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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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Untitled Article
much superior to a large portion of our Mlow-ci-eattii ^ Si ia con ~ sequence of t&e free grace and kitidiiess of our heavenly Father , and not of our own good works . This we readily perceive ; we acknowledge it with joyful gratitude to the bountiful giver of every good gift ; and it is manifest that in so far as these peculiar blessings are concerned ^ there is a dose analogy between our condition and that of those i ^ jwJbomJtJ ^ as ^ rst ^ saidv ^ Blessed ^ are—your
eyes for they see , and your ears for they hear , what great things God hath prepared for them that love him and keep his commandments . It is important also to observe , that , in both cases , the terms are applied to advantages in possession , not in prospect ; in both cases the exhortation of the apostle is equally appropriate , that we
give all diligence to make our calling and election sure . Have we been callecl to receive the word of this salvation , which is by Christ , while , perhaps , a great majority of our fellow-men remain in the depths of ignorance and idolatry ? have we been called to partake of the blessings of Christian instruction ? have we been singled out through the special protection and appointment of God to know the truth as it is in Jesus ? have we been favoured
with valuable advantages , in a moral point of view , over some even of our countrymen and neighbours who may have been brought up in ignorance , without the means of learningGod ' s Jaws and the promises of the gospel ? TEese are gifts of divine bounty which we already possess ; these are among the talents of which an account will be demanded , conformable in all cases to that just and equitable principle , of them to whom much has been given much will also be required . If your righteousness , said our Lord
to his disciples , do not exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees , ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven . Having been chosen to receive the promises , to learn the terms of a new and better covenant , to profit by a more pure and holy law ; to be enlightened by more just conceptions of Divine Providence , by more enlarged and liberal manifestations of Divine grace , extended to all the rational creatures of God , it became them to show
that they were wiser and better for the peculiar means of instruction with which they had been honoured . AntJ in like manner to us it may be said in the spirit , if not in the language of the apostles , having partaken of the benefits of religious knowledge , having learnt the will and intentions of God concerning his creatures both here and hereafter , be careful to bring fortl ) the ggod fruits of holiness in heart and life . Let it not be said , e Ye were
called to partake of the means of grace , but ye trampled them under your feet ; the hopes of glory were proposed to your acceptance , but ye despised and rejected them , ' Having received the word of Divine truth , give all diligence to follow its heavenly guidance , and thus to make your calling and election sure . W . T .
Untitled Article
OF PARTICUMB ELECTION . HI
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), April 1, 1833, page 111, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2611/page/15/
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