tears." "Without ceasing I make mention of you in my prayers." His doctrines teach us the regulation of our own minds, while they inculcate love to our brethren: "Let love be without dissimulation. Be kindly affectioned one to another; rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep; live peaceably with all men; give place to wrath; if thine enemy hunger feed him; overcome evil with good. Put away evil speaking, with all malice, and be kind one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, as God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven us. Every one of us shall give an account of himself to God; let us not therefore judge one another any more: we, that are strong, ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Put on, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, kindness, long-suffering, forbearing one another, and forgiving one another; and

above all things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness: comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient towards all men." And in his beautiful description of charity in the 13th chapter of his first epistle to the Corinthians, he comprehends in it most of the ornaments of the christian character; meekness, universal gentleness, content, humility, disinterestedness, self-denial, patience, forbearance and kindness.

St. James declares, that to visit the afflicted is one of the signs of pure religion; and he frequently recommends gentleness, good-will to all men; and, especially, consideration for the poor. "The wisdom which is from above is peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy, and of good fruits."

St. Peter exhorts all men to have compassion one of another, to love as brethren, to be pitiful and courteous, not rendering

railing for railing, but contrariwise, blessing. "Above all things," he also says, “have fervent charity amongst yourselves."

St. John's epistles are full of the most earnest persuasions to the love of God and our neighbour. He says, " He that doeth good is of God." And he questions how the love of God can abide in those who have not kindness for their brethren.

Thus, in considering the conduct and precepts of our blessed Lord and his apostles, we must be convinced, that without charity "we are nothing worth;" that it forms one of the most beautiful and most essential characteristics of christianity: but that to attain it in that perfection which our Saviour practised, and which St. Paul describes, is indeed difficult. Charity, in its most general acceptation is confined to alms-giving; and we are, indeed, very frequently enjoined to distri

bute to the necessities of our brethren; to give alms to the poor, bread to the hungry, clothes to the naked, and shelter to the houseless; but to this we may be impelled by our natural feelings, which, revolting from the sight of misery, excite in us an almost involuntary wish for its relief; and if this can be effected by a slight sacrifice, we make it cheerfully. But St. Paul says, we “ may give all our goods to feed the poor, and yet may not have true charity." We must endeavour to do good in other ways, to the souls as well as bodies of our neighbours; and to effect this, we must begin by governing ourselves : we must subdue our own tempers to avoid irritating those of others, restrain our feelings when the expression of them would wound those of our neighbour, meet anger with gentleness, disarm malice with patience, and bear injuries with mildness, that we may overcome evil with good; accustom ourselves to self-denial, that we may be better able to

relieve the necessities of others; and discountenance vice, by letting the light of christianity so shine in us, that those who see our good works may, by the grace of God, be brought at length to glorify our Father who

is in heaven.

Another benefit to be derived from selfgovernment is, that, from the consciousness we have of our own infirmities, and of the difficulty of overcoming them, we shall learn to obey with greater ease another precept of the gospel-To judge others as we would ourselves be judged. This branch of charity is, perhaps, the most difficult of attainment; for to speak and think with kindness of those who have failings or vices which we are commanded to disapprove of, and which are extremely unpleasant, or perhaps injurious to ourselves, to pray for the sinner though we condemn the sin,-is a perfection which only a christian can aspire to, but which may