The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1843-06-29

country 10 COuhlTS, 10 seek out the uuH-
geoned and distressed, and 10 administer
10 their VARIOUS waols, is divine, then to
visit the dangeoncd soul, the imprisoned
mind, to proclaim lis liberty and 10 loose
its shackles, is more.
The tact that Chrisl's mission embraces
such lofty, such noble aim, is consid-
Grafton that gives his character a Iustre
as phianlhropist. lflo raise a fellow
sufferer from the couch of distress, and
make ample provision for his necessities
during life time be considered magnani-
nous, what is it 10 raise The immortal soul
from the vault of despair, the region of
death, 10 live forever in The kingdom of
God ~? Well might angels shout aloud for
;ov, and fill the air with the music ofiheir
rapture on the arrival Of the event, that
gave birth 10 the compassionate Son Of
God. Well might old Simeon take the
young child in his arms, aud hail with
joy The day OF his departure. And well
may an apostle direct US 10 his example,
and bid us walk IN his footsteps. @ let
me feel the love Of Jesus let mo poesoss
his unbounded philanthropy.
Again; the philanthropy of Je-
sus is unbounded, unlimited, and,
like the air we breathe, extends TO
all. The bcneficence of human
benefactor can extend only to a few,
a family, a country. Its resources
become exhausted, when too fire.
quently applied to for relief The
fountain fails to supply the many
streams that would go from its
source. A Thornton extends the
hand Of lbcrality to various parts Of
a country, His benevolence may
embrace the whole human family,
yet his limitations will not permit
him to bless all, by extending the
hand of charity to all. The COM
passion of Hoacard may permit
him to visit the dungeons, and re-
of the impoverished, the
the dying in other lands,
after surveying those of his own;
yet his beneficence must have its
bounds. And so we may say Of all
the benefactors and philanthropists,
that have sought to bless our world.
We would not speak diminutively
Of human benetactors; they are the
glory of cur race, and men that we
would reverence and praise, making
it the great business of our life, to
initiate their example, TO inhale their
spirit, to walk in their footsteps
But we would show that Jesus, in
the work Of philanthropy and love,
all that went heforo. ond
all that comes after him. His was
like an ocean, unbounded, unfathom-
able, shoreless and bottomless AS
far as compassion and love is con-
cerned, he has no favorites. The
pale European, the sable African,
the sunburnt Moor, the degraded
the red man of the forest
in word, all are the subjects Of his
boundless compassion and love-
He seeks to bless, to redeem, to
save, to bring back to God the de-
graded, lost sons ofAdam. 0, what
a fullness in Christ, what a bound
less store, what IL rich supply =
Ever imparting, yet unexhausted ;
ever distributing, yet never weary;
continually blessing, yet never i'm
patient. How many a bleeding
heart he has bound up! How many
Responding and afflicted ones he has
made to leap for joy; when in the
days Of his flesh, he wandered from
place to place, destitute and despis-
ed, seeking to bless the very hearts
that would have effected his des-
truction. Homeless and friendless,
betimes he prosecuted his great work
Of philanthropy and compassion.-
A godlike spirit swayed all his
movements; he patiently endured
the revilings of the wicked, the
scourging of the mob, the death of
the cross, and expires with the sweet
sentence falling from his lips, Faith
or, forgive them, they know not
what they do
1t is one of the most prominent
purposes of Christianity, to redeem
men from the slavery of sel6shness,
and to fix them with disinterested
love and virtue and the character
of Christ is admirably adapted to
awaken this principle. There had
been many exhibitions of goodness
prior TO his day, yet the full orb new
or lose until it shone on Bethlehem's
plains. The Christian era is the era
of philanthropy. AT its commence
ment, its Author breathed spirit in
TO the world which, we trust, will