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Article CHARACTER OF BERNARD GILPIN, ← Page 4 of 5 →
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Character Of Bernard Gilpin,
other end of relig ion but a hoi } ' life , and therefore , in all his enquiries about it , he considered himself as looking after truths which were to influence his future conduct , and make him a better man . Accordingly , when his religious persuasion was once settled , he made the doctrines he embraced the invariable rule of his life ;¦ all his moral virtues became Christian ones , were formed upon such motives ,
and respected such ends as Christianity recommended . It was his daily care to conform himself to the will of God , upon whose providence he absolutely depended in all conditions of life- ; resigned , easy , and cheerful , under whatsoever commonl y reputed misfortunes he mi ght meet with . He had some peculiar , though , it may be , just notions with regard to a particular providence . He thought all
misfortunes which our own indiscretions did not immediately draw upon us were sent directly from God , to bring us to a sense of our misbehaviour , and quicken us in a virtuous course ; accordingly , at such times , he used with more than ordinary attention to examine his past conduct , and endeavour to find out in what point of duty he had been defective . ' To the opinions of othershowever different from his ownhe
, , was most indulgent . He thought moderation one of the most genuine effects of true piety . It hath already appeared , from his intercourse with the dissenters , how great an enemy he was to all intolerant principles ; how wrong he thought it on one hand to oppose an established church , and on the other to molest a quiet separatist . ' His life was wholly guided , by a conscience the most reliiousl
g y scrupulous . —I cannot forbear inserting an instance of its extreme sensibility , though it may be thought perhaps rather superstitious . — - He had behaved in some particular , with regard to his parish , in a manner which gave him great concern . His conscience was so much alarmed at what he had done , that nothing he could alledge to himself in excusewas able to make him easy . At length he determined
, to lay open the whole case before the Bishop of Durham , his diocesan , and to surrender up his living , or submit to any censure which the bishop might think his fault deserved . Without thus bringing himself to justice , he said , he never could have recovered his peace of mind .
' Such was the life and character of this excellent man . A conduct so agreeable to the strictest rules of morality and reli gion , gained him among his cotemporaries the title of Tbe Northern Apostle ; and indeed the parallel was striking—his quitting the corrupt doctrines in . the utmost reverence of which he had been educated ; the persecutions he met with for the sake of his integrity ; the danger he often ran of martyrdom ; bis contempt of the world ; his unwearied
application to the business of his calling ; and the boldness and freedom with which he reproved the guilty , whatever their fortunes or stations were ; might justly characterise him a truly apostolical person . ' ¦ Viewed with such a life , how mean and contemptible do the idle amusements of the great appear ? How trifling that uninterrupted succession of serious folly which engages . so -great a part-of mankind ;
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Character Of Bernard Gilpin,
other end of relig ion but a hoi } ' life , and therefore , in all his enquiries about it , he considered himself as looking after truths which were to influence his future conduct , and make him a better man . Accordingly , when his religious persuasion was once settled , he made the doctrines he embraced the invariable rule of his life ;¦ all his moral virtues became Christian ones , were formed upon such motives ,
and respected such ends as Christianity recommended . It was his daily care to conform himself to the will of God , upon whose providence he absolutely depended in all conditions of life- ; resigned , easy , and cheerful , under whatsoever commonl y reputed misfortunes he mi ght meet with . He had some peculiar , though , it may be , just notions with regard to a particular providence . He thought all
misfortunes which our own indiscretions did not immediately draw upon us were sent directly from God , to bring us to a sense of our misbehaviour , and quicken us in a virtuous course ; accordingly , at such times , he used with more than ordinary attention to examine his past conduct , and endeavour to find out in what point of duty he had been defective . ' To the opinions of othershowever different from his ownhe
, , was most indulgent . He thought moderation one of the most genuine effects of true piety . It hath already appeared , from his intercourse with the dissenters , how great an enemy he was to all intolerant principles ; how wrong he thought it on one hand to oppose an established church , and on the other to molest a quiet separatist . ' His life was wholly guided , by a conscience the most reliiousl
g y scrupulous . —I cannot forbear inserting an instance of its extreme sensibility , though it may be thought perhaps rather superstitious . — - He had behaved in some particular , with regard to his parish , in a manner which gave him great concern . His conscience was so much alarmed at what he had done , that nothing he could alledge to himself in excusewas able to make him easy . At length he determined
, to lay open the whole case before the Bishop of Durham , his diocesan , and to surrender up his living , or submit to any censure which the bishop might think his fault deserved . Without thus bringing himself to justice , he said , he never could have recovered his peace of mind .
' Such was the life and character of this excellent man . A conduct so agreeable to the strictest rules of morality and reli gion , gained him among his cotemporaries the title of Tbe Northern Apostle ; and indeed the parallel was striking—his quitting the corrupt doctrines in . the utmost reverence of which he had been educated ; the persecutions he met with for the sake of his integrity ; the danger he often ran of martyrdom ; bis contempt of the world ; his unwearied
application to the business of his calling ; and the boldness and freedom with which he reproved the guilty , whatever their fortunes or stations were ; might justly characterise him a truly apostolical person . ' ¦ Viewed with such a life , how mean and contemptible do the idle amusements of the great appear ? How trifling that uninterrupted succession of serious folly which engages . so -great a part-of mankind ;