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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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Untitled Article
d 6 tiot erideavbur to di&ierfcWhat iriftaeiice « he 6 pe * dti 6 nii of Pr ^ idettcft ought td havfe dri odr character * And strive td Stfbjefct ourselves duly td # 16 % we may efcpeci ill vain the tjreeidlis results for wtaeK we lQok with
edrifidenc £ . Some results will be produced , perhaps Valuable , perhaps noxious , but our expectations will be disappointed unless we anxiously observe , and , as far as possible , carefully direct the process . It is not every lump of earth which will yield gold in the crucible , and it is not every mind which will eome forth troit its fiery trial adorned with solid arid shining virtues .
But though adversity itiay benefit some minds more than others , it has its dangers for all * That whktt is oftene ^ t pointed out is distrust of the goodness of God . This is , however , in oiit opinion , by no means the greatest . In a Christian country like this , where every sabbath renews the praises of the Father of mercies , where preachers abound to display instances of his goodness , where through the whole range of its literature , from the volume which invites little children to " bless God , for he is very good , " to that
which appeals to his «* glorious works" to shew that he is the " Parent of good , ' * express acknowledgments of the benignity of Providence are found in every page , —a belief in this benignity is so early formed and so strongly maintained , that it usually stands the shock of adverse events , and dwells , actively or passively , in the mind through life . It is almost as uncommon , in this age and country , to meet with a denial of the unalterable goodness of God , as a dotibi of his existence . Those whd are practically resigned to his will and those who are not , equally acknowledge * the justice arid mercy of that will .
A much greater danger Appears to us to be a tendency in the sufferer ta imagine that he is an object of God's peculiar favour ; that he is exalted in ! the sight of God arid man by his mere suffering , independently of the effect which it may have on his character . Where this fatal notion once obtain ^ entrance , presumption usurps the place of humility ; the spirit condescends to receive the inflictions of its parent , arid congratulates itself on its submission . It looks round to see what the world thinks of its resignation , and from that moment it becomes the slave of the world .
The world takes tipori itself to prescribe rules fot the demeanour of those who are under the pressure of sorrow ; arid hence is another snare for the weak and the worldly . The same events produces such different effects on different minds , that the innocent pleasures in which one mourner finds a welcome solace , may call up associations too powerful for the fortitude of another . But the world has onfc rule for all , arid he who does not obey it must expect to meet its censure and its scorn . The humble sufferer who
believes not that his feelings are of consequence enough to interfere with the comfort of others , who suppresses his sighs that the smiles of those around him niay not be checked , who goes every where , and sees every one , and leaves no accustomed duty unperformed , is too often censured as wanting feeling ; while he who shuts himself upj or is never seen but in gloom and tears , and who requires peculiar consideration for his situation from every one he sees and every company he enters , is held up to admiration as an
example of refined sensibility , and is honoured with the praise of being " a true mourner . " The world will judge * but he Whd submits his feelings and conduct to its judgment , takes upon hitti a yoke which will grow heavier ' With ; each day of his life in this world , arid which may deliver mm over to a ! stilt wdfcse destirty inartottar . Any one whd bias studied the structure of the human mind is award that there itf no Such tMtfg as perrnanerit , utter tttifcery . Our d&oefoatioris are do complex , the ptetouit are so mixed With the p ^ r ' W afiil , the poWet ofexternal ofiWcter oVe * them is great , attd the ieta *
Untitled Article
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Aug. 2, 1827, page 559, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1799/page/7/
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