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cr both in natural and revealed religion . His opinion ; , particularly as applying to the great and sole object of religious worship , were decidedly in agreement with that part of the Christian world which is distinguished by the name of Unitarian .
From circuni tances , into which it is not necessary here to enter , he wa ^ s induced , contrary to the convi tions of his own mind , to . onfcrni to the ecclesiastical establishment of his country : but ome years before his decease , returned to a society of Unitarian
Christians * who meet : for worship and instruction , in the place where he practised . This wa » an event wholly unexpected by his friends , to whom he had not previously communicated his intention ; and equally so to the person who conducts the public services of that society . —It took place in the following
manner . He attended the morning service ; and was observed by the writer of this memoir , to have a countenance full of anxiety , expre sivje of a mind which had
been long burthened and unhappy . After the service was fini hed , to the writer ' s great surprise , he entered the vestry of the place of worship , and after the usual salut \ tion , addressing him by his name , made to him the following
declaration . " Athough I have been induced to withdraw from you , the sentiments of my understanding , and the affections of my he rt have been ever with you . . I have indeed thus , for some years ,
cpnformed to the church against the conviction of my mind ; but i can do this no longer . It is my desire and resolution tore-unite myself to this society ; and if agreeable to you and to them , to sit ilown with you this afternoon at the "Lord's table .
The reception he met with from the writer , it is unnecessary to describe . Such a testimony of personal attachment , and of the power of conscience , could not but be unspeakably gratifying . As the just effect of a resolution so commendable , in the afternoon service ,
toe before this anxious countenance , tor as all serenity and peace ; and the change in his whole appearance , so strongly marked , as to make an indelitye impression on the mind of him , "jviid had the best opportunity and the Btfcfaffeat reason to observe it ; . After
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this , he con tmued with us till his death He passed through a . very painful illness with great- fortitude of mind ; and we may be assured , so far as the power of recollection and reflection was continued , closed his eyes upon the world , with that ^ omposure , peace and hope , which are the fruits of bowing- to the
sacred voice of coi ^ cience , and the pure and perfect will of a God of truth , that A all discerning Being , who ^ e we all are , and to whom we are bound , by the highest and most commanding motives , to offer the sincere and pure homage of our understandings , hearts and
lives . L .. H . Died of a consumption , on the 9 th of September , at Saffron-Walden in Essex , in the twenty first year of his age , —Mr . JOSEPH EEDES , only son of xvlr Eedes of that place , a young- man of examplary piety , attended with an amiable
disposition , that rendered him respected , and beloved by all his friends and acquaintance , i J e early applied his mind to the s * -udy of the Scriptures , to find out truth , and to direct him aright through this world , that he might be tit for the happiness and employment of another . He embraced the Unitarian
doctrine , as he believed it to be the religion of Jesus of Nazareth , and such was its happy effects on his mind , that he found it ' pro'lu : tive of Christian virtues in life , and it afforded him comfprt , ia death . Though he had the fairest
prospects before him in life , possessetl an ample fortune , and was on the point of marriage with a most amiable and endearing young lad ? , of a respectable family ; yet , during an illness of some months he was never heard in the least
t © murmur , or repine aC the painful dispensation of divine providence , in his early dismission from this world , but c ;* lmly acquiesced both in this , and the pains he long ufFered by the disorder that terminated hi end His remains were
deposited in the ground belonging to the General Baptist Meeting at Walden , and by his own desire , ( after a funeral oration at the grave , ) a sermon was preached by his Minister , Mr . Stephen JPhilpot , to a numerous and affected audience , from Psalm xc . » ia . —So teach us
to number our days , that me may apply our hearts unto wisdom ' fhe memory of the just is blessed . Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his ivay 9 but By taking heed thereto according to thy word ? S . £%
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Obituary . ~ 615
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Mr . Joseph Eedcs
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Nov. 2, 1808, page 615, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2398/page/39/
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