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    Lord . A beingf who is properly God , could not be made Christ j for we have shewa that the word Christ means one anointed ; the Christ of God , the anointed of bod j but who should anoint God Almighty , give him a divine mission , and endow him with qualifications to execute it ? " Pp . 118 , 119 .

    Mr , Wright appears to us to be peculiarly happy in his correction of popular errors concerning " the Grace of God / ' He explains this phrase as denoting the " unmerited , unpurc based favour , which God hath communicated to the world by Jesus Christ / ' and says ,

    This explanation of the word grace is illustrated and confirmed by its use when applied to other subjects besides religious ones . You hare heard of acts of grace passed by earthly legislators , or proclaimed by worldly governors . What is meant by an act of grace among men ? It is well

    known to * be an act of favour , by which insolvent debtors are set at liberty , and their debts are cancelled , without the creditors receiving" payment from any other person ; or it is an act by which criminals are freely pardoned , without the punishment they had deserved being inflicted on a substitute in their stead . Did the

    creditors receive full payment , it matters not from whom , no act of grace would be necessary to liberate their debtors . Had the penalty of the law been executed , whether on tne criminal , or on one whom the court accepted , as his substitute , no act of grace would be necessary to rescue the offender from that penalty .

    " The gospel is an act of grace froth the God of the universe , infinitely more glorious , more gracious in its provisions for the salvation of guilty men , than the most signal acts of grace that ever came from earthly thrones : it proclaims the free forgiveness of sins , and eternal life as the gift

    of God through Jesus Christ . To represent its blessings as the purchase of substituted merit , as all bought and paid for , is to frustrate the grace of God , and make the most stupendous of his acts of grace , less gracious than those of mortals . " Pp . 213 , 214 .

    The Discourses on what have been quaintly termed the "four last things , " namely , Death , Judgment , Heaven aud Hell , are inserted , the Author informs us in the Preface , on our

    recommendation ( VL 615 ) . We thank him for this deference to our judgment , and rejoice that we have been the occasion of bringing forth sermons of so much practical importance *

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    They will be read with deep interest by such as feel the power of vital godliness . Some speculations concerning the place of heaven and hell , in pp . S 20 and 342 , are perhaps less fitted for addresses from the pulpit , than for disquisitions designed for the closet :

    but the general tone of these lastmentioned discourses is sober and even solemn , and their evident tendency is to enforce the importance of religion , and the necessity of personal examination and labour with regard to eternal salvation .

    Having descanted on the Christian view of death as sleep 9 the preacher say s , This view of death is calculated to divest it of much of its gloom . Life is the day appointed for labour , trial , discipline and improvement , to prepare us for a

    future state . Why should te fear , at the close of this day , to reti re to rest , under the guardian care of our Father and our God ? The labouring man cheerfully reti res , after the toils of the day , and rests till the morning-: so may the good man retire from the labours of life at the close of it ,

    to rest in peace , and enjoy the undisturbed repose of the grave , till the morning of the resurrection . Why should we indulge painful apprehensions in the prospect of the slumbers of the tomb , seeing * we shall rest under the watchful eye of our

    heavenly Father , till called forth to enjoy an eternal day ? The next moment to us , after we close our eyes in death , -will be that in which we are called forth by our beloved Master , to j » in the society of the blessed in the immortal state . " Pp . 278 , 279 .

    We close , our extracts with an interesting , passage , which forms the conclusion of the Discourse on " The Fear of Death : " u A man ' s future happiness or misery depends not on the feeliu ^ s with which he departs from this life * but on his real

    character and moral state * . A bad man , under the influence of some strong-delusion , may die rejoicing * , and go down to the pit with a lie in his right hand . A good man , in consequence of the nature of the disease which afflicts him , may have his last moments filled witli gloom and sadness . God will render to every man ,

    not according * to his frames and feel ings , hut according * to his deeds . If we live well , we cannot die otherwise than well , whatever our last feelings may be ; nor can any thing deprive us of our future reward . An enlightened mind ,, a good heart , and a virtuous and benevolent life ,

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    Review — Wright $ Missionary Discourses . ' 183

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 2, 1819, page 183, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1770/page/47/