For godly sorrow works repentance to salvation not to be regretted: but the sorrow of the world works death.
All Commentaries on 2 Corinthians 7:10 Go To 2 Corinthians 7
Cornelius a Lapide
AD 1637
For gladly sorrow worketh repentance. Observe1. that the Apostle here distinguishes two kinds of sorrow, one according to God, and one of the world. The sorrow of the world, or carnal sorrow, is that which springs from loss of excessively loved worldly goods—as when wealth or pleasures are lost, when friends or great men are offended. This sorrow often works death to the soul, by bidding us recover our goods and offend God. Not unseldom it even works diseases and death to the body, for many pine away and die through excessive grief. "Sorrow slays many," says Sirach 30:25 , "and there is no use in it." But godly or Divine sorrow is that which follows on the thought of having offended God, and is called contrition; it produces penance, or self-punishment; so leading to salvation, it is firm, sure, and not to be repented of. Hence Chrysostom and Erasmus refer not to be repented of to penance, not to salvation.
2. The Apostle distinguishes this sorrow from penance as the cause from the effect; for sorrow, that is contrition, works penance, that is self-punishment. Hence it is evident that this sorrow and this penance are not merely a return to one"s sense and a new life, as heretics think; nor mere leaving off one"s past sins, as Erasmus says, but are contrition and self-discipline. It is evident in the second place that sinners are justified and attain salvation, not by faith alone, but also by penance; and thirdly, that repentance includes this contrition, confession, and satisfaction, and that these are the three parts of repentance. So in ver11the Apostle, explaining repentance, says that it works carefulness, i.e, to appease and satisfy God, revenge, &c.
Here we should take note of the golden saying of S. Chrysostom (Hom5 ad Pop.), on the use, end, and fruit of sorrow. He says: "Sorrow was given us, not that we should mourn over death or other ills, but to blot out sin and to be a remedy against it. Just as the remedy for blear eyes takes away that particular disease and no others, so does sorrow banish sin, but not other ailments. For example, a man loses his money—he grieves, but does not mend his case; one loses his son—he grieves, but does not thereby raise the dead. He meets with scorn and contempt—he grieves, but the insult remains; he falls sick—he grieves, but does not thereby banish his sickness, nay, he makes it worse. But when a man sins and grieves for it, he blots out his sin, for godly sorrow works repentance powerful for salvation. Sorrow, therefore, was made because of sin alone, and from it takes its birth, and, like a moth, eats it up and destroys it."
Cassian, following his master S. Chrysostom, thus describes (lib. ix. c10) godly sorrow: "Sorrow ran be said to be useful to us only when it is enkindled within us by repentance for our sins, or by a longing after perfection, springing from the contemplation of our future bliss. . . . This sorrow, which worketh repentance powerful to salvation, is obedient, affable, humble, meek, tender, and long-suferring, as descending from the love of God, and unweariedly extending itself through its longing after perfection to all bodily mortification, and to complete spiritual contrition. It is at times joyful, and feeds itself on hope of progress; it retains all the pleasantness of affability and long-suffering, having in it all the fruits of the holy Spirit—love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." He proceeds to give the marks of worldly sorrow: "It is harsh, impatient, hard, full of bitterness and unfruitful grief, and guilty despair. It breaks of from diligence and saving grief any one that it may have laid hold of; it is void of reason, and not only hinders prayer from being efficacious, but destroys all the aforesaid fruits of the Spirit conferred by godly sorrow."
