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tremely difficult , if not impossible , to do it without actually separating the grain from the heap for that purpose . When the grain was taken from the heap , we should not perceive any diminution of the size of the heap , or be aware that any common use , to which it was intended to be applied , would be affected by the
removal of the grain . Such grain , however , would bear a much greater proportion to the whole heap , how large soever , than our world bears to the system of the universe , and far greater still than a single man can be thought to bear to the whole collection of living creatures existing in all parts of the Creator's vast dominions .
How wonderful , then , and beyond all our conceptions great , must be the comprehension and capacity of that mind which can attend at once to the state of every world , the complex and involved concerns of all the creatures that inhabit it , and the peculiar condition and circumstances of each individual , without overlooking or neglecting one single being of
the countless multitude it has brought and is ever bringing into existence ! And how warm , how much too warm to be expressed by language , must be the gratitude of that man who , lifting an eye to the heavens , thus meditates with himself ! With what an august scene am I presented ; orb placed beyond orb in the ethereal expanse , at distances too remote for human calculation ! Amidst the
works of God , multiplied and extended infinitely beyond the reach of mortal sight or conception , how small , how comparatively insignificant a creature am I ! Like a drop taken from the vast ocean , or a particle of dust swept from the balance , how little could I be missed in creation were I to be instantly blotted
out of being ! Yet , while I stand beholding with admiration yonder luminaries , I feel myself supported in life and in the exercise of my several powers by him who framed , disposed and rules those resplendent orbs , as if I were the sole charge of his providential care . What gratitude , O eternal Mind ! can equal
thy condescension and benignity in regarding a creature that must be so diminutive and of so little consequence in thy sight ! In this magnificent temple , the theatre where thou art displaying thy matchless perfections , while millions of
other beings , my equals and superiors in every noble faculty with which thou hast deigned to bless me , are perhaps at this moment gazing on the same stupendous scene with myself , wrapt in holy wonder and thankfulness , accept the small addition of my praise . "—Pp . 251—253 . Perhaps the most striking passage
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in the volumes is the apostrophe to a deceased friend , supposed to be uttered at his tomb , in Serm . XVII . of Vol . I ., from 1 Thess . iv . 13 , 14 : " Not long since thou wast what I am now , one of the actons in this passing scene . To all thy sighs I lent a pitying ear , and my heaving bosom be ^ tt
responsive to thy sad complaints * With thine my tears were mingled in the hour of affliction ; and when joy brightened thy countenance , my heart felt a kindred pleasure . With thee I sat , or walked by the way , and held sweet converse . To thee my soul was knit by the ties of cordial amity and soft endearment . Now thou hast left me to mourn the loss of
thee in pensive silence * On thy hallowed grave I drop the tender tear , aud bid thy sacred ashes rest in peace . Ere long shall I join thee in thy dark abode , thy companion in the dust , till we be called forth to stand in our lot in the end of the days . In life was 1 united to thee ; in the same cold arms of death shall I
soon lie ; and—O transporting thought ! —together shall we rise , no more to feel the agony of parting . All hail that blessed morn , which shall restore thee to my fond embrace ! MethLnks I see its sprightly beams gilding the horizon , and leading on the bright triumphant day !
Yonder appears the Judge arrayed in majesty , and holy myriads form his glorious train ! He bids the trumpet sound . I hear its awful voice , which penetrates through all the mansions of the dead . Methinks I now behold thy tomb opening to make a passage for thee . I see thy
mortal frame , which was sown in corruption , dishonour . and weakness , raised in incorruption , glory and power . I run to meet thee on thy release from the bondage of the grave . I join thy company , and enter with thee into the delightful recollection of our former friendship . We
mark with gratitude together the kind hand of heaven , which led us through the pilgrimage of life , nor left us in the vale of death . Risen to pass an undeclining day , we renew the joys of social intercourse , undiminished b y the fear ^ of interruption . We trace , with admiring wonder and gratitude , evidences of divine wisdom and benignity in the appointment
of events , the particular uses of which had before eluded our discovery . We survey together the beauties of renovated nature , and as we gaze , the pleasure of each is heightened by the participation of the other . We seek and find among the countless multitude , the sight of whose happiness augments our own , the chosen few in whom our souls on earth delighted . With them we revive our former ac-
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Remews—Bretlands 'Sermons * 46
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Jan. 2, 1821, page 45, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2496/page/45/
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