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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.
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4 n ihv late IPhetofogidat Controversies at Geneva . £ € 69
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im ^ etidttsly oWig&d to t&pel him . " On this pfc * i ^ &pli I submit three remarks . 1 . There is abundant reason to
believe that M . Mi did not viohie the Regulation referred to ; and to Which undoubtedly , absurd , insidious , and oppressive as it was , he -had bound himself to conform . I have read se *
veral of his sermons , atid I must saythat they are extremely far from wearing the character wMch Mr . B . draws of them * They at 6 , indeed , plainly and honestly evangelical , but they are highly practical , aiid deal much in powerful addresses to the heart and conscience . I have found in none of
them any khid or form of disrespectful or depreciating allusion to other ministers , or any reference to them whatsoever , unless their own consciences might make a self-application of the addresses to irreligious and worldly characters , which iare , indeed ,
wry frequent and very pungent , but never ( so f&r as I have foufrd ) descend to personalities , never depart from Christian tenderness of feeling and propriety of language . I did understand , but I cannot pledge myself for the accuracy of the impression , that the two sermonfc which were either
the last preached by him in any of the churches nt Genera , or were regarded as the most offensive , Were , the one from Luke xix . 10 , " The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which
is lost ; " and the other from James ii . 20 , " Art thou willing to know , O vain man , that faith without works is dead ? " The latter of these
sermons I read about six years ago . Its purport was what might be expected from the text- —an exhibition of the nullity of all pretensions to religion which are not substantiated by the sincere , universal and constant practice of holiness . I have no
recollection of any passage that could reasonably be deemed offensive by the most captiotis mind ; and , had there been such , I think its impression would Uave remained with me . But the former sermon I have before me ; and , after careful examination , I can
discover no paragraph or sentence to which Mr . B . ' s censure could attach , except upon that most unfair principle which would destroy all the fidelity of the pulpit , that persons should be offended by addresses to clmtes
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and characters of men . AHow me to extract one of its stron # e ^ : passages . " Call to your refc < fii < eefci < to the Easter solemnities of the past ? year . Retrace the impressions which the law of God then made upot * you ^ the
confessions of unworthiness yvhich it drew from you , the resolutions of amendment which you then formed . Drawn by the Lord himself , you entered into his temple * The sacred table was prepared . Grace was * offered to you there * Your conscience
pressed you with secret remonstrances ; and , at that solemn moment , your heart was touched . Then , opening you * eyes upon your past life , you felt yourselves pierced with bitter and deep regret : groans burst from your soul 5 your agitated conscience was sensible of the loss of its
peace ; the thought of God ' s justice struck you with terror ; and the most determined resolution , the most positive engfag-ement to turn to Christ , appeared to you the * only meaais of avoiding dreadful miseries . THbat resolution you formed ; for the word of
truth had made you feel its first impressions . That engagement you took ; in the temple , before the altar . Have you fulfilled it ? Say , have you been faithful ? The habits , the inclinations , the woridliness , which you had then been led to detest , did
they not soon lose in your esteein their deformity and danger ? The voice of God which you had heard , — did you not soon despise it ? Say , O sinners , did not the v « ery sins whose turpitude you acknowledged , again defile your body , degrade your heart ,
^ nd blot your soul ? Does no reproach , on this point , rise within yoa ? Is there no sud remembrance that makes you blush ? And if , at this very moment , that mysterious haad which , amidst the -riot of an impious feast , wrote in silence upon the wall the death-warrant of a
wicked king ; if that hand should now advance , and trace upon these walls the history of the months and days and hours of your life , since you engaged to make it pure ; if the truth-telling
lines revealed in this place your deeds , your thoughts , when far from human notice , in the secrecy of your heart ; —say * Who is the man among you that would dare to direct his eyes to the awful inscription ? Does not the
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Nov. 2, 1824, page 669, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2530/page/29/
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