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of these , ) and * 6 . exhibits steadiness and dignity . of character , and C 0 flsistency and stability in virtue . Sen II . is entitled , from the text , (] John iv . 16 , ) " God is Love / 5
This " glorious trntb" implies , the preacher argues , 1 . That love is a $ attribute pf God . 2 , Love exists in God iik-it * greatest perfection , ( Are not the words in italics superfluous ?) 3 . All the counsels and purposes of God are prompted by love . 4 . The works
of God , and all the dispensations of bis government towards hU creatures , are the fruits and effects of love . 5 . Love is the attribute and character by which he chooses to be made known , and to be regarded by man . 6 . The laws of God originate in benevolence , and love is his express and chief command .
We cannot forbear quoting the foU lowing animated description of Creation " : Creation is the commencement and the chief of the works of God ; and it originates in his benevolent purpose Behold the fair and beautiful world which
we inhabit . Contemplate the various substances of which the earth consists ; the atmosphere which surrounds it , the waters which encompass it , the fire which glows in various forms within it , and upon it ; the multitude and beautiful
variety of vegetables with which it is clothed and adorned . Turn your attention to the living beings by which it is inhahited . All nature swarms with lifet Millions and millipns of animals , fronj the half-reasoning elephant , from the , huge leviathan , to the worm , the insect
the animalcule , discernible only by the assistance of the best instruments ; beasts , and birds , and fishes ^ , and insects , and reptiles , in all their various animated forms , inhabjt their respective elements , and triumph in jtheir existen . ee . Superior to these , and lordsfVor ^ of this lower creationis
, man ; who , in his various tribes , is scattered over the vast regions of the habitable globe , erect in form , endued with an intelligent principle , with godnm capacities and powers , adapted by copjjtittution to the climate in which he ™» idfs , and attached by habit to the cir * cuwtauces in which he is fixed .
Inanimate nature yields to his plastic hand . 4 nc vegetable creation grows and blooms , « P ! i , P * ° his convenience and use *» inferior animals bow to his yoke and acknowled ge his authority . Behold the swr y oAs , glittering like spangles , hinnt rterable in the vast expanse of heaven , conceive each star a sun : and each sun
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as the centre , the fountain of light and heM tk the many habitable worlds , a * large , or , it may be ^ larger than $ be planet in which we dwell , equally crowd * e . d with inhabitants , an < J equally provided with me ^ ns for thei r sustenance ^ n 4 comfortable accommodation . . Extend
your views still farther . Conceive of suns and worlds far beyond what the most penetrating eye , assisted by the most powerful instruments , have ever yet been able to discover , or ever will . G&e your imagination its utmost scope . -Obn-t ceive of thousands of worlds , and clusters of suns and systems beyond these : of millions and millions remoter still than
those . Pursue the thought till imagination faints under the immense idea ; you will still fall infinitely short of the vast and boundless universe of being . Twa questions naturally occur to the mind
upon this magnificent survey . Who was the author of this stupendous fabric > And for what purpose was it raised , and crowded with myriads of inhabitants ? Reason suggests a reply to the former , and the text contains the answer to the
second of these interesting inquiries . God is the sole architect of this stately frame . And God is love . Infinite , immutable love : the boundless desire to communicate happiness to a boundless multitude of beings , is the only conceivable motive which could induce an allperfect and happy Being , to the production of this magnificent effect . "—Pp . 35 = —38 . The Hlrd Ser . ( from 2 Cor . vi . 18 ) is on the " Paternal Character of God / ' which implies , 1 . love , 2 , pro * tection , 3 . instruction , 4 . discipline ,, 5 . forbearance and forgiveness ,, 6 , readiness to hear and answer .
Ser . IV . ( from Rom . viii . 14 ) is entitled " The Spirit of Christianity ^ a Filial Spirit , " and a filial spirit is shewn to include reverence and love *
desire of instruction , cheerfu * obedience and fear of offending , hmnblg submission to salutary discipline , delight in communion with God , ajad finally , a patient expectation of the promised inheritance .
Ser . V . ( from Psa , xlviii . 9 ) is entitled " The Loving-kindness of God recollected at the Close of the Year . " The preacher meditates , I . upon the general loving-kindness of the
Supreme Being , as supreupc , universal , under the direction of i * n < errii ) g yvjsr . dom , and unchangeable and 9 veriesting ; II . upon particular instances of the loving-kindness of God , especially in connexion with the season of
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Retiiew . -rr-Behhamh Doctrinal and Practical Discourses . 417
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1826, page 417, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2550/page/37/
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