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us that the sin in question is specific , not general . Of this crime the essence is the most malignant calumny : the guilt lies not merely in a state of mind , or even in speaking and acting in opposition to actual conviction , but In uttering' what is false and wicked , for the express purpose of personally injuring and traducing the Messiah .
Mr . Toller ' s next Sermon is particularly useful and interesting * . In No . XIII ., he discourses , at large , from Acts v . 1—li , on the history of " Ananias and Sapphira . " His observations are arranged under five general heads . The practice of the Christians in the first ages of the Church—The crime of Ananias and
Sapphira , in reference to that practice - —The manner in which this sin was detected The awful judgment by which it was punished— -And the effect produced upon others . " The Influence of Christian Intercourse / 5 forms the subject of the Fourteenth Discourse . Our author
takes his text from Acts xxvm . 15 . [* ' Whom when Paul saw , he thanked < jod , and took courage . " ] This passage , he thinks , may suggest to us , that the best Christians are liable to dejection and discouragement in their way to heaven ;—that in such cases it is kindly ordered by Divine
Providence , that some seasonable , salutary instrument of relief shall be at hand , that shall put new life and spirit into them ;—and that the effect of relief in such circumstances is just as described here , to promote gratitude and hope .
The sermon is very interesting and valuable ; abounding In the characteristic marks of Mr . TVs style , and representing much , we doubt not , of Ills personal experience . To this
composition , however , no date has been affixed ; though as to all the other discourses in the volume , we are informed , when and where they were delivered .
In the Fifteenth Sermon Youth' * are " guarded against the deceitfulness of sin . " The preacher appears to have been in the habit of addressing his young friends on the first Lord ' sday in every year . On such an occasion , the discourse now before us was
delivered . The text is Heb . iii . 13 . [ 4 < But exhort one another daily /' &c ] To shew wherein the deceitfulness of sxn consists , to point out the
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danger of listening to its imposing misrepresentations , and to notice erne capital means of guarding against tins fatal evil , are the objects of Mr . TVs attention ; and he pursues them with
great wisdom , faithfulness , energy and affection . His representations are calculated to be eminently impressive : scarcely could they be heard , and , we are persuaded , they cannot be read , altogether in vain .
Another New-Year ' s Sermon foL lows . In No . XVI ., "Life and Death " are " set before the young , " from Deut . xxx . 19 . The writer ' s method is the following : First , he shews the
rising generation , in what sense life and death may justly be said to be set before them ; and , next , life and death , blessing and cursing , as thus stated , thus connected , are proposed to their choice . The sermon is
familiar and striking , seasonable and pertinent : a just advantage is taken of local and temporary circumstances ; while many remarks are interspersed , which evince an attentive observation and intimate knowledge of human nature .
From Prov . xxiii . 15 , €€ My son , if thine heart be wise , my heart shall rejoice , even mine , " Mr . T . discourses on * ' Filial Wisdom — Parental Joy . " This , the seventeenth sermon , was preached too at the very beginning of a year . Our author notices what it was that " this royal father" had so much at heart , what it would be to
him if Ins desire were accomplished , and what force such a motive is calculated " to carry with it on the young and ingenuous and affectionate mind /' This is an extremely pathetic , tender
and powerful address to the finest sensibilities of youth , in favour of early piety . We extract from it two or three sentences , which are particularly illustrative of the mode of Mr . Toller ' s writing ( p . 301 ) : 64
The question returns upon us , What is that wisdom which Solomon desired for his son ? And , happily for us , Solomon himself has inserted one word in the text which fully enables us to understand his meaning : My son , ' says he , ' if thine i-irakt be wise , ' ^ cc . Thine heart . There it is . lu that one word are comprised the contents of volumes . Because that one
word sets up a standard of true wisdom , and constitutes the discriminating test by which all spurious and defective wisdom is detected and excluded *"
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294 Review . — -Toller * s Sermons on Various Subjects
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), May 2, 1824, page 294, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2524/page/38/
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