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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
said unnatural—line of conduct which you pursued in reading the burial service over his grave ! I can only compare it with the prime act of some most obdurate and stony-hearted scoffer , or to the matchless pride of Satan himself , seeking to justify one of his ministers before God . Art thou , indeed , the man who hast preached patience ., humility , and resignation , for so many years , to thy parishioners ?—art thou he who would still retain his cure among them , or be appointed to some other ?
Let rne exhort you , sir , in alarm for the salvation of your immortal soul , to turn to your Bible , and peruse its sacred contents with new eyes . In particular I would recommend the following texts to your serious consideration : ' Inordinate affections are visited by the wrath of God / Bear this in mind , and you will see one great reason why I should not dare , even though I were highly prepossessed in your favour , to accede to your request ; it would
be striving to uplift one whom the Lord hath smitten . You will also find it written in Colossians , ' Set your affections on things above , not on things on the earth . ' In the fifth of St . Matthew , and the fifth verse , you will find that Blessed are the meek , for they shall inherit the earth . ' Is it not , therefore , manifest that you , being of so opposite a nature , should inherit nought of the good things of earth ? Remember , it is written , * Be not
highminded , but fear ! ' The style in which you speak of intellect and power , is arrogant and profane : For there is no power , but of God ; ' and again , in St . Matthew , ' All power is given unto Christ . * Humble yourself , therefore , as becomes you , abandon vain imaginations , and as St . Luke admirably exhorted , ' preach the gospel to the poor ! ' Ponder well on these things if you would hereafter be saved !
I cannot conclude without remarking , that I detect in many passa ges of your communication a spirit of double-dealing , in words or meanings , which conveys to me the impression either that you are indulging a kind of covert inuendo and sarcasm , or else that you are gifted with the most unsophistical impertinence and the utmost naivete of ignorance . With a sincere Christian spirit , it behoves me , however , to accord forgiveness to your error , and pity for the
querulous weakness wherewith you so ill endure the visitations of Divine Providence , who has seen fit to afflict you with a wholesome chastisement ; and I solemnly charge you to believe , in all charity , that however deeply I am impressed with the wise dispensation that has thus brought calamity upon your house , I do not rejoice or feel any unhallowed gladness that , to use the words of Revelation- the accuser of the brethren is cast down ! ' Moreover ,
I shall , at a ' fitting leisure , set on foot a subscription for you , sanctioned with my own name , and thereunto the donation of one guinea , so that , under the blessing of heaven , you may receive in course of time a sufficiency to sustain yourself and family till you can obtain some fresh employment , the which ., if you are sedulous
Untitled Article
The Bishop * 8 Answer . 473
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1834, page 473, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2635/page/13/
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