_Ps. 51:1, 2, 10, 14_--"_Have mercy upon me ... blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin.... Create in me a clean heart, O God; ... Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God_"; _Mat. 27:3_--"_Then Judas, who betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, I have sinned in that I betrayed innocent __ blood_"; _Luke 18:23_--"_when he heard these things, he became exceeding sorrowful; for he was very rich_"; _2 Cor. 7:9, 10_--"_I now rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye were made sorry unto repentance; for ye were made sorry after a godly sort.... For godly sorrow worketh repentance unto salvation, a repentance which bringeth no regret: but the sorrow of the world worketh death._" We must distinguish sorrow for sin from shame on account of it and fear of its consequences. These last are selfish, while godly sorrow is disinterested. "A man may be angry with himself and may despise himself without any humble prostration before God or confession of his guilt" (Shedd, Dogm. Theol., 2:535, note).
True repentance, as illustrated in _Ps. 51_, does not think of 1. consequences, 2. other men, 3. heredity, as an excuse; but it sees sin as 1. transgression against God, 2. personal guilt, 3. defiling the inmost being. Perowne on _Ps. 51:1_--"In all godly sorrow there is hope. Sorrow without hope may be remorse or despair, but it is not repentance." Much so-called repentance is illustrated by the little girl's prayer: "O God, make me good,--not real good, but just good enough so that I won't have to be whipped!" Shakespeare, Measure for Measure, 2:3--"'Tis meet so, daughter; but lest you do repent As that the sin hath brought you to this shame, Which sorrow is always towards ourselves, not heaven, Showing we would not spare heaven as we love it, But as we stand in fear.... I do repent me as it is an evil, And take the shame with joy." Tempest, 3:3--"For which foul deed, the Powers delaying, not forgetting, Have incensed the seas, and shores, yea, all the creatures, Against your peace.... Whose wrath to guard you from ... is nothing but heart's sorrow And a clear life ensuing."