love to God is known by our love to man, and if we look out upon the world with a narrow mind, treat any inferior portion of our fellowcreatures with lesser respect, reserving all our sympathies for the objects of our own mind's choice only, we are at once detected, and the Heathen or the Christian may each point at us, exclaiming, "He that seeth his brother," any Christian, "have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?"

The possession of charity then, since it is necessarily an evidence of grace, so it has a natural connection with all the commandments of God: it is a centralization of all the good that ever came down from God, or shall ever return to Him: it has an immediate influence on our happiness and purposes of pursuit here, while it most directly prepares us for the society of a better world, and a more intimate communion with the God of love; in one word, it is the character fitted for heaven. This essential rule of conduct for the practical Christian is revealed in such plain and express terms, that it seems impossible that it could at any time be misapprehended, and yet many may ask, how is it with this leading principle

of Christianity that many Christians have been remarkable for their animosity to each other, and that their dissentions, the bitterest of all on record, have only ended in death? The answer is plain. Because poor, mistaken man, has brought forth articles that relate more to a species of faith than to that which includes faith, articles of doctrine that the Almighty has himself involved in much obscurity, and he has combated with all his might for them as of the first importance, to the utter neglect of that law of love which invigorates the kindly sympathies of the heart, those precepts of universal charity which ennoble and elevate the mind and spirit of man, which no longer pinion us to earth, but dilate our hearts with affection to our fellow-creatures, and gratitude and adoration to God. Any religion that pins its orthodoxy upon abstract articles of faith only, and loses sight of the exceeding breadth and depth of charity, with the imperative exhortations to man, which abound in the word of God, before all things to put on charity, must inevitably lead to the narrow and vexatious persecutions of sectarianism. Let every Christian's prayer be, God defend me from the bigotry of the sectarians; God enable me to regard with kind

liness and compassionate regard the whole human race; God allow me only to banish from my heart those who are banished by God himself. The charitable mind cannot belong to a sect; it would sooner live in the world alone; and no one thing deforms religion equal to the religious animosities, religious peculiarities of its own pretenders. How beautiful on this very point is the description of charity given by one of the ancient Fathers!" He that has the love that is in Christ, let him keep the commandments of Christ. For who is able to express the obligation of the love to God? What man is sufficient to declare, as is fitting, the excellence of its beauty? The height to which charity leads is inexpressible. Charity unites us to God: charity covers the multitude of sins: charity endures all things, is long-suffering in all things. There is nothing base and sordid in charity: charity lifts not itself up above others; admits of no divisions; is not seditious, but does all things in peace and concord. By charity were all the elect of God made perfect: without it, nothing is pleasing and acceptable in the sight of God.

* St. Clement's first Epistle to the Corinthians: Sections, 49, 50.

Through charity did the Lord join us unto Himself: whilst for the love that he bears towards us, our Lord Jesus Christ gave his own blood for us, by the will of God: his flesh for our flesh, his soul for our souls." Here then, that Father ascribes the redemption of man to the charity that is in God, surely then this charity must come only from God. Hear what he goes on to say, "Ye see, beloved, how great and wonderful a thing charity is and how that no expressions are sufficient to declare its perfections. But who is fit to be found in it? Even such only as God shall vouchsafe to make so. Let us therefore, pray to him, and beseech him that we may be worthy of it: that so we may live in charity, being unblameable, without human propensities, without respect of persons."

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Such then is the beautiful description of true charity and with this description openly and broadly before us, what is our duty in this life? Surely in every way, public and private, to promote its extension among, and its favourable reception with mankind. In public, our political course must be framed in strict accordance with the feelings of a liberal mind

and philanthropic heart, and the benevolent principle of the greatest happiness to the greatest number must be judiciously adhered to. Let us support those public men, of either party in the State, who are striving to enforce public virtue and public comfort, taking especial care that our advocacy of any public cause has a direct tendency to mitigate the severities of private life, and ameliorate the moral condition, as well as the physical powers, of our fellow-creatures. So doing, we cannot do wrong. We may be blamed, but we cannot be shamed. We may seek to amend temperately, even practices in the Christian Churches, under the influence of the sacred motto of "Glory to God in the Highest." We may seek to mitigate the penal code, because we are resolved both "to do justice, and love mercy." We may relieve the consciences of consistent believers, for we must not judge, lest we be judged of the Lord. Every disability to which we subject a fellowcreature implies a superiority of opinion in ourselves which must oftentimes be incompatible with the text, which tells us to be lowly in our own conceits, and esteem others more highly than ourselves. The Christian will commonly belong to no party, and be the blind