The Godly Man Weeps

"Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing" (Psalm 126:5-6 NKJV).

Grace dissolves and liquefies the soul, causing a spiritual thaw. A godly heart grieves that it is not more holy.

A godly man sometimes weeps out of the sense of God's love. Gold is the finest and most solid of all the metals, yet it is soonest melted in the fire. Gracious hearts, which are golden hearts, are the soonest melted into tears by the fire of God's love.

A godly person weeps because the sins he commits are in some sense worse than the sins of other men. The sin of a justified person is very odious because it is a sin of unkindness.

Peter's denying of Christ was a sin against love. Christ had enrolled him among the apostles. He had taken him up into the Mount of Transfiguration and shown him the glory of heaven in a vision. After all this mercy, it was base ingratitude that he should deny Christ. This made him go out and "weep bitterly" (Mt. 26:75).

The sins of the godly go nearest to God's heart. The sins of others anger the Lord; the godly man's sins grieve Him. The sins of the wicked pierce Christ's side; the sins of the godly wound His heart. The unkindness of a spouse goes nearest to the heart of her husband.

How far from being godly are those who scarcely ever shed a tear for sin! If they lose a near relation, they weep; but though they are in danger of losing God and their souls, they do not weep. How few know what it is to be in an agony for sin, or what a broken heart means! Others, if they sometimes shed a tear, are still never the better. They go on in wickedness and do not drown their sins in their tears.

Let us strive for this divine characteristic: to be weepers. This is a repentance not to be repented of (2 Cor. 7:10). There are two lavers to wash away sin: blood and tears. The blood of Christ washes away the guilt of sin; tears wash away its filth.

Repenting tears are precious. God puts them in His bottle (Ps. 56:8). They are beautifying; they make the heart shine; they are comforting.

A sinner's mirth turns to melancholy; a saint's mourning turns to music. Repentance may be compared to myrrh, which, though bitter to the taste, is comforting to the spirit. Repentance may be bitter to the flesh, but it is most refreshing to the spirit.

Wax that melts is fit for the seal. A melting soul is fit to take the stamp of all heavenly blessing. Let us give Christ the water of our tears, and He will give us the wine of His blood!


Adapted from The Godly Man's Picture by Thomas Watson, copyright © [1666] 1992 by The Banner of Truth Trust. Used by permission. All rights reserved.