The fast and the cholera : a sermon, preached in the Unitarian chapel, Boston, on Tuesday, September 25th, 1849, (being the day agreed upon to be observed in the borough, as a day of fasting and humiliation, in consequence of the extreme prevalence of the cholera) / by James Malcolm, ... to which is appended, a brief, practical view of the Asiatic cholera, by A.G. Malcolm, M.D.

  • Malcolm, James, 1811-1855.
Date:
1849
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The fast and the cholera : a sermon, preached in the Unitarian chapel, Boston, on Tuesday, September 25th, 1849, (being the day agreed upon to be observed in the borough, as a day of fasting and humiliation, in consequence of the extreme prevalence of the cholera) / by James Malcolm, ... to which is appended, a brief, practical view of the Asiatic cholera, by A.G. Malcolm, M.D. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    tiirb this regularity, and divest himself of tliis conviction, can we wonder that he immediately starts back with doubt, and henceforth treats the entire subject with contempt ? And could we utterly blame such an one? The guilt, in my mind, lies more at the door of those whose perversion of the doctrine has, in such an instance, led to its rejection. But, my friends, does Scripture any where assert the precise mode in which the petition will be realized ? Many may be astonished to learn, that its statement simply is,— ‘‘ Ask, and it (an answer) shall be given you.” The waj% the manner, the instrumentality, it no where divulges. And, with reference to the object for which we pray, does Scrip¬ ture teach, that every object shall be realized—that, no matter for what we pray, it and it alone, we shall receive ? No : All will surely reply, that temporal things for instance, —if they form at all a fit subject for Christian devotion, (of which I am more than doubtful, observing the spiritu¬ ality of that religion, and learning that it was uniformly after the soul's riches and the soul's life Christ taught us to aspire,)—that temporal things should be desired only when truly good for us. But will every thing temporal we esteem good be given us ? Surely not to short-sighted beings, who so often put good for evil, and evil for good ! But to the efficacy of all prayer, there is yet another important con¬ dition attached : there is ever something to be done by our¬ selves, before it can be fit and consistent with the Divine Government to grant us particular blessings. What war¬ rant have we, that, if we simply ask, withont using means, God will put into our hands the good for which we crave ? Why the most ordinary of our daily blessings—the food that nourishes our mortal frames, drops not spontaneously into idle hands, but as we have received powers, so we liave been told, by the ever active energy of the brain, the stout muscle of the arm, and the delicate tracery of the finger, to apply these powers to their legitimate purposes. And shall w e dure inm fine that the spiritual gifts of heaven shall be showered upon us through any other medium, than that of our own exertions too ? Oh ! my friends ! that is alone the prayer of fixith, which anticipates the enjoyment of those things God has promised to grant, whilst the means are used, through which alone they can be obtained. Let us tlierefore understand the true nature of prayer— let us analyze even our own thoughts u])on this subject— and I think that our own consciences will tell us, that, w ith reference again to the objects for which we ]>ray, tliere are many things which we should not ask Cilod to grant, ami