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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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more good we do , the inore good and the more happy we are . And amidst the pleasures of life , there is scarcely one that affords so delightful and lasting a satisfaction as that derived from a consciousness of having benefited a fellow-creature . But when the benefit conferred affects not merely his mortal , but his immortal part ; when in time it will make him comfortable , in
eternity happy ; when it will affect him in his heart , in his home , in his public walks and character , in his influence , in his children ; when unborn generations will share the good , and the frame of society be meliorated thereby ; when the full amount of blessing which it has occasioned , the future state only can disclose , and eternity only can measure , —then , surely , the consciousness of having saved but one soul is enough to impart joy unspeakable and full of glory . Yes , to work together with God is not a duty merely — it is a privilege , it is a delight—it is a delight which will grow for ever , as the happy effects of such labours of love unfold themselves in this and the
future world . Unhappy men that know nothing of this pleasure ; who live and die with their thoughts and affections concentred all in self ; who have never at the close of a day reflected on its scenes in the pleasing hope that some prejudice might in a fellow-being ' s mind have been removed , some evil habit shaken , some grief assuaged , some hope confirmed , some joy inspired . And occasionally to enjoy the happy frame of mind which such thoughts occasion , is an overpayment of happiness for exertions made , and obstructions conquered , and exertions , as , alas ! they too often are , unproductive .
There is but one more feature of the gospel to which we shall now allude . The gospel professes to be iC the truth , " to be emphatically that system which is best calculated to bring about the great moral purposes of the Creator . Jesus himself is " the life , " because he is " the way" and •* the truth . " No warrant can be found in the New Testament for treating with indifference the progress of the whole or any part of the gospel . The religion of Jesus is there held forth as a treasure of inestimable value ; yes , and , in a certain sense , of indispensable necessity to the salvation of men . It is not pretended that it teaches that those who believe not the gospel will
eternally perish . But it does set forth , and reason warrants the declaration , that without it the soul may be lost—lost to goodness , lost to happiness ; though not , we would ho pe , lost beyond the reach of God ' s mercy , yet lost in this and in the future state . And in unison with this , it is abundantly evident that on the reception of the gospel depends the perfection of human character . To be greatly good or greatly happy without it , seems impossible . No other system approaches to it in fitness to call out the powers of
the human breast , and raise man to the height of excellence which he has the capacity of attaining . While in proportion as its hold on the heart becomes weak , so does the character fall and the happiness decrease . Now , its power over the soul may be weakened by corruptions attaching to itself , as well as by wickedness in man . Hence arises the necessity of bringing the gospel to bear upon the soul in the same state of purity as that in which
it was revealed by Jesus , and promulgated by apostles . Except this be the case , it is not " the truth , " it is not the gospel , but human devices , that seek the dominion of the heart . But it may be asked , How am I to know that the gospel , as I hold it , is the gospel as revealed by Jesus ? You believe that the principles you hold are the principles of Christianity , or you would not entertain them . They are the result of your inquiries ; they command the assent of your mind . Here , then , is your warrant to diffuse them : and
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862 The Promotion of Truth obligatory .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Dec. 2, 1829, page 852, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2579/page/36/
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