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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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No subject of exhortation is oftener chosen by the divine and the moralist than the dangers of prosperity and the blessings of adversity . It is a good subject , and deserves all that can be said upon it ; but should not the reverse of the picture be sometimes held up to view ? There is little need , perhaps , to dwell much on the moral advantages of prosperity in order to make it desired , as such a state needs no new attractions to render it beautiful in the
eyes and welcome to the heart of man ; but it seems desirable to point out to the child of immortality the dangers which beset the path of sorrow ; a path which , though thorny to the feet and obstructed to the view , is generally represented as enlightened by the day-spring from on hi g h , and infallibly tending to heights of holiness and peace . Do we sufficiently reflect that such is not its universal tendency ? Are we aware that adversity has
slain its thousands , though prosperity may have destroyed its ten thousands ? It behoves us to be careful that , wbile we desire and aim at advancement in holiness , we are not lost through want of circumspection . While we guard against the snares of wealth , ease , and worldly privileges , let us not flatter ourselves that , as soon as sorrow overtakes us , we must necessarily become more worthy of the love of the Father who chasteneth us , that our hearts must necessarily be purified , and our affections elevated .
We shall be in great danger of falling into this fatal error if we take any other guide than the sound words of the gospel of Christ . Human guides may lead us astray ; we may follow them as far as , on comparison , we may find their warnings to agree with the voice of divine truth , but no further . When the poor man attains wealth , when he who was unknown or despised , stands on the eminence of fame , wben the bereaved mourner collects around him the elements of domestic peace , and is once more " safe bosomed in
his loved and happy home , " every voice is raised to warn him against the sins of ingratitude , pride , and avarice ; these voices tell him the truth , and we shall do right to awaken a powerful echo in the bosom of others , or in our own , if we wish to preserve our innocence and security . But when the mourner ' s friends , gather round him to speak to him of his peculiar safety when they raise his sinking spirit by asserting that his sorrows are marks of God ' s especial favour ; when they tell him that he will become holy by his
discipline , that his sufferings entitle him to an inheritance in the future world , and that the clouds which encompass him are but the veil behind which a benignant Deity descends to commune with his , chosen servant in his sanctuary , we must examine the enticing words of man ' s wisdom ,, and bring them to the test of Scripture . We must remember that adversity is sent to humble us ; that it is , a sign that we need correction ; that it rather becomes the sufferer to cry , " Lord ! be merciful to me , a sinner / ' than " Lord ! I thank thee that I am not as other men are . ' * We must
remember that though sorrow may soften the heart , it may also harden it ; that it inay expand or contract the affections ; that it may bring us to God or alienate us from him , according to our previous habits of mind , or to our course of action under the pressure of new circumstances . Instead of believing that the bitter draught of sorrow will assuredly confer immortality , -we must bear in mind that it will act according to our preparation for its operation ; it may renovate our powers ; it may restore our vigour , and infuse new life into our spiritual frame ; but it may also exert a relaxing and benumbing influence , and unawares lay m * prostrate in eternal death . If we
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ON THE DANGEKS OF ADVERSITV .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Aug. 2, 1827, page 558, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1799/page/6/
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