has stolen shame from men.” Many are like “one of the preceptors in Queen Mary’s time, who when he was upbraided for his bloodiness to the martyrs, replied, ‘I see nothing to be ashamed of.’… There is no creature capable of shame but man. The brute beasts are capable of fear and pain, but not of shame. You cannot make a beast blush. Those who cannot blush for sin do too much resemble the beasts.”
The ingredient of “turning from sin”, like the other ingredients, is present when there is a change wrought by the Holy Spirit. “A ship is going eastward; there comes a wind which turns it westward. Likewise a man was going hellward before the contrary wind of the Spirit blew, turned his course, and caused him to sail heavenwards.”
Being merely morally upright and “civil” (in the old sense of orderly, sober, decent) is insufficient. “They are but half-turned who turn only from gross sin but have no intrinsic work of grace. They do not prize Christ or love holiness. It is with civil persons as with Jonah; he got a gourd to defend him from the heat of the sun, and thought he was safe, but a worm presently arose and devoured the gourd. So men, when they are turned from gross sin, think their civility will be a gourd to defend them from the wrath of God, but at death there arises the worm of conscience, which smites this gourd, and then their hearts fail, and they begin to despair.”
National turning from sin is required as surely as personal. “It is to be feared that England is in God’s black book… Indeed, men’s sins are grown daring, as if they would hang out their flag of defiance and give heaven a broadside. The sinners in Britain even send God a challenge. They strengthen themselves against the almighty, they run upon… the thick bosses of his bucklers’ (Job15:25,26). The bosses [the protruding knobs] in a buckler [shield] are for offence in war. Gods precepts and threatenings are,
as it were, the thick bosses of His buckler whereby He would deter men from wickedness. They regard not, however, but are desperate in sin and run furiously against the bosses of God’s buckler.”
In exhorting to repentance he insists that “repentance is necessary for God’s people” as well as others. “Repentance is a continuous act… Search with the candle of the word into your hearts and see if you can find no matter for repentance there. Repent of your rash censuring… Repent of your vain thoughts… of your vain fashions… of your decays in grace… of your non-improvement of talents… of your forgetfulness of sacred vows… of your unanswerableness to blessings received. May not God sue you at law for your unthankfulness… Repent of your worldliness… your divisions… the iniquity of your holy things.”
It is a “powerful motive to repentance” that there is “none so joyful as the penitent. Tears, as the philosopher notes, have four qualities: they are moist, salt, hot and bitter. It is true of repenting tears. They are hot, to warm a frozen conscience; moist, to soften a hard heart; salt, to season a soul putrifying in sin; bitter, to wean us from the love of the world. And I will add a fifth. They are sweet, in that they make the heart inwardly rejoice: and sorrow shall be turned into joy’ (Job41:22).”
In several allusions to David’s prayer in Psalm 56:8, ‘…put thou my tears into thy bottle…’, Watson says: “Worldly tears fall to the earth, but godly tears are kept in a bottle… Some have lived many years, yet never put a drop in God’s bottle, nor do they know what a broken heart means… We should repent now, that we have sinned so much and wept so little: that God’s bag (Job14:17) has been so full and His bottle so empty… When we put water into the pump, it fetches up only water, but when we put tears into God’s bottle, this fetches up wine.”
Then, at last, “God will lead His penitents from the house of mourning to His banqueting house.” “To conclude,” says Watson at the end of one chapter, “the true penitent may look on death with comfort. His life has been a life of tears, and now at death all tears shall be wiped away.”