Thank you for visiting SNEWPapers!
Sign up free
Literary
March 21, 1818
Philanthropist
Mount Pleasant, Jefferson County, Ohio
What is this article about?
This prose essay contrasts humanity's worldly pursuits of fame, wealth, and pleasure with the divine call to seize eternal life, portraying man as godlike yet brutish, and urging a focus on immortal riches and joys as per Christian doctrine.
Merged-components note: Continuation of the essay 'Lay Hold on Eternal Life' across pages.
Clippings
1 of 2
OCR Quality
95%
Excellent
Full Text
LAY HOLD ON ETERNAL LIFE.
Man was created for a great end: therefore he was formed active and enterprising. Casting our eyes round upon the world, we see every soul in anxious pursuit of some desired object,
Those of the most elevated natural rank aspire after fame. Ordinary concerns and exploits are beneath them. Nor is the applause of their own breasts, sufficient, neither are the plaudits of the world. They must ride down the floods of time. They must grasp an earthly immortality.
To amass the treasures of the world, is the pursuit of others. This engrosses their whole soul. Nor do they ever say, as brooding o'er their heap, "s hitherto shalt thou come and no further."
A third class pursue pleasure. Present enjoyment is their watchword. They greedily seek it, but in different channels, according to their predominant inclinations and various circumstances. Nothing is sacred which would be an obstacle in their gay career.
--This is a hasty picture of man. It exhibits him great, restless, persevering, godlike; it exhibits him a brute. He aspires to immortality; but his immortality ends with "the heavens and the earth, which are kept in store, reserved unto fire."
The objects of this grasp are large; but they are bounded by the confines of earth, and all "perish with the using."
He pursues after the keenest enjoyments; but his desired enjoyments are earthly, sensual, devilish. Was immortal man created in the image of Jehovah--designed for no higher ends than these?
A voice is heard descending from the heavens! It swells thro'out the vast regions of Christendom--the sound is rapidly pervading all the benighted corners of the earth--
"Lay hold on eternal life."
For this was man created. This is the high end of his exalted being. -Here is immortality--Here are riches, and pleasures forevermore.
The authoritative entreaty is awfully urgent: as was that to Lot when the sulphureous tempest of Heaven could no longer be withheld from bursting on the cities of the plain.
Rouse then from the short and feverish dreams of time and sense; lay hold on eternal life!
Brief Scripture Remarker.
Man was created for a great end: therefore he was formed active and enterprising. Casting our eyes round upon the world, we see every soul in anxious pursuit of some desired object,
Those of the most elevated natural rank aspire after fame. Ordinary concerns and exploits are beneath them. Nor is the applause of their own breasts, sufficient, neither are the plaudits of the world. They must ride down the floods of time. They must grasp an earthly immortality.
To amass the treasures of the world, is the pursuit of others. This engrosses their whole soul. Nor do they ever say, as brooding o'er their heap, "s hitherto shalt thou come and no further."
A third class pursue pleasure. Present enjoyment is their watchword. They greedily seek it, but in different channels, according to their predominant inclinations and various circumstances. Nothing is sacred which would be an obstacle in their gay career.
--This is a hasty picture of man. It exhibits him great, restless, persevering, godlike; it exhibits him a brute. He aspires to immortality; but his immortality ends with "the heavens and the earth, which are kept in store, reserved unto fire."
The objects of this grasp are large; but they are bounded by the confines of earth, and all "perish with the using."
He pursues after the keenest enjoyments; but his desired enjoyments are earthly, sensual, devilish. Was immortal man created in the image of Jehovah--designed for no higher ends than these?
A voice is heard descending from the heavens! It swells thro'out the vast regions of Christendom--the sound is rapidly pervading all the benighted corners of the earth--
"Lay hold on eternal life."
For this was man created. This is the high end of his exalted being. -Here is immortality--Here are riches, and pleasures forevermore.
The authoritative entreaty is awfully urgent: as was that to Lot when the sulphureous tempest of Heaven could no longer be withheld from bursting on the cities of the plain.
Rouse then from the short and feverish dreams of time and sense; lay hold on eternal life!
Brief Scripture Remarker.
What sub-type of article is it?
Essay
What themes does it cover?
Religious
Moral Virtue
Death Mortality
What keywords are associated?
Eternal Life
Worldly Pursuits
Moral Exhortation
Christian Doctrine
Immortality
Divine Purpose
What entities or persons were involved?
Brief Scripture Remarker.
Literary Details
Title
Lay Hold On Eternal Life.
Author
Brief Scripture Remarker.
Subject
Exhortation To Pursue Eternal Life Over Worldly Desires
Key Lines
"Lay Hold On Eternal Life."
Man Was Created For A Great End: Therefore He Was Formed Active And Enterprising.
He Aspires To Immortality; But His Immortality Ends With "The Heavens And The Earth, Which Are Kept In Store, Reserved Unto Fire."
Rouse Then From The Short And Feverish Dreams Of Time And Sense; Lay Hold On Eternal Life!