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Untitled Article
them and through them * And , moreover , it has a direct and peculiar agency of its own , seeking and saving that which was lost , and bringing back the wanderer , the prodigal , and the sinner , all who are afar off , to dwell with their brethren in their Fathers house . .
And how is this to be done ? Obviously not by the common means of keeping alive a sense of religioji in the heart , and sustaining its power , and demonstrating its mercies ; for the poor of cities are very much out of the reach of these means . We build and support our places of worship , or
inherit those raised for us by the pious zeal of our forefathers , ana we assemble there for moral instruction and religious services adapted to our habits and modes of thought : but they come not ; they will not come , and they cannot come . Within a circle bf two miles in diameter from this spot , there are thousands whose presence here , in any considerable number ,
would startle the regular attendants almost as much as the first irruption of some northern tribe would one of the cities of ancient Italy . Nor could they be interested without previous mental preparation . Religion , the want of humanity , and the claim of humanity upon the Christian , must be borne to them . Men must be found who will preach the gospel , not in churches or chapels , but from house to house ; not to congregations , but to individuals . 'They have a right to religion ; and though they know it ' not * we do , and should see that their ignorance forfeits not their privilege .
The child needs , and therefore has a claim for , moral training , for being brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord . More or less perfectly we may hope that this they have who belong to Christian parents , assembling here and in similar places . In their infancy they breathe what is at least comparatively a pure moral atmosphere . But how are the
children of the poor of cities to be brought up in the way in which they should go ? If they knock , the door of the Sunday-school may be opened unto them ; but should philanthropy wait for that ? Should there be no interposition to stay them in their downward progress , and take them by the hand , and lead them to the fountains of instruction ? Very rarey as yet , are schools that are- adapted to the exigency . But whatever exist , or w hatever be created for the purpose , something more is required : there is need of some one to make the benefit felt , and see that the benefit is realized . In different ways associated with one another , we have our alleviations of sickness and sorrow . Each has the sympathy of his circle , be
it wide or limited , high or low . And the poor , who are with us and of us , have their privations made more endurable , and kindly aid for their peculiar trials is anticipated by them without disappointment . Not so is it in dark and dirty courts , where the air is pent up by close and lofty houses , ia which each apartment is the receptacle of a family , some sick , perhaps , and all ragged and famishing , and with none near or qualified to > help either mind or body , to sympathize , counsel , relieve , and restore . Christian benevolence must explore and invade these regions . It should go
Untitled Article
The Claims of the Poor on the followers of Christ . ' 801
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Dec. 2, 1831, page 801, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2604/page/5/
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