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, <* All the creatures about vls are necessarily dependent upon God , and from Him what we term the inanimate parts of nature , derive their regular motions ,
their stated order , their beauty and efficacy . All these creatures , I say , are necessarily dependent upon God ; but man , if he would act up to the real dignity of his nature , if he would be truly happy * niust be voluntarily so . " —P . 92 .
The introduction of Ser . VII ., from Psalm xxv . 10 , " All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies , " states the division , which is natural and nertinent :
** How full of instruction and comfort is such a passage as this to a serious and pious mind ! It is so plain , that the simplest may understand ; and it is so consolatory , that the most timid may be encouraged ; and at the same time so
instructive , that it affords materials for the profoundest meditation . This will fully appear by examining its assertions , considering its limitations , and applying both to ourselves . " —P . 97 .
Ser . VIII ., on " The Importance of a Due Regulation of the Thoughts , " is very judicious , and may be recommended on account of its useful tendency .
In Ser . XL , " Samson ' s Riddle , " we have an instance , we think , of an overstrained accommodation of Scripture . The text is Judges xiv . 14 , " Out of the eater , came forth meat ;
and out of the strong came forth sweetness ¦; " and from these words it is proposed to illustrate the general doctrine of Providence , and to answer the most formidable objections to it ! So solemn a subject would have grown
more properly out of one of the many plain declarations in Scripture of the righteous government of God . A text fenced out of its meaning , besides , is apt to betray a preacher unconsciously into harsh explanations . May not the subjoined be thus denominated ?
. " In many cases , wars and persecutions have caused ^ the fcarth to be peopled faster than it otherwise would have been ; so that the loss of numbers , though a matter of sorrow to their immediate connexions , seems not to have been a matter of much importance upon the whole . "P ; 168 , 169 : " Thus , oiit of the eater- —Death , ( the jfniversal devidurer of man here , ) comes r ° rtn the meat which is to nourish him
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level . This will , better than any other consideration , ensure the comfort and honour of l * oth parties . It will temper that authority to which the man is entitled , and it will dignify , and even render pleasing , that submission which , in general , proves both the duty and the interest of the woman . Each listening to the
dictates of reason , the voice of conscience , the directions of Scripture , and yielding in turn to each other , the enjoyments of life will be tasted with a double relish , and the unavoidable asperities of it , borne as lightly as possible . There is delicacy as well as strength in the matrimonial bond . To observe the numerous
little attentions towards each other , which real goodness of heart will suggest , and true politeness bring constantly into exercise , is the only way to keep undiminished that pure , virgin affection , which adds sweetness to strength , and renders the holy bondage in which husbands and wives are reciprocally united , the truest freedom . "—Yv . 282 , 283 .
And again , " In our present state , both bodies and minds are liable to various accidents and diseases . When any of these break in upon the conjugal union , and interrupt , for a . shorter , or a longer space , the comforts and duties of it , it is the sacred
duty , as well as the palpable interest of each , to bear with the infirmities of the other . Both , as the case may require , are to labour , by every exertion of skill and affection , to soothe the sufferings which they cannot cure , and to remove those which admit of removal , as ^ speedily as possible . It is an express stipulation in the form of marriage , prescribed by the supreme authority of this country , that the parties take each other for " better and for worse , " and that , in " sickness and in health , " they are faithfully to adhere to , and assist each other . This is a wise and Christian provision . It is , also , a most solemn engagement , and it is the indispensable duty of each
in a more advanced stage of being ; -and out of the strong : gripe in which » in ha » held the fauman r ^ ce , will finally be extracted that immortal sweetness which will cheer and regale him in the abodes of bliss . "—P , 171 . Sermons XVIII ., XIX . and XX ., on the relative duties , are amongst thebest in the volume , and render it valuable for family =-reading . On the Duties of Husbands and Wives , Mr . Butcher says , " Before God they are to regard each other , as they really are , perfectly on a
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Review *—Butcher * * Serrnons for the Use qf Families . \ G 5
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 2, 1820, page 165, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2486/page/37/
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