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excellencies of the system , and seem not to feel their minds animated arid exalted to the degree they might be , without the least tincture of fanaticism , superstition , or enthusiasm . Such was not the narrow , confined faith of the person in question ; he
felt his whole soul penetrated and raised _ hjL _ the ^ principle s «~ Jie ~ Jiad _ espoused , and derived from them such satisfaction and delight , as it was difficult , if not impossible , for him to express . Erroneous opinions
he lamented , not merely as such , but as they enveloped in mist and obscurity the beauty and giory of the truth , they drew a veil before the eyes of men , and rendered them in a greafr measure insensible to real excellence
of sentiment . Regrets of this sort were not epnfined to those who had been nursed and educated in error , but he grieved to perceive many defects still visible in the creed and conduct of the more enlightened . Deplorable was the inattention that he saw to prevail amongst these as
to correctness and propriety of language used in prayers addressed to the Supreme—expressions and sentiments adopted with which the lives of those who used them were greatly at variance , promises made and resolutions said to be entered into , which were never seen to extend further
than words . He could not discern the propriety of the common mode of preferring prayers to God in the name of another being , nor using language implying a claim to be heard for another ' s sake . Suppose a suppliant asking to have his
petition granted , inasmuch as he is a disciple of Jesus Christ , and at the same time , if he would look into himself , , aeeing , _ as _ he . might very probably see , how little he was entitled to that character , he would clearly dipcern , that he could not be heard on such ground .
He was fully of opinion that the suppliant should have no confidence in anything relating to the Creator but in his intrinsic , essential , free
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goodness—if that would not avail , nothing else would . Imputed righteousness and imputed sin were anomalies that could have no place in the divine government . He perceived that men frequently mistook frailty and imperfection for sin , and condemned themselves as guilty ,
miser-. abJe-oiFender . s , jvheii _ . the-y _ were ^ mast _ anxious to act , in all respects , right . He considered ignorance as partaking of sin , where sufficient means were afforded , but not made use of to remove it . 4 Fools , ' says a wise man , ' make a mock at sin / and such , in his estimation , were those who treated ignorance as a light and innocent matter : he saw it to be the
parent of endless deviations from the laws of heaven . The expostulatory question put to those with whom the great first preacher of the gospel was conversing , ' Why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right V was , in his judgment , one that deserved the profoundest
regard , and he" was grieved when he discerned the slender impression it seemed to make upon almost all those with whom he at anytime conversed . The invitation given to such persons to become his disciples had they , possessing the same turn of mind , lived in the first age of
Christianity , would , most assuredly , have been declined , and the twilight of Judaism , or the idolatry and immorality of heathenism , would have been preferred to the bright light and holy purity of the gospel . When he reflected upon the change he had had
the courage and spirit to make , notwithstanding the powerful motives that operated against it , he felt his heart glow with a feeling of exquisite , pleasure and . exultation , tempered with a modest diffidence of himself , conscious that , had he heard the call to enlist himself under the
banner of the Saviour , he should assuredly have complied with it . The latter stage of this most worthy and noble-minded man was passed under a cloud of considerable
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UNITARIAN CHRONICLE . 1 Q 5
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 1, 1832, page 195, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1821/page/19/
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