Let a man recollect honestly and faithfully his past life; let him
recollect his sayings and doings for the past week; even for the
past twenty-four hours: and I will warrant that man that he will
recollect something, or, perhaps, many things which will not raise
him in his own eyes; something which he had sooner not have said or
done; something which, if he is a foolish man, he will try to
forget, because it makes him ashamed of himself; something which, if
he is a wise man, he will not try to forget, just because it makes
him ashamed of himself; and a very good thing for him that he should
be so. I know that it is so for me; and therefore I suppose it is
so for every man and woman in this Church.
I am not going to give any examples. I am not going to say,--
'Suppose you thought this and this about yourself, and were proud of
it; and then suppose that you recollected that you had done that and
that: would you not feel very much taken down in your own conceit?'
I like that personal kind of preaching less and less. Those random
shots are dangerous and cruel; likely to hit the wrong person, and
hurt their feelings unnecessarily. It is very easy to say a hard
thing: but not so easy to say it to the right person and at the
right time.
No. The heart knoweth its own bitterness.
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