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    Mlsceilttneoua €urrcspvndencr. 865

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    VOL. IVo 3 F

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    • I Cor. Xv. 12—18. F See., Particularly...

    aim exalting his conceptions to au indefinite , if nut absolutely unlimited , degree ; and these form Ms capacity and in some measure point out his necessary adaptation for a frame and sphere of existence , of a more comprehensive , durable , and refined nature , by which he maybe enabled to obtain more immediate and perfect perceptions of innumerable realities , concerning which , from their removal from his immediate

    organs of perception constituted as he is at present , he can form only very vague and indistinct conceptions . To adopt the words of the Apostle , man " is sown an animal body , " the basis of his being is laid in his present animal frame ^ and it was necessary that his existence should receive its commencement in a

    few clear and vivid impressions from the objects around him ; hot as his capacities of knowledge and enjoyment increase , a frame adapted to this advanced capacity becomes requisite ; hence " that was not first which is spiritual , but that which is animal , and afterward that whicHi is spiritual . " But man soars witlh difficulty , and with many retrograde movements , from his actual state to a rneetness for his

    destined existence . To counteract his fond attachments for the earth on which he tleads , the objects presented to his senses , and the pleasures most completely within his grasp , the pursuit of which as sole or main objects is the bane of his spiritual advancement , the various evils appertaining to a declining and dying state are introduced . His powers of

    action , of observation , and of enjoyment from the world in which he lives , lose much of their energy and zest ; and by the same process the stores of intellect ,, the refined delights of sentiment and affection advance - th < e mind seenns to opem , meliorare , and rise in its conceptions and enjoyments . The "

    miniatures" of many similar impressions * ' ruio into each other" and form general ideas with the decline of memory ; the vestiges of many particular pleasures , originally derived from sense , unite and form compounds of pleasurable emotions highly purified arid elevated , linns , as the objects of the senses gradually recede from viewor retain their interest

    , chiefly as the foundations of general wisdom , an internal , intellectual ,, and moral treasury is forming , and the very recession of . sensible objects both promotes the formation of these treasures , and adds to the interest with which they are contemplated . The unseen and un-

    • I Cor. Xv. 12—18. F See., Particularly...

    changeable Creator is discerned as * the rock of ages , " the only stable source of confidence , amid the variable and transient nature of his works , and he becomes the Supreme Object of fear , of hope , of love , and joy . His special revelations aid exceedingly these native ; tendencies of the mind ; his attributes shine forth in great glo > ry when by immediate miracles he controuls or alters

    nature , and thus clearly distinguishes the Divine Architect from the effects of his architectural skill and power . The internal treasures rise infinitely in estimation , whew notwithstanding the temporary oblivion which must pass over them in common with the sources whence

    they flow , and the frame to which they appertain , an assurance is imparted that this divine work li will not be lost , but appear again hi a new and more beautiful edition , corrected and amended by the author ; " that the temporary oblivion of these treasures is but a surrender of

    them into the bands of Him from whom they came , the result of which will be in Die salutary than their nocturnal suspension by sleep , in proportion to the superior magnitude and completeness of the surrender ; and that in God ' s own time they will be perfectly restored in a , state of incorruptible glory and purity !

    Thus the evils of mortality are the concomitants and correctives of moral i mi perfection and turpitude ; and in coujouction with the prospects of a future life , tend greatly to forward oar preparation for that state of " incorruption" or purity , both physical and moral . How inseparable our Lord considered the connexion between moral excellence and

    immortality appears in bis answer to the Sadducees -. " They who shall be acccounted worthy to obtain that world , and the resurrection from the dead , neither marry nor are given in marriage : neither can they die any more for ( hey are as angels and children of (* od , being children of ttie resurrection . " The blessings whi-ch he promised to his followers were tlio . se of everlasting life as opposed ta > a ( l ) injj or perishing state . * lie lias ,

    * See John ni . 15 , 16 , vi . 27 , and mi any other passages in that gospel . So perfectly was it understood that everlasting life was the great promise of the gospel , that the adjective is frequently omitted , life being evidently used eh th < e sense of its perpetual duration , and as imauift'stly to denote the bleu &' mg of Uo < d on virtue -

    Mlsceilttneoua €Urrcspvndencr. 865

    Mlsceilttneoua € urrcspvndencr . 865

    Vol. Ivo 3 F

    VOL . IVo 3 F

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Dec. 2, 1830, page 865, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/mrp_02121830/page/65/