Reflections on Character and Providence
By Jos. Clarke
MEN become great by appreciating the works of others; and they become small by magnifying their own. We cultivate tenderness of heart by sympathizing with, and relieving the sorrows of, others; we become hard-hearted by withholding kindness from others and bestowing it upon ourselves. He who yields his will to God’s will, will be infinitely more firm and decided than he who holds to his own. Ignorance is the most inexcusable in those who seek to teach. Humility is not hurt by injury. In the great family of God there is no room for pride or ambition. In the winter months the warmth of summer would only cause injury; so in this life of trial, too much prosperity might prove an evil. When we read, we should consider that ideas are sometimes like seeds which must be planted and have time to germinate; others are more fully developed, and only need to be transplanted as trees from the nursery to the orchard. When the great wheel of providence (as it revolves in silence) comes around, we see the destroyer destroyed; the devourer devoured; the slanderer slandered; the cheater cheated; the hater hated; the deceiver deceived. Surely it is so. JOS. CLARKE.