On this page
-
Text (1)
-
Untitled Article
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.
-
-
Transcript
-
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.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Article
of existence . In the strll nobler world of mind we find the same beauty and the same order ; faculties and capacities of an almost unbounded extent obeying similar laws and developing similarly benevolent purposes ; all overruled for good by the care and watchfulness of their Maker ; all formed for the exercise of the moral powers and the cultivation of the highest and noblest virtues . The mind is never idle ; like the pulse , it works on its
destined way with an uninterrupted energy . All the gifts which are bestowed upon us are complete and perfect in their way , and it is given to us to use or to debase them . They are in themselves gifts worthy of the Being from whom they spring ; in their wise adaptation bearing the marks of his infinite wisdom , in their usefulness and contribution to our enjoyment ever stamped with his love , and in their exquisite and astonishing construction opening to us vast and sublime displays of his omnipotence . Wherever
our reason can reach , we trace these attributes—around us , above us , and within us ; in the natural world , in the human soul , and in the still purer and bri g hter glories of revelation . Can the Being , then , who has made every thing so lovely and so perfect , who has bestowed on his creatures such a redundancy of means and enjoyments , be indifferent to their individual welfare ? If we cannot behold even an fnsect without surprise at the care and provision which have been exercised for its safety and pleasure , can we
suppose that there exists the rational being who is not the object of his Maker ' s attention and bounty ? If not , if indeed the very hairs of our heads are all numbered , if the daily continuation of our being itself is a proof of continued watchfulness and love , with what reasonableness , under any circumstances , however calamitous , can we indulge in fear or in solicitude ? The worst earthly afflictions are but like a slight shadow over the multiplied blessings and various advantages that surround us ; they form a small part
indeed when weighed in the balance with our pleasures , our powers of usefulness , our opportunities of improvement , and our immortal hopes . Supposing even the whole of our earthly existence to be a scene of toil and struggle and difficulty , or of disappointment and privation , what is there in these things as a cause of regret , if we possess our souls in patience and faith , and have our hearts filled with all good and resigned feelings ; if we can look beyond them to the ennobling and consoling prospect of an eternal
felicity , and have it in our power to form those virtuous habits and dispositions which will prepare us to enjoy it ? And who can say in any grief that this is not in his power ? Who can say , if he use it as he ought , that affliction < loes not contain in itself a salutary and elevating influence ? Does it not lead him to think more of God and futurity ? Does it not open more clearly to his view the vanity of the things of time and sense , the transitory nature of all human possessions , the instability of every thing , in short ,
except religion and virtue ? And in doing this , is it not of incalculable service * Does it not abate the ardour of earthly pursuits , calm the impetuosity of passion , awaken the insensibility of prosperity , and lead by its very nature to reflection and to self-examination ? And does not this knowledge , thus forced upon us by our sufferings , lead us eventually to
selfgovernment and to peace ? And if so , is not this peace , the peace of religion , and the consciousness of virtuous exertion , worth far more than all that we may have lost in exchange for it ? Where is the man who , being aware of the value of a holy and well-regulated mind , would , having gained that possession , consider himself unfortunate under any trials ? Would he not rather bless the circumstances which have contributed to such a result- — the pains which have purified and the tears which have refined him } Yes ,
Untitled Article
Thoughts on Affliction . 693
-
-
Citation
-
Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 2, 1829, page 693, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2577/page/21/
-