On this page
-
Text (1)
-
Untitled Article
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.
-
-
Transcript
-
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.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Article
| he . soul , is that it admits , not that it wift eiypy , aj > eternity of being . „ ,. . — : it must occur , " I 5 r . If ? supptQSjes , " to every ope ; , * ha $ . if indeed ih \ s imperfect and mortal state is to be succeeded by another , it will be a rppre p erfect state , and particularly a state of i # imortality . " Yet bow unspeakably wide is the interval , bet ween time auq
eternity , between imperfection and what is absolutely perfect ! He afterwards remarks that
Nothingij too much to be expected from Infinite Goodness . " To which position we readily subscribe . Is it true however that unassisted nature and reason prove the infinity of thrs attribute ? are not our best ideas of it derived from revelation ?
With the highest respect for Or . Price ' s memory , we are of opinion that he dwells too long t € on reasonings ¦ wh ieh > though" he thinks them " probable , are undecisive , and cannot give the full conviction we wish for . * ' Of the evidence arising from the assurances of the Christian revelation he
justly pronounces that it " is plain and direct ¦ , and fitted to produce the strongest satisfaction . " " . If truly righteous , we are through the Redeemer of mankind to burst the
bands of death at the last day , and to itecoimr the exercise of our present powers . Wfe are to enter "upoft a hew state of being , * tfliere mortality shall be swallowed up 6 f life , and the hand of death shall never
reach us «—where our happiness shall continue always undimin&hed , and our existence be commensurate with that of the everlasting I > eity . Is not this indeed too vast a hope ? What- } to survive the sun ^ nd stars ! to live far ever ! . —1 &-exist in bliss beyond all the limits of time , and
after being happy for myriads and myriads of ages to be no nearer to an end of ou ( r liappiue&s th&n at the first moment when it'begtin ? Can this be possible ? Fellow Christians , it is possible : The arguments I have offered pfove it to be more than possible . They prove it to be probable ^ oay eertain , if the gospel is true . " -
To the inquiry , €€ after millions of ages have been spent , shall we not 6 nd employment wanting for our faculties , and the funds of happiness be exhausted ?** The p reacher well replies , xx that there is in the works arid perfections of God # and in infinite truth an in exhaustible fund of employment " for our faculties . If the
Untitled Article
cur ^ sm ? of a rea ^ n ^ bl ^ *> ul i bwmfc lesS j , there is f ^ ewi ^( i a boundl ^ Yfriety of object ^ tp gratify ; ft . " ' 3 ? be worts of . pod , are , , probably , ijnlimi ted in extent . An existence
eternally i ^ rowng ; istp ) $ ffi 3 u $ portion of the righteous . Suoh is the nature of an intelligent inind tftat Jt cap never reach a point of perfjbet ^ on beyqtad which it is incapable of going . On th * itnprqyeab 1 ene ? s of our natures
Dr . Price enlarges witl * great qorap ^ e-Tiension of thought and fervour *> f expression - y though some at hi& readers may perhaps imagine , that he attributes too much to the natural capacities of" spiritual essences . " from
his speculations and reasonings he infers the credibility of a future life ; the wisdom of Go 4 in making our existence progressive , and one part of It a preparation for another y the djgaity of man ; our obligations to the IJivine Goodness for blessing us with
existence ; the importance of , our attaining ajust superiority to thjstyorjd ; and the dreadful state of those who come short of the happiness which has been described - Of ' ' the wicH ^ d " our author says that , " like a plant crushed in the seed , " they f 'arc to be lost and undone . *'
** Nothing can well set the evil of sin if \ a stronger light th ^ n this . What ruins an immortal nature , *— What blasts an existeqee that would otherwise have been eternally improving , and thus deprives it of infinite happiness , may indeed with the strictest propriety be said to be an infinite evil . "
In the eighteenth sermon , frwoi 1 Cor . x . 31 , " Whether therefore ye eat or drink , &c , " we are addressed " on the duty of giving g lory to Go 4 «" This . duty is explained , and the obligations to it are enforced .
The glory of Gad is a phrase which has been sadly misunderstood and misapplied . It cannot mean the absolute sovereignty of the Deity , but must have relation chiefly to hi * moral excellencies . His iunate glory and dignity , as possessed of every possible perfection , cannot be affected by any
thing that any being can do . But his glory as the governor aud lawgiver of intelligent creature * , is in sonic measure dependent on their conduct . As far as his subjects think meanly of him ; as far as they are rebellious or disaffected ; and anarchy and misery prevail among them , so far he is dis-
Untitled Article
114 Itfivieifr—Trms Snvtans . ^ .
-
-
Citation
-
Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Feb. 2, 1817, page 114, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2461/page/50/
-