Deceit

“ Yet still we hug the dear deceit,
And still exclaim against the cheat. ”

“ Revenge is the naked idol of the worship of a semi-barbarous age: and Self-deceit is the veiled image of unknown evil, before which luxury and satiety lie prostrate. ”

“ Deceit and falsehood, whatever conveniencies they may for a time promise or produce, are, in the sum of life, obstacles to happiness. Those, who profit by the cheat, distruat the deceiver, and the act, by which kindness was sought, puts an end to confidence. ”

“ There is no killing the suspicion that deceit has once begotten. ”

“ Can screen the guilty when his vengeance rises.
PAUSE THE SECOND. 11 "Unthinking wretch! how couldst thou hope to please
"A God, a spirit with such toys as these!
"While with my grace and statutes on thy tongue,
"Thou lov'st deceit, and dost thy brother wrong!"
Judgment proceeds; hell trembles; heaven rejoices:
Lift up your heads, ye saints, with cheerful voices.
12 "In vain to pious forms thy zeal pretends,
"Thieves and adulterers are thy chosen friends;
"While the false flatterer at my altar waits,
"His harden'd soul divine instruction hates."
God is the judge of hearts ”

“ And injustice is opposed to truth, and iniquity or unrighteousnesse put for falshood or deceit: the Mammon of iniquity,Luk. 16.9,11. that is, deceitfull riches, is set against the true treasure, which will not deceive. Iniquity was not found in his mouth,Mal. 2.6. saith the Prophet, that is, guile1 Pet. 2.22. or deceit. The deceitfull, the Septuagint translates, the unrighteous and guilefull man, Psal. 43. 1. So that these foure, Truth, Uprightnesse, Righteousnesse1 King. ”

“ And now, to shew the falseness of the heart in both these parts of repentance, And
First: As to a hearty sorrow for the sins and miscarriages of the time past. Is there a more usual thing than for a man to impose upon himself, by putting on a grave and demure countenance, by casting a severe look into his past conduct, and making some few pious and devout reflections upon it, and then to believe that he has repented to an excellent purpose, without ever letting it step forth into practice, and shew itself in a holy conversation? Nay, some persons do carry the deceit a little higher ”

“ Those who subvert the faith destroy the love; the common faith is one ground of the common love;" or, "You must secure your walk according to the commands of God; this will secure you. Your stability is likely to be tried, for many deceivers have entered into the world." Sad and saddening news may be communicated to our Christian friends; not that we should love to make them sorry, but to fore-warn is the way to fore-arm them against their trials. Now here is, 1. The description of the deceiver and his deceit—he confesses not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh (v. 7) ”

“ O friends, the imprisoning my body is to satisfy your wills; but take heed of giving way to your wills, for that will hurt you. If the love of God had broken your hearts, ye would not have imprisoned me; but my love is to you, as to all my fellow-creatures: and that you may weigh yourselves, and see how you stand, is this written.’
About this time he gave forth a paper to those that were convinced of the truth, to show them the deceit of the world, and how the priests had deceived the people, viz. ”

“ Don't you perceive that whatever goes into the man from outside can't defile him, 007:019 because it doesn't go into his heart, but into his stomach, then into the latrine, thus making all foods clean?" 007:020 He said, "That which proceeds out of the man, that defiles the man. 007:021 For from within, out of the hearts of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, sexual sins, murders, thefts, 007:022 covetings, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. ”

“ Is the death of the wicked a pleasure to thee? Are not thy mercies over all thy works? And when thou art angry, wilt thou not remember mercy? Hast thou not said, I desire not the death of a sinner, and the wickedness of the wicked shall not hurt him, in what day soever he shall turn from his wickedness? Is there not, then, time for repentance as long as there is life?
6. Penance not to be delayed from regard to the divine mercy.
Christ. Great indeed is thy folly, whosoever thou art, who forgettest my justice, to flatter thyself with the hope of my mercy. ”

“ You have got heaven in your own bosoms, you have got Zion in your hearts, you have obtained all the glory, all the peace, all the joy, all the comfort, and all the light you anticipated when you were mingling with the wicked world. If you are deceived, who will deceive you? If you are wronged, who wrongs you? If you are cheated out of your crown at last, who has cheated you? These questions may apply in different ways. They may apply to the business operations of the world, as well as to the grace of God in the heart, and the salvation of the soul. ”

“ Awake! you shall deceive yourself no longer! Of this last wrong you are as innocent as the unspotted snow; and I, I only, own the guilt, as I shall bear the punishment! Hear first, why I release you from your oath; and then, if you [pg 174] care to listen to a sad tale, you shall know by what infamy of others, one, who might else have been both innocent and happy, has been made infamous and foul and vile, and wretched; a thing hateful to herself, and loathsome to the world; a being with but one hope left, to expiate her many crimes by one act of virtue, and then to die! ”

“ Let not mercy be the only virtue of which your heart is unsusceptible! Pity me, most reverend! Restore my letter, nor doom me to inevitable destruction!"
"Your boldness confounds me. Shall I conceal your crime—I whom you have deceived by your feigned confession?—No, daughter, no. I will render you a more essential service. I will rescue you from perdition, in spite of yourself. Penance and mortification shall expiate your offence, and severity force you back to the paths of holiness. ”

“ Both the domestic records of families and the public histories of nations have furnished us with admirable instances of innocence voluntarily offering itself as a sacrifice, taking upon itself the penalty, the suffering, the death, to expiate the sin of others, and to win from Divine Justice—now satisfied—the pardon of the offender. ”

“ GUILT. The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.
Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty.—Exodus, xxxiv. 6, 7.
The Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain.—Deuteronomy, v. 11.
Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of Thy righteousness.—Psalm li. 14.
For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.—James, ii. 10. ”

