THE KING’S BUSINESS
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reviewed and repented o f one by one. Now begin; and take up first what are commonly, but improperly, called your "SINS OF OMISSION. 1. Ingratitude. Take this sin, for instance, and write down under it all the instances you can remember, wherein you have received favors from God, for which you have never exercised gratitude. How many cases can you remember? 2. Want o f love to God. Write that down, and go over all the instances you can remember, when you did not give to the blessed God that hearty love which you ought. 3. Neglect o f the Bible. Put down the cases, when for days, and perhaps for weeks—yea, it may be even for months together, you had no pleasure in God’s word. 4. Unbelief. Instances in which you have virtually charged the God o f truth with lying by your unbelief o f His express promises and declarations. 5. Neglect o f prayer. 6. Neglect o f the means o f grace. 7.. The manner in which you have per formed those duties—want o f feeling— want o f faith—worldly frame o f mind— so that your words were nothing but the mere chattering o f a wretch, that did not deserve that God should feel the least care for him. 8. Your want o f love for the souls of your fellow-men. Look round upon your friends and relations, and remember how little compassion you have felt for them. 9. Your want o f care for the heathen. Perhaps you have not cared enough for them to attempt to learn their condition; perhaps not even to take a Missionary paper. . . " . . I f your soul is ' not agonized for the poor benighted heathen, why are you such a hypocrite as to pretend to be a Christian? Why, your profession is an insult to Jesus Christ! 10. Yotir neglecf o f family duties. How you have lived'before them, how you have prayed, what an example you have set before them.
11. Neglect o f social duties. 12. Neglect o f watchfulness over your own life. 13. Neglect to watch over your breth ren. How often have you broken your covenant that you would watch over them in the Lord! How little do you know or care about the state o f their souls! 14. Neglect o f self-denial. There are many professors who are- willing to do almost anything in religion, that does not require self-denial. But when they are called to do anything that-requires them to deny themselves. O h ! that is too much. SINS OF COMMISSION L Worldly mindedness. I f you have loved property, and sought after it for its own sake, or to gratify lust or ambition, or a worldly spirit, or to lay it up for your families, you have sinned, and you must repent. 2. Pride. Vanity is a particular form o f pride. How many times have you thought more, and taken more pains, and spent more time, about, decorating your body to go to church, than you have about preparing your mind for the worship o f G od ?. 3. Envy. 4. Censoriousness. 5. Slander. 6. Levity. 7. Lying. Understand now what lying is. Any .species o f designed deception for a selfish reason is lying. 8. Cheating. 9. Hypocrisy. For instance, in your prayers and confessions to God. 10. Robbing God. Instances in which you have misspent your time, and squan dered hours which God gave you to serve Him and save souls, in vain amusements or foolish conversation. . . . . Perhaps some o f you who are here tonight have laid out God’s money for TOBACCO. . . . . Think o f a professor o f relig ion using God’s money to poison himself with tobacco! 11. Bad temper. 12. Hindering others from being use ful.
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