Mathew Killiary

“ Godly sorrow causeth repentance until salvation. And as the prophet David, in the bitterness of his spirit, said. Thou knowest mine eyes waking, and my sin is ever before me. If the Lord loves a sinner, and means to do him good, he will not let the sinner alone in his own sinful courses, but will free him from his den, bruise, and beat him as in a morter. What caused David’s sorrow but his sin? ”

“ It is so that this sorrow’, under the burden and weight of sin, will pierce a man's soul to the quick, and grind him as it were to powder, being run through by the arrow’s of the almighty, and that it is of so great necessity to be humbled and soundly sorrowful for sin? ”

“ And here let me make a lamentation, in the nature of reproof, against the secure souls in this generation where we live! the lord be merciful unto a world of men, that live within the bosom of the church. Oh that we had a fountain of tears to bewail for thee, in this respect, as Diogenes went about Athens with a lanthorn and candles at noon-day to seek for honest men: So should a minister go from country to country, and from shire to shire. O how few would he find mourning for their sins! Sin is far from being a burthen or poison to them, that it is their sport and pastime, just Esau like. ”

“ O sport not yourselves with sin! consider Dives, for a drunken feast here, had a dry feast in hell, and could not get one drop of water to cool his tongue, so will it be with you, you must either repent. and mourn for sin, or else burn forever. What wilt thou do O man! when God shall come to tear thee in pieces, and there be none to help? when God shall grant the Devil leave to take thee into his Accursed mansions, and there shalt thou lie, weeping and gnashing of thy teeth, for ever! ”

“ Our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until that he have mercy upon us. Get your consciences wounded, and resolve not to hear the counsel of carnal friends. Go thou and lie at God’s footstool and confess thy sins before him, for it is he that confesseth and forsaketh all shall find mercy, and where there is this true and hearty confession, there must needs be a godly sorrow for sin. ”

“ Men upon their ale benches can swear, drink, rail against God, and defy the holy one of Israel. O how few rail against their own sins, and wish the death and destruction of them! How few cry out, men and brethren, what shall we do to be saved? ”

“ Consider it is not a vain thing that you are exhorted to, hut that upon which the life of your souls depends for without a thorough sense, and pricking at the heart for sin, there is salvation from sin: He that would be Christ’s disciple, must leave all he hath, father and mother, wife and children, all that’s near and dear to him, and take up the cross and follow Christ. ”

“ III. Reason, The soul can not part with his sins and lusts, which is his God; until he find himself wearied with them, and as gall and wormwood to him; and how this weariedness and burden of sin, 'must needs cause in the soul a sound sor row for sin; before the soul sees the venomous and ugly nature of it, he is not willing to part with it: Go to pull away the adulterer’s whore, and the drunkard’s pots, you had as good go to kill them ”

“ Which way soever thou lookest, thou shalt see matter and cause of everlasting grief. Look up to heaven, and there thou shalt see, that God is good for ever. look about thee, and thou shalt see devils quaking and cursing God, and thousands, nay millions of sinful damned.creatures, crying and roaring out with doleful shrieks, “O the day that ever I was born!” ”

“ This stung their consciences, and pricked their hearts: the arrows of the Lord, which the Apostles had shot secretly into their souls came home to their hearts and consciences, that they could bear no longer ”