A Catalogue of Sins, for Help in the Confession of Sin
Who can understand his errors?
Original corruption; actual transgressions; sins of ignorance, sins against knowledge, sins in infancy, childhood, youth, and riper age; sins in the single state; sins in the married state; sins in unregeneracy; backslidings; sins against God, my neighbour, my own soul. More particularly,
Ignorance of God, aggravated by the enjoyment of the means of knowledge; atheism, questioning his being or providence; hard thoughts of God, forgctfulncss of him; sins against the first commandment, which requires to know, love, and believe, in God; to fear him, and trust in him: giving that glory to any other which is due to him alone, in reference to God’s worship, natural or revealed; neglect of prayer and praise; negligences in them, loathness to be beholden to God for any thing; ascribing the glory of deliverances to somewhat else, not to God.
Drowsiness; vain thoughts in prayer; sins in reference to God’s word; not hearing or reading it with attention, reverence, seriousness; but slightly and cursorily. Sabbath sins; want of preparation for it; slothfulness on that day; omission of Sabbath duties; doing my own works: vain thoughts, weariness of the Sabbath. Sacrament sins; baptismal covenant oft renewed, but forgotten, not improved. Covenants against particular sins, to particular duties broken: especially as to the spending of some time daily in converse with God, by meditation; neglect of that great duty, both solemn and occasional, and of daily self-examination, Backslidings as to this from wonted care. Slovenly performance of closet work; taking the name of God in vain; spiritual pride, and ostentation in religious duties; pride in apparel, in words, in thoughts; self-conceit, self-love; flesh-pleasing, gratifying inordinate appetites, the body fed, the soul starved; excess in food, sleep, recreations; God is not in all my thoughts, lying down and rising up; my aims every morning not actually set right at God’s glory; the great gospel-laws of repentance and faith broken; time, precious time, misspent; time of youth not improved; love of ease and pleasure; disobedience to governors; despising others better than myself: doing that which was good to be seen of men; no relation filled up with duty: many that I might have done good to, dead and gone; others that I might have got good by; the opportunity past. Sermons lost: reproofs lost and forgotten; anger and bitterness; unchaste thoughts, or affections; abuse of lawful things; loving, and overloving; doing any wrong to any person, whether knowingly or ignorantly; uncharitablcncss; giving grudgingly; not devising liberal things; lying through heedlessness; impatience of reproof; slandering or reporting of slanders; speaking evil of others, hearing evil spoken with delight; discontent; covetousness; love of this present world appearing in worldly thoughts, — many, constant, welcome. Envying, and inordinate affections; neglect of reproving and watching over others; sinful bashfulness; little grief for others’ sins; sin sits light. Love of Christ little thought of; single mercies ill-requited for; afflictions not improved; brought low, raised up again, yet not amended; no attainments made in grace answerable to the means I enjoy; great carnality; oppositions to the Spirit’s motions of late and heretofore; prevailing dejections and despondencies of spirit. ‘God be merciful to me a sinner.’
Heads of Mercies for Help in Thanksgiving,
COMMON MERCIES.
A BEING and that rational; mercies of my conception, birth, nursing, infancy, rational faculties, natural understanding, limbs and senses, preservation in the cradle, at the breast, sustenance, clothes, food, not only for necessity, but for delight; parents continued; other relations provided to take up before they forsook; mercies at school; a capacity to learn, a memory able to retain truths; continuance almost twenty-one years in the world; Divine patience exercised; scarce a day’s sickness in all this time, as I remember; daily bread; varieties; drink hath not been tears. Much comfort in the single estate, in the married estate: suitableness in relations; extraordinary deliverance when in the valley of the shadow of death, July 28, 1G89.
LESS COMMON MERCIES.
CoDT.Y education; daily instructions; special means for getting of knowledge; wise and seasonable reproofs; holy ordinances duly administered; admitted to the Lord’s Supper about fifteen years old; the example of godly parents; line upon line; Sabbath; some measure of knowledge.
SPECIAL MERCIES.
Election from eternity; free, effectual calling betimes in youth; strivings of the Spirit; checks of conscience; admonitions; quickenings from the word; strength vouchsafed to perform duties; victory over temptations; comfort in sorrow; preventing mercies; taught to pray; answers to prayers for relations in working good for them.
FAMILY MERCIES.
The house preserved from fire when bejjun very near, June, 1G90; the family begun to r be built up; children preserved from the perils of infancy. Two of my near relations’ children taken oft’ quickly by death; mine, of the same age, spared. March 27, 1G93. — One child of a dear friend burnt to death; another neighbour’s child drowned lately, yet mine preserved; one of the children preserved from a dangerous fall down a pair of stairs into the street; the recovery of both of them from the small-pox. May, 1G95. January, 1695-6. — Both recovered from a malignant fever when they had been given up; at the same time two servants brought low by it, yet raised up. Ourselves preserved from the same distemper when two dear relations, mother and daughter, fell by it: wonder of mercy not to be forgotten.
NATIONAL MERCIES.
Great plenty; no famines; deliverance from the French fleet at sea, 1692, and victory over them, the wind turning for us; London delivered from the earthquake the same year when some kingdoms have been overturned and ruined by them.