Repentance

Personal Repentance. — I had a letter a few days ago from a young man who heard that during this week I was going to a certain town. Said he, “Sir, when you come do preach a sermon that will fit me; for do you know, sir, I have heard it said that we must all think ourselves to be the wickedest people in the world, or else we cannot be saved. I try to think so, but I cannot, because I have not been the wickedest. I want to think so, but I can not. I want to be saved, but I do not know how to repent enough.” Now, if I have the pleasure of seeing him I shall tell him, God does not require a man to think himself the wickedest in the world, because that would sometimes be to think a falsehood; there are some men who are not so wicked as others are. What God requires is this, that a man should say, “I know more of myself than I do of other people; I know little about them, and from what I see of myself, not of my actions, but of my heart, I do think that there can be few worse than I am. They may be more guilty openly, but then I have had more light, more privileges, more opportunities, more warnings, and therefore I am still guiltier.” I do not want you to bring your brother with you and say, “I am more wicked than he is;” I want you to come yourself, and say, “Father, I have sinned!” you have nothing to do with your brother William, whether he has sinned more or less; your cry should be, “Father, I have sinned.” You have nothing to do with your cousin Jane, whether or not she has rebelled more than you. Your business is to cry, “Lord have mercy upon me a sinner!”

False Repentance. — I have heard of a woman who affected to believe that she was a sinner, and her minister, convinced that she did not know what she meant, thus exposed her folly. He said to her, “Well, if you are a sinner, of course you have broken God’s laws; let us read the ten commandments, and see which you have broken.” So turning to the decalogue he began to read: “Thou shalt have none other God before me;” “Did you ever break that?” “Oh, no, not that she knew of.” He proceeded, “Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven image,” and so on; “Did you ever break that?” “Never, sir,” said she. Then “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” “Oh, dear no; She had been very particular on that point; she did not know that she had ever offended in that respect in her life.” “Remember the seventh day to keep it holy.” “Oh,” said she, “I never do any work on a Sunday; everybody knows how particular I am about that.” “Honor thy father and thy mother.” “Yes,” she replied, “she had been quite perfect in this matter; you might ask her friends if she had not been.” “Thou shalt not kill.” “Kill anybody! She wondered how the minister could ask her that.” Of course, “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” must be passed without a question. “Thou shalt not bear false witness.” Much of a gossip tho she was, she protested she never did back bite anybody in all her life. And as to the idea of coveting, well, she might sometimes have wished that she was a little better off, but she never wanted any of anybody else’s goods, she only wanted a little more of her own. So it turned out as the minister expected, that she really was not a sinner at all in her own estimation. It is marvellous how people who indulge in general confessions of sin attempt to exculpate them selves of each and every particular offence. Whatever the indictment is, they plead “Not Guilty.”