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CHARITY.

"Charity suffereth long and is kind."--1 Cor. xiii. 4.

I FELT to be making great advance in the application of the chapter under consideration, and was particularly thankful that the subject of sacrifices had taken that direction which led to a positive practical lesson, by which I seemed to have obtained a power to survey the Christian character, in all it should be, and in what it should not be; turning from the bare reflection of giving the "body to be burned," to that comprehensive, expansive efficacy, of presenting myself a "living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service." To assist my mind, I frequently read through our instructive chapter, and with this impression of the living sacrifice, it is not surprising that I thought I saw it pourtrayed, in most lively colours, in the following verses, "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself; is not puffed up; doth not behave itself unseemly; seeketh not her own; is not easily provoked; thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things." Rivetted to the subject, and after many trials of my heart by this standard, I settled in the persuasion,

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that I had found a key wherewith to unlock the recesses of my own bosom, and detect its lamentable deficiencies in such a life.

'Present my body such a sacrifice!' I exclaimed. Alas, how altogether unprepared! Nevertheless, the word says, present it.—And that with such carnestness, that the apostle' beseeches it by the mercies of God.' This is a plea which wins upon the soul, and encourages it to the act. By the mercies of God I may be able; by the mercies of God I may be borne with; by the mercies of God I may be accepted. And Oh! 1 secretly prayed,may I be constrained by the Holy Spirit to this reasonable service!

At this moment of heart-searching, my friend Mrs. Reynolds arrived. Her mind, however, seemed full of thought about her boy, which she communicated by saying,

'Edmund has asked me this morning, when he will have come to the end of all lessons, for he is surprised to find, that the conclusion of one seems only to be the beginning of another.'

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Are you wearied, Edmund,' I said, 'with such a sweet teacher as mamma is?'

"O no,' he replied, I am not at all tired, but there seems no end; what I wanted to know was, if I should always have to learn.'

'Ah, dear boy! that is what I find I have to do, always to learn.'

'So mamma said ; but then, I think, she means out of that one book:-I have many books.'

'Yes, Edmund,' his mamma said with a smile, 'but you will find at last, I hope, that that one book contains all wisdom, without depriving you of the use of other learning.'

'Some people are tired of that one book, Edmund, and throw it aside, as if it was not meant to be our companion and guide, till our very grey hairs of old age shall be laid in the grave. I have just found that I must begin to-day to learn a lesson, that I fear I have never yet ‘got by heart,' as little scholars say. Do you remember the conversation yesterday, about the living sacrifices? Just as you have to give yourself to mamma's instructions, to obey and to profit; so are we to give ourselves to the Lord, to obey and to profit. And I will tell you where I find my lesson. It is in the same thirteenth chapter of the first of Corinthians.'

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'You have been reflecting on this subject,' Mrs. Reynolds said; 'then we have been in a fellowship of spirit, for I could not quit the recollection of it; and the part of scripture which seemed to urge me most was the diligence so emphatically pressed by St. Peter. The first chapter of his second Epistle, is exceedingly encouraging, which from the third verse so fully set before us our privileges and powers. According," saith the apostle, "as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue: whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises." It appeared to make the living sacrifice comparatively easy, seeing we have all things pertaining to it, given us; and besides, promises without numberexceedingly precious, when we begin to make use of them for the end to which they were designed.'

'Then you conceive the living sacrifice to be no passive work?'

'No, by no means; we are passive in being oper

ated upon, but we must be active in operating. We have need to be active in prayer for the divine gifts, and active in their application for usefulness when given. The examples of living sacrifices which we have are all active, and shew us plainly the work we have to do, each one according to his gifts and calling, “Giving all diligence," to make increase in our attainments and offering. "Add," saith Peter, "to your faith, Virtue; and to virtue, Knowledge; and to knowledge, Temperance; and to temperance, Patience; and to patience, Godliness; and to godliness, Brotherly-kindness; and to brotherly-kindness, Charity." See, our chief grace is the ultimate of our diligent work.'

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Taking things in order, as you know I like to do, I find charity has its work: "it suffereth long, and is kind;" but I have doubted whether to view 'suffering long' as an active grace.'

'My heart-experience,' my friend replied, 'testifies that it is active; for the conflict which takes place within, proves that, whatever it may appear outwardly, it is inwardly no easy duty. Practice, of course, makes it less difficult. A habit of grace, I believe, may be formed which will be in exercise almost without our having been directed to the thought. I have seen instances of the acquired habit to an astonishing degree; but I am fully persuaded it had cost many struggles in the forming, and would occasionally demand a repetition of them. For sin is a subtle enemy, which hides its head rather than be crushed; and is ready to rise with unaltered venom on every unwary disciple.'

That is true: long-suffering is one of the fruits of the Spirit; and as it has to combat with and cru

cify the works of the flesh, it certainly must be no inert principle. Variance, wrath, strife, must come under its dominion, and such turbulent and impatient sin will not easily fall under its power.'

'How contrary the flesh is to the Spirit, may be seen in the natural desire of the unregenerate heart, that all things should be sacrificed to it, instead of sacrificing itself to the Lord. The heart is not only prone to idolatry, but it is ever desiring to usurp dominion over others, and so becomes an idol.'

'But what a word is spoken to us in the prayer of Paul; and he knew the petition he asked could and would be granted: "Strengthen, with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness." The enjoyment of the soul must be great where this grace prevails; unmoved with the vexations of unreasonable men, and calmly resting in that peace which is from above.'

'In our daily intercourse in the world we find how necessary it is; and I confess I have often been put to shame, on occasions when I have felt my spirit ruffled by the apparently superior conduct of the people of the world: their law of politeness will carry them great lengths of forbearance, and furnish the tongue with a flow of kind expressions, even when we are sure their heart does not feel them. It is mortifying to see the external power of a spurious principle take an ascendancy over the Christian conduct, even for a moment, because they have been unaware that a small occurrence may become a great temptation.'

'I have even observed at times a kind of moroseness in some unwatchful professors, which hastily

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