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
build up nobler , and sanctify indestructible temples to the service of their Lord , It was quite dark when I re-entered the valley . As the night was warm , and the day had been one of unusual excitement and fatigue , I sauntered slowly on my way , I quitted the road for the fields , and when about half a mile from the village , arrived in front of a poor cottage . I had not been aware that I was approaching a dwelling , till , on turnin g a corner , I saw a bright gleam from the open door and unshuttered window reflected in the pool below . The circumstance of the door standing wide seemed to give
me liberty to look in as I passed ; and having looked in , I could not but stop . A young woman , whose countenance , though now composed , bore traces of many tears , was sitting on the side of a bed , on which lay an infant , as I supposed , asleep . The husband was leaning over the table , shading his face with his hand . Edwards was there , and at the moment of my approach he was putting on his spectacles and opening the Bible which lay before him . Another glance at the child and a moment ' s consideration convinced me that its sleep was the repose of death , and added to the deep interest with which I listened to the words which Edwards Tead , and the observations which he afterwards made . The story of the Shunammite woman was naturally his choice , and he then read a few verses from the 18 th of Matthew , explaining at their close , that trust in the Giver of life is no less a duty now than in those remarkable times when the spirit was occasionally revived in the lifeless body : and that the assurance that no little one is forgotten by God ought to sustain the submissive spirit under the loss of a child , though the bereavement may be more painful than that of a limb or a sense . When he proposed prayer , I hastened away , but lingered within sight of the cottage in the hope that Edwards might come out and join me , which he soon did .
" This has not been a day of unmixed happiness to you , my good friend , " said I . " Which of our days are so , Sir ? Joy and mourning go hand in hand through life . " " The grave-yard of your chapel will be occupied almost as soon as its doors are opened . " " Yes , Sir . The child will be buried on Sunday . I supposed that some grey bead would have been laid there first , and not the very youngest among us . " " I hope you have left comfort behind you , " said I : and I told him what I had seen .
" At times like these , Sir , " he replied , " one may have more hope of doing good than when life runs smooth . The minds of these people are weary and their spirits weak , and they are ready to follow any friendly voice , and to listen to any kind words . " " A friend of mine , " said I , " who thinks that religion ought to be solely between a man and his God , might perhaps think differently , if he had been with you now . " * ' No doubt , Sir , there is much in every man ' s heart which is known only to his God ; and I feel very sure that religion may be kept alive by communion with him alone ; but I judge , from ail that I can understand and observe , that it is also intended to be a social bond . If it had not been , I should think our duty would have been set down for us in some regular lorni , like a code of Jaws , and not conveyed in such various ways as we find it . "
Untitled Article
314 True Worshipers *
-
-
Citation
-
Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), May 2, 1830, page 314, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2584/page/26/
-