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    advantage ,, some traces of those impressions , which , white reviewing the p resent state pf our Society , have been made on ear minds , If we are at all . instruments In the hand of the Lord to « comfort th $ feeble-minded" among you ,. " to support the weak , " to

    encourage the upright or to arous ~ the careless ; we pray that he , by his almighty influence , may firmly establish in your hearts every . good purpose to which our words may excite you ; and bless every cup of consolation which he may enable us to hand forth . Thup , dear

    friends , again we salute you in love—in gospel love . How animating is the ability to consider ourselves the common children of one benevolent auda l-powciful Parent , to depend upon him for our own preservation , and to implore him for that of our neighbour ! Surety j shall we not thus draw ni h to the

    accomplishment of those eternal commands , " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart , and with all thy a ^ ul , and with all thy strength , and with all thy inind ; and thy neighbour as thyself ?" The accounts which we have received

    at this meeting re peering the present state of our religious Society , in the several Quarterly Meetings continue to affect us with the relation of divers instances of remissness in religious duty , which do not meet with their due share of admonition . Nevertheless we believe that in other caes , the di igence

    of upright friend , to ^ ive counsel where it is obviously nece . sary , has produ ed effects which should encourage perseverance . The spirit which tends to scatter and destroy , unless vigilantly withstood , is continually at work ; and we request you beloved brethren , to

    continue vigilant , and not to be satisfied with any former exertions , whil t the lamented evils remain . We call upon you , by that love and compassion which , d you are in your pla * es , you must feel for the negligent , not to slacken in your endeavours to stir them up to diligence . Be persevering and patient . " StabH « h

    your hearts . " I his exhortation has P een drawn from us by more than a jealousy , that uch as are in the frequent neglect of our religious meetings , are suffered too long to remain without compel . Counsel ., we know , may be ^ regarded ; but blessed is he , who , under the holy influence of love , having ^ speiued it in due season , can feel him-

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    self clear of ( owing any thing to' his brother on this account-Our concern for the preservation of brotherly love remains strong and unabated . When assembled in this meet * ing we have special cause to know the invigorating , uniting effects of it * Therefore , were there no other

    inducement , we should still be disposed , fromi time to time , to renew our earnest and pressing exhortation , that it may abound and flouiish amongst our dear brethren in religious profession . Enmity even in a small degree , pollutes the mind , and renders it unfit to approach with acceptance that pure and holy Being " * of whom the beloved disciple thus emv

    phatkal . y testifies , " God is love , " Do we not peculiarly lament the wide spread of distress , which the spirit of contention is , even now , occasioning to suffering humani y ? This , though it differs in degree , springs from the same

    rooc as private i . l ^ ffiil . Therefore a p to pie abhorrent of war , if they arc consistent , will watch against the small- * est bud of enmity , as it is conceived , © U any occasion in the heart . And the man who , in the school of Christ , hath learned' the useful lesson of self-denial , will otten make a sacrifice of hjs own will

    and opinion * though he may esteem them to be right , rather than persist in them , at the expense of Christian fellowship . It is much in the power of those who have the care of young children , to prepare their minds for the salutary restraints of the cros : of Christ : and those

    who thus co-operate with his Holy Spirit , which cany visits tile tender and flexible mind , may expect / and what better can they seek ?) his ail-sufficient bles-ing upon themselves and their offspring . Therefore , ye fathers , and ye mothers , let us entreat yr > u to consider the earliest subjection of the will as the

    first step in education . It will generally insure to you that desirable ascendency over the minds of your children , which will prevent the need of future severity ; it will enable you to govern them by love ; and thus you will be rendering your own way more easy , at the : same

    time that you are serving the jLord . And friends , we be eech you , as their understandings ripen , to t ; ike due opportunities of opening to them the benefits of tl } e restraints whLh your duty leads you to impose . Among some of the most irk * ome to the lively dispositions of

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    Intelligence *—Qiiafcr * * Yearly Epistle . 51 $

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Sept. 2, 1808, page 519, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2396/page/63/