“ What guilt, to come to crucify afresh Jesus Christ, in the very place where he offers himself up for us every day to his Father! What guilt, to employ, in order to forward our own ruin, the very hour in which the mysteries of salvation, and the redemption of all men, are operated! What madness, to come to choose the eyes of our Judge to render him the witness of our crimes, and of his presence to make the most horrible cause of our condemnation! ”

“ Then I summon you to meet him whom you have belied and murdered, whom you still, unrepenting, and unatoning, calumniate and accuse, before the throne of Almighty God, and to answer, where falsehood is vain and cunning is of no resource, where the truth is written on tables of light, and falsehood is blotted out in everlasting darkness, where hell and eternal damnation await remorseless crime, for every word you have uttered this night! As your heart judges you, so feel, and so act. ”

“ To no man in these days, could there be a doubt even for a moment—however great the sin of swearing such an oath! No one in these days, knowing and repenting of the crime, would hesitate a moment, or fancy himself bound, because he had committed one vile sin in pledging himself thus to guilt, to rush on deeper yet into the perpetration of wickedness. ”

“ Consider deep and hearty sorrow for, and true confession of sin, is a very honourable thing in the eyes of God and good men. O souls, it will tend to your everlasting honour and renown. In the great day, when God shall acquit you before all the world, both angels, men, and devils; and say, 'Here behold the ingenious confessor, and the true godly mourner, who was not ashamed to say, in sin I was conceived, and in iniquity brought forth.' This weeping soul have comforted with my spirits, and he stands justified by my son's merits. ”

“ When to God alone I make confession, Why, my shameful heart! so light thy task? While so deep the shame and the emotion When to man thou must thy guilt unmask? Only here we find the true abasement: More than God we dread the eye of man! Hence the justice that, by heaven's ordaining, Human guilt a human eye should scan! ”

“ Unless you will confess what you are and who you are in the presence of the man you have deceived so long, and accept from him and from me such mercy as we may be inclined to extend to you, I will gather together the witnesses who shall swear to your identity, and at peril of any shame to myself and those I love, I will bring upon you the just and awful punishment of your crime. ”

“ We confess our sins, O merciful God, in humility and sorrow of heart, and we acknowledge that in Thy sight no one living is justified. Woe to us, if Thou judge us according to Thy justice. To appease Thy anger, O Lord, we recur to the unbloody sacrifice of Him Who was nailed to the cross for our salvation, and who ceases not to intercede for us in heaven. O God of all clemency! forgive us our sins, we entreat Thee, and forgive also the sins committed by our deceased brethren, in the days of their mortal pilgrimage. ”

“ The discoveries of guilt excite amazement: the more we think of sin the worse it looks. The difficulty of the case excites amazement. How shall we recover ourselves? Which way shall we make our peace with God? [1.] True penitents are at a loss what to say. Shall we say, We have not sinned, or, God will not require it? If we do, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. Shall we say, Have patience with us and we will pay thee all, with thousands of rams, or our first-born for our transgression? ”

“ Would you, sinner, wish to be surprised by death with those secret sins on your conscience, which you have not confessed through shame, or which you have not really repented of, or are not firmly resolved to amend? ”

“ He knows that we are fallible, He has seen that you have suffered, and in ordaining that the chastisement for your faults should come as death from the very ones you have instigated to crime, we can see His infinite mercy. ”

“ Especially confess such circumstances as change the nature, or aggravate the guilt, of our sins; and 2. Mention in general everything by which the Confessor may be enabled to judge rightly of the state of our conscience, and to put us on our guard against relapsing into sin.
1. Should a person have stolen Church property, wished his parents dead, coveted his neighbor's wife, injured some one by telling a lie, etc., it would not be sufficient for him to confess merely that he has stolen, wished some persons dead, had an evil desire, told a lie. ”

“ Spare, O Lord, spare me, a sinner, and although everlasting punishment is my due, for that I am so constantly offending Thee, grant, I beseech Thee, that what I deserve as a punishment may become the means of correction, and that I may confess it to be the effect of Thy mercy alone that the temptations of the devil, which so often have prevailed over me because of my sins, now no longer assault me. ”

“ There is mortal sin when the lie deceives the confessor about matter that is impertinent to the confession, but is grave in itself, as when the penitent seriously calumniates a neighbor to the priest. ”

“ His dying words; “Forgive, Father, let the sinner live; Sinner, wipe thy tears away, I thy ransom freely pay.” While I hear this grace revealed, And obtain a pardon sealed; All my lost affections move, Wakened by the force of love. ”

“ A second look He gave, which said, “I freely all forgive; This blood is for thy ransom paid; I die that thou mayst live.” Thus, while His death my sin displays In all its blackest hue, Such is the mystery of grace, It seals my pardon too. ”

“ Make an humble acknowledgment of your guilt. Let there be no excuses, no throwing the blame on others; but above all, let not shame, or fear, or hypocrisy, tempt you to tell lies, or conceal a mortal sin in confession. ”

“ Having discovered the sins of which you have been guilty, together with their number, enormity, or such circumstances as may change their nature, you should endeavor to excite in yourself a heartfelt sorrow for having committed them, and a sincere detestation of them. ”

“ Thus we ourselves would justify, Though we the law transgress; Like him, unable to deny, Unwilling to confess. But when by faith the sinner sees A pardon bought with blood; Then he forsakes his foolish pleas, And gladly turns to God. ”

“ Or if a soul swear, pronouncing with his lips to do evil, or to do good, whatsoever it be that a man shall pronounce with an oath, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty in one of these.
5. And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of these things, that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing:
6. And he shall bring his trespass-offering unto the Lord for his sin which he hath sinned, a female from the flock, a lamb, or a kid of the goats, for a sin-offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his sin. ”