OR, THE INFLUENCE OF RELIGION UPON TEMPER STATED, IN AN EXPOSITION OF THE THIRTEENTH CHAPTER OF THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. BY JOHN ANGELL JAMES, AUTHOR OF THE CHRISTIAN FATHER'S PRESENT, &C. "Truth and Love are two of the most powerful things in the world; and when they both go together, they cannot easily be withstood. The golden beams of Truth, and the silken cords of Love, twisted together, will draw men on with a sweet violence, whether they will or no."- Cudworth. NEW-YORK: THOMAS GEORGE, JR. 162 NASSAU STREET. PREFACE. its intrinsic merits. One thing is certain, the subject is confessedly important, and it is as plain as it is important. It requires little argument to explain or to defend it; and as for eloquence to recommend and enforce it, the only power that can render it effectual for practical benefit, is the demonstration of the Spirit: without this aid, a giant in literature could do nothing, and the feeblest effort, by such assistance, may be successful. Too much has not been said, and cannot be said, about the doctrines of the gospel; but too little may be said, and too little is said and thought, about its spirit. To contribute something towards supplying this deficiency in the treasures of the temple, the author offers this small volume; and though it be but as the widow's two mites, yet, as it is all he has to give, as it is given willingly, and with a desire to glorify God, he humbly hopes that however it may be despised by those, who he rejoices to know, are so much richer than himself in intellectual and moral affiu A WORK which the author published a few years since, on the Duties of Church Members, concludes with the following sentence:-" Let us remember, that HUMILITY and LOVE are the necessary fruits of our doctrines, the highest beauty of our character, and the guardian angels of our churches." To prove and elucidate this sentiment, and to state at greater length than it was possible for him to do in that treatise, the nature, operations, and importance of CHARITY; he was induced to enter upon a series of Discourses on the chapter which is the subject of this volume: these Discourses were heard with much attention, and apparent interest. Before they were finished, many requests were presented for their publication; a promise was given to that effect, and the intention announced to the public. On a further inspection of his notes, the author saw so little that was either novel, or on any account worthy to meet the public eye, that he had for two years quite abandoned his intention of printing. Circumstances which need not be mentioned, toge-ence, it will not be rejected by him, who more rether with frequent inquiries from his friends after the forthcoming treatise, drew his attention again to the subject a few months since, and revived the original purpose of sending from the press the substance of these plain and practical Discourses. That intention is now executed; with what results, the sovereign grace of Jehovah, to which it is humbly commended, must determine. The author offers this volume primarily and chiefly to his own friends, to whom it is dedicated. He has, however, by publishing it, placed it within the reach of the public, though he can truly say, that he does not expect much interest to be produced by his work, in the minds of many, beyond those who are prepared, by friendship, to value it above gards the motive than the amount of every offering that is carried to his altar. The author can easily suppose, that among many other faults which the scrutinizing eye of criticism will discover in his work, and which its stern voice will condemn, one is the tautologies, of which, in some places, it appears to be guilty. In answer to this, he can only remark, that in the discussion of such a subject, where the parts are divided by such almost imperceptible lines, and softened down so much into each other, he found it very difficult to avoid this repetition, which, after all, is perhaps not always a fault-at least not a capital one. Edgbaston, April 22, 1828. CHRISTIAN CHARITY. CHAPTER I. twelfth chapter of the first Epistle to the Corinthians. "Now there are diversities of gifts, but the THE OCCASION OF PAUL'S DESCRIPTION AND ENFORCE- same Spirit. And there are differences of admin MENT OF CHRISTIAN CHARITY. istration, but the same Lord. And there are diverTHE credibility of the Gospel, as a revelation from worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the sities of operations, but it is the same God which heaven, was attested by miracles, as had been pre- Spirit is given to every man to profit withal: for to dicted by the prophet Joel. pass afterwards, that I will pour out my Spirit upon another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; "And it shall come to one is given by the Spirit, the word of wisdom; to all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall to another, faith by the same Spirit; to another the prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your working of miracles; to another prophecy; to anoyoung men shall see visions; and also upon the ther discerning of Spirits; to another divers tongues: servants and the handmaidens in those days, I will to another the interpretation of tongues." pour out my Spirit." This prophecy began to receive its accomplishment when our Lord entered the nature, and trace the distinction, of these enIt is not necessary that we should here explain upon his public ministry, but was yet more re-dowments-a task which has been acknowledged markably fulfilled, according to the testimony of by all expositors to be difficult, and which is Peter, on the day of Pentecost, when the disciples thought by some to be impossible. But vague and were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to general as is the idea of them which we possess, we speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them can form some conception of the strange and novel utterance;" and still continued to be fulfilled till the spectacle presented by a society in which they were power of working miracles was withdrawn from the in full operation. They constituted the light which Church. Our Lord Jesus Christ ceased not, dur- fell from heaven upon the Church, and to which ing his continuance on earth, to prove, by these she appealed, as the proofs of her divine origin. It splendid achievements, the truth of his claims as is not easy for us to conceive of any thing so strikthe Son of God; and constantly appeal to them in ing and impressive, as a community of men thus rehis controversy with the Jews, as the reasons and markably endowed. We may entertain a general, the grounds of faith in his communications. By though not an adequate, idea of the spiritual glory him the power of working miracles was conferred which shone upon an assembly, where one member on his apostles, who, in the exercise of this extraor- would pour forth, in strains of inspired eloquence, dinary gift, cast out demons, and "healed all man- the profoundest views of the divine economy, and ner of sickness, and all manner of disease." Christ also assured them that, under the dispensation of the Spirit, which was to commence after his decease, their miraculous powers should be so much enlarged and multiplied, as to exceed those which had been exercised by himself. This took place on the day of Pentecost, when the ability to speak all languages without previous study was conferred upon them. The apostles, as the ambassadors and messengers of their risen Lord, were authorized and enabled to invest others with the high distinction; for, to confer the power of working miracles, was a prerogative confined to the apostolic office. This is evident from many parts of the New Testament.But while apostles only could communicate this power, any one, not excepting the most obscure and illiterate member of the churches, could receive it; as it was not confined to Church officers, whether ordinary or extraordinary. It is probable that these gifts were sometimes distributed among all the original members of a church: as the society increased, they were confined to a more limited number, and granted only to such as were more eminent among the brethren, till at length they were probably confined to the elders; thus being as gradually withdrawn from the Church as they had been communicated. would be succeeded by another, who, in the exercise of the gift of knowledge, would explain the mysteries of truth, concealed under the symbols of the Jewish dispensation;-where one, known perhaps to be illiterate, would rise, and in a language which he had never studied, descant, without hesitation and without embarrassment, on the sublimeest topics of revealed truth; and would be followed by another, who, in the capacity of an interpreter, would render into the vernacular tongue all that had been spoken; where one would heal the most inveterate diseases of the body with a word, and another discern by a glance the secrets of the mind, and disclose the hypocrisy which lurked under the veil of the most specious exterior. What seeming confusion, and yet what real grandeur, must have attended such a scene! What were the disputations of the schools, the eloquence of the forum, or the martial pomp, the accumulating wealth, the literary renown of the Augustan age of the Roman Empire to this extraordinary spectacle? Yea, what was the gorgeous splendor of the temple of Solomon, in the zenith of its beauty, compared with this? Here were the tokens and displays of a present though invisible Deity; a glory altogether unmore remarkable. earthly and inimitable, and on that account the These miraculous powers were of various kinds, which are enumerated at length in the epistle to the Romans. “Having then gifts, differing according Church at Corinth was eminently distinguished.— For the possession and exercise of these gifts, the to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, This is evident from the testimony of Paul,-"I let us prophesy according to the proportion (ana- thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace logy) of faith; or ministry, let us wait on our mi- of God which is given you by Christ Jesus; that in Distering or he that teacheth, on teaching; or he every thing ye are enriched by him in all utterance, that exhorteth, on exhortation; or he that giveth, and in all knowledge; even as the testimony of let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness." They are set forth still more at length, in the Christ was confirmed in you: so that ye come be- Churches?" It is, indeed, both a humiliating and an admonitory consiceration, that the Church which, of all those planted by the apostles, was the most distinguished for its gifts, should have been the least eminent for its graces; for this was the case with the Christian Society at Corinth. What a scandalous abuse and profanation of the Lord's Supper had crept in! What a schismatical spirit prevailed! What a connivance at sin existed!-gifts, were too apt to exult over those that had none; What resistance to apostolic authority was set up! To account for this, it should be recollected, that the possession of miraculous gifts by no means implied the existence and influence of sanctifying grace. Those extraordinary powers were entirely distinct from the qualities which are essential to the character of a real Christian. They were pow-nigh to banish Christian love from the fellowship of ers conferred not at all, or in a very subordinate degree, for the benefit of the individual himself, but were distributed according to the sovereignty of the Divine will, for the edification of believers and the conviction of unbelievers. Hence saith the apostle, "Tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe." Our Lord has informed us, that miraculous endowments were not necessarily connected with, but were often disconnected from, personal piety. "Many will say unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me ye workers of iniquity." Paul supposes the same thing in the commencement of this chapter, where he says,-"Though I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not charity, I ain become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge-and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing." This hypothetical mode of speech certainly implies, that gifts and grace are not necessarily connected. This is a very awful consideration, and, by showing how far self-deception may be carried, ought to be felt as a solemn admonition to all professing Christians, to be very careful and diligent in the great business of self-examination. and a susceptibility of offence; while on the other, we shall witness an equally offensive exhibition of envy, suspicion, imputation of evil, exultation over failures, and a disposition to magnify and report offences. Such passions are not entirely excluded from the Church of God, at least during its militant state; and they were most abundantly exhibited among the Christians at Corinth. Those who had while the latter indulged in envy, and ill-will toward the former: those who were favored with the most distinguished endowments, vaunted of their Lachievements over those who attained only to the humbler powers; and all the train of the irrascible passions was indulged to such a degree, as well the faithful. This unhappy state of things the apostle found it necessary to correct, which he did by a series of most conclusive arguments; such, for instance, as that all these gifts are the bestowments of the Spirit, who in distributing them exercises a wise but irresponsible sovereignty-that they are bestowed for mutual advantage, and not for personal glory-that this variety is essential to general edification-that the useful ones are to be more valued than those of a dazzling nature-that they are dependent on each other for their efficiency; and he then concludes his expostulation and representation, by introducing to their notice that heavenly virtue which he so beautifully describes in the chapter under consideration, and which he exalts in value and importance above the most coveted miraculous powers. "Now, ye earnestly desire (for the words should be rendered indicatively, and not imperatively,) the best gifts, but yet I show unto you a more excellent way." "Ye are ambitious to obtain those endowments which shall cause you to be esteemed as the most honorable and distinguished persons in the Church; but, notwithstanding your high notions of the respect due to those who excel in miracles, I now point out to you a way to still greater honor, by a road open to you all, and in which your success will neither produce pride in yourselves, nor excite envy in others. FOLLOW AFTER CHARITY, for the possession and exercise of this grace is infinitely to be preferred to the most splendid gift." It is evident, both from the nature of things, and Admirable encomium-exalted eulogium on from the reasoning of the apostle, that some of the Charity! What more could be said, or be said miraculous powers were more admired, and there-more properly, to raise it in our esteem, and to imfore more popular, than others. The gift of tongues, press it upon our heart? The age of miracles is as is plain from the reasoning in the fourteenth past; the signs, and the tokens, and the powers chapter, appears to have been most coveted, because which accompanied it, and which, like brilliant eloquence was so much cultivated by the Greeks: lights from heaven, hung in bright effulgence over to reason and declaim in public, as a talent, was the Church, are vanished. No longer can the memmuