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" ^ fe < J j $ Q& « 4 $ $ bi ty <* w * ft of God , ; ibidi ^ ^ r * * & aT * m is > Indeed , * n am ^ l ^ ^ M ^ aa 4 worthy of the moat s ^ rioas itteMtiosi * Behold yon marble statue —the \ ttonder of ages : it still retains its " be&uty and perfection , it has retained them for ^ enturies , while the
frail original has long since mottldei ^ l away * Bn * when a few more years or ages are passedj this also shall decay , and craiHbte" into dust , — -Mark that stupendous tower i how deep its foundation ; how dense its walls ; how lofty its battlements ; how firm its structure !
It has stood for ages ; it promises to stand for ages to came . Yet the time is approaching when It will tumble into rufofl' Behold the great mountains ; their foundations in the centre of the
earthy their summits piercing the clouds ; they seeiia tmilt for eternity , and bid defiance id age a » d time . Yet even these mountains , though deemed perpetual , shall depart ; and the everlasting hills shall be removed . —Consider the
foundations of the earth . Survey the pillars of the universe . How firm and durable th-ey are ! How many thousand years they have already subsisted ! How many ten thousand more they are likely to stand ! Yet there is a period advancing when these mighty pillars shall burst asunder , and universal riiin shall raise her
standard upon the wreck of the creation The heavens shall be folded up like a scroll ; the elements shall be dissolved ; the earth shall flee away ; and the sea shall find no place . Nevertheless , amidst the universal consternation , the servant of God , he that hath done liis Maker ' s
will , remains undismayed . The Kock of Ages is jnamoveable . —Upon that rock lie stands ; and views with a composed and undauated eye the accomplishment of the threat plan of Providence in true dissolution of the frame of nature . — Upon that rock he shall ever stand .
Aud while time , and years , and ages roll on ; while worlds dissolve and pass away ; while stars , and suns , and systems , undergo the most awful and stupendous revolutions , he that hath done the will of God abides unmoved ; his heart is fixed ; his character is made perfect ; his state is secure ; his
happi"t > ss is unchangeable . The eternal God is his ^ refuge , his everlasting portion , and his exceeding great reward . "—Pp . 301—303 .
Ser . XIV ., entitled " Death , the ^ ast Enemy , Destroyed / ' from 1 Cor . * * 26 , ia stated iu the heading to ba ^ been * preached on the Lament-^ W D eath ojf Pe rcival North , Esq . " e take notice of this , in order to
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remark in at the exordium qf ' $ bfrj&& rnon contains the character of | J » 0 $ 41 , * ceased ; j a part of funeral diseoulses which is coin tooaly reserved for tli £
peroration : and , we confess , we $$ & > fer the usual plan , and for the pJ&in reason that it is more likely to keep up the hearer ' s attention , Jf the most interesting portion of a sermon ; ; td brought forward at the commencement , the earnestness of an audience will ^ Iroop befo re the elose , and the
effect of the sermon will be inverted-A very high and we doubt not a justly deserved panegyric is pronounced upon Mr . North . The long life of this gentleman , who lived to his 86 th year , is feelingly contrasted with , the short date of existence allotted by Providence to a much-valued friend
of the preacher's , who died a little before at the early age of 26 , the jft ^^* T . B , Broadbent , ( see Mon . Repoa . XII . 690 , ) and whose funeral sermail was preached Nov . 9 , 1817 * at Essex Street . ( See Mon . Ilepos . XIII . 1- ^ - 4 . )
The plan of this sermon is suggested by the words , which is the best of all divisions , ' * Death is an en ^ my —it is the last enemy—and this enemy shall be destroyed ** ( p . 311 ) . Mr . Belsham reads his text , l 4 The last enemy shall be destroyed , even death / ' He says ,
" The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death . This is a poor and spiritless translation ^ or rather mi $ ti * anslation of the apostle \ s spirited and triumphant language . If all enemies are to be destroyed , it is comparatively of little consequence in what order o £ fctjne
they are destined to perish , livt ^ e apostle's words express an iaipjortafiiit proposition ; they are a peremptory * aa , d triumphant declaration that dt ^ atli a the last enemy , shall be abolished and tttterly exterminated "—P . 329 .
Here , as in many other places , Mr * Belshaiu maintains explicitly and ably the doctrine of the restoration of the wicked to virtue and happiness . He conjectures that the apostle alludes to this event in the 23 d ve * "se of the chapter from which the text is takew . But we doubt whether the phrase , 'they that are Christ ' s , " ca . fi be made
by any rational interpretation of the Apostle to include bad men wbu > Will fall under final condemnation ! May not the acneq ol this chapter be , tlmt
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vo * ,. xki . 3 i
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it ^ eM . ^ IfeliiJifim ' * Doctrinal and PraUkid Ducvurtet * 9 ^ 01
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1826, page 421, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2550/page/41/
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