the great struggle of nature is over, and their souls are separated from their perishable bodies, they will experience the unspeakable joys of heaven. "Blessed, then, shall be the pure in heart; for they shall see God." And in that expression "they shall see God," how much more is included than any language can convey, or any human mind conceive. It is a subject for meditation and hope; but yet it surpasses all understanding. It is a theme for angels, not for men. Men are bound down at present to the earth, and earthly objects; and therefore have no conception yet of the blissful vision ;-but the angels, those sons of light, know what it is to live and converse with God in his immediate presence.

for they behold him; and with songs

And choral symphonies, day without night,
Circle his throne, rejoicing."

Milton Par. Lost, bk. 5. 161.

To this unspeakable scene of joy, our best description of which, in this mortal state, is our silence, we have the promise of Christ himself that we shall be admitted, if our bosoms are free from sinful desires. -but "without holiness, no man shall see the Lord;" for no impure thing can dwell in his sight. The unrepentant sinner, whose delights centered only in the false pleasures of this world, shall be for ever excluded from those regions where peace eternal reigns.

Let us, then, in this mortal life, fix our affections on things above, that the power of sin may be destroyed in us: and let us pray that God will "cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of his Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love him, and worthily magnify his holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord."

SERMON XXI.

CHARITY GREATER THAN FAITH OR HOPE.

1 COR. xiii. 13.

And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

It is a common and a just observation, that the point in which men are most deceived, is in estimating their own characters. They are seldom able to judge fairly of their own qualifications; and, therefore, they are apt either to underrate them, or to give them a value to which they are not entitled. Sometimes, they pride themselves upon imaginary accomplishments; and at other times, they hold cheap the very qualities in which their greatest merit consists. This was the case with the Corinthians, to whom St. Paul addressed the Epistle from which the text is taken. They attached more worth to the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, with which they were invested, than to their love of God, their obedience to Christ, and their

benevolence to mankind. They arrogated to themselves more importance from the possession of miraculous powers, than from the internal good qualities of their hearts and minds. They forgot that the supernatural abilities were given them only for the conviction of other persons, and for the speedier propagation of the Gospel. They were, consequently, the less intent upon that improvement of their own lives and characters, which those miraculous gifts ought to have produced. They grew vain and conceited, on the score of superiority in outward matters, while they neglected the great duty of self-regulation. St. Paul was grieved at beholding this wrong bias of their thoughts; and he diligently endeavoured to correct it. In the 12th chapter of this Epistle, he shewed them that they had no reason to value themselves upon their knowledge of the Scriptures, or upon the faculty with which they were inspired of interpreting those Scriptures. This knowledge and this faculty he calls "the word of wisdom," or “the word of knowledge." He further told them that they had no right to presume upon their power of performing miracles, or of speaking a variety of languages; because all such qualifications were gifts of God for public purposes, and were no certain marks of religious excellence in the individuals who possessed them. He told them that their contentions for precedency, on account of those abilities, were idle and vain; since they ought not to claim respect or deference for any thing, except what was more clearly

their own, and more excellent in itself. For "though," says he, "I could speak with the tongues of men and of angels"-though I were skilled in all the languages of men, and could speak them all with the force and eloquence of an angel,-yet, "if I have not charity," -if I am void of that Christian benevolence which flows from the heart,-I am no more to be esteemed than a musical instrument is for the tunes that proceed from it; "I am become as sounding brass, or as a tinkling cymbal." My knowledge of divine revelation, my skill in the prophetic parts of Scripture, and my power of working miracles in confirmation of my doctrines, would, if I had not this charity, be, in regard to myself, as "nothing." "Though I should give all my goods, to feed the poor," and even though, for religion's sake, I should even yield my body to be devoured by the flames; yet all this, unless I am endued with the Christian and social spirit of love, "would profit me nothing." Here, the Apostle, warmed with his subject, enters upon a full and lively description of Charity. He pourtrays it in all that loveliness in which it appears on earth, and intimates that it will follow us to heaven. He concludes with asserting, that there are three qualities with which the mind and heart of every Christian should be distinguished; but that one of them is more important, and, therefore, deserves more attention, than the other two:-"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."