Chap. II.]

CHRISTIAN CHARITY.

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CHAPTER II.

CHRISTIAN CHARITY.

St. Paul not only calls charity “ the bond of perfectness,”and declares it to be “ the fulfilling of the law” ; but he assignsit a rank even higher than “ faith , which is the substance ofthings hoped for, the evidence of things not seen,” and the“ hope, that maketh not ashamed, and is an anchor of the soulboth sure and steadfast.” * Again, he says, “ Charity sufferethlong and is kind ; charity envieth not, charity vaunteth not itself,is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh nother own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth notin iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth ; beareth all things, believethall things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity,”continues he, “ never faileth ; but whether there be prophecies,they shall fail ; whether there be tongues, they shall cease ;whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. And nowabideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of theseis charity.” Moreover, he declares that the gift of tongues usedby men and angels, the privilege of prophecy, universal knowl-edge of things human and divine, almsgiving to the exhaustion ofour entire estates, and even the merit of submitting to martyrdom,by being burned for the truth and honor of our religion, withoutcharity, are nothing worth.f And, in the summary of the com-mandments made by Christ himself, the love of our neighbouris placed immediately after love to God, and is made inferiorto this supreme duty only. Charity, then, is the distinguishinggrace of the true Christian, the crowning glory of the Christianprofession; and this preeminence given to it, over all otherChristian duties except love to God, will fully justify me inanalyzing it with precision, if possible, and illustrating it in all itsbranches. This may be done most conveniently under three

Colos. iii. 14; Rom. v. 5; xiii. 8-10; Heb. vi. 19; xi. 1.

t 1 Cor. xiii.