Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1840-06-12
FOODS WORLD AND MANS WORLD

NOD ORLD AMI MAN y OltLD
Docs religion, while 1t protests against the
vices and follics of mans world, rob Gods
world of its charms, and man of his happi-
ncssl Oh no! This is the d%clusion with
which the father of lies cnsnarcs and dctains
his victims. The Apostles call, Love
not the world, neither the things that are in
the world" demands from you no sacrifice.
1t seeks to rob you ofno object, either of in
trinsic excellence, or congcnial to the sane
tilted affections of a new and rcgcncratcd
nature.
"Thc lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye,
and the pride ofliic," are indeed Imperative
~ forbidden, because they arc mot of the
Father but of the world: and the world pass
eth away, and the lust thereof" But the
eye may still stray, delighted amid the varied
beauties of this visible world. Every sense
may wake to catch its congcnial qualification.
You may yet "riclly enjoy" the music or
the stiffness, the fragrance or the beauty, the
breathing animation or the soothing rcposc
of external nature. Man too, in all his sew
cral relations, whether Christian or heather.
converted or mconvcrtcd, jew or Greek,
bond or free, whether linked to you by the
ties of natural or providcntial relation, OF
separated from you by the other suns and
starry skies of half a world, will still present
a legitimate and most interesting object fol
the exercise of your sanc,ilicd affections
Nor will all these cnjoymcnts which GOd's
world, moral or material, presents, be les,
exquisite, or less esteemed, because Cod
license " richly 10 enjoy' gives peace tc
conscience /; or because eternity opens an in
tcrminablc field for the exercise of those ac
i%cctions, and the enjoyment of their congo
NAL objects.
To love not mans world, is rot a priva.
ton, but a privilege. 1t is no small par
of the curse of this apostatc world, that
throughout all its departments, both mora
and physical, it is far easier, to excite thai
to allay a pang; to infict a wound than tC
heal it. Misery, that fearful and two-cdgct
sword, is welded by every arm and seems
as 1t wcrc,a abandoned by providence, into til,
hands of malice, of passion, of inconsidcra.
ton, of ignorancc, Of prcjudiccs and inlirmi.
tics, o. coarsc manners and unlccling minds
even Of well meaning but i'll Judging allcc.
ton while the sovereign and only %cllrctua
balm is kept securely in the trcas1rc-houst
of heaven, AMI can be administered bv tho
Spirit of God alone. The poison nouris,lcs
ercry where in rank luxuriancc while earth.
accused soil can grow no anlidotc. An in
fant's touch upon the trigger can l|cccratc a
heart; and the whole faculty of mcdicin,
cannot heal it. Love not then that worll
which promises but to deceive which en-.
braces but to stab you: and which cannon
heal again the wounds that it promiscuousl,
deals out among its votarics. Nor fear les
the heart be less dclicatcly, or less profound.
~, susceptible, because thus sllicldcd: be.
cause the vanitics which %disappoint, the
anXictics whichever, the vices which corrup
have been separated from the charities which
feed it; because the affections ofnaturc have
been s%ublimatrd AMI refined, and transnu.
ted into the affections Of grace. No! We
should be no losers, either in the capabilit,
and intensity of loving, or in the number ant
and value of the objects of our love, cvci
though the affections were to soar, on thu
buoyant wings Of an indwclling SPIRIT, from
things on earth to things in heaven: though
the dim lights Of this night of time faded be.
fore the d%awning glorics of eternity: though
Christ, g. the bright and morning STAR o
Bethlehem, rose above the dark waters 9th,
troubled sea of life, and became the ruldin
star Of the hcarts's affections: though in tn
sanctuary Of his chosen temple, the IumaI
heart, tl,c love Of this dccclving, idol world
before the love of Cody. y. Observer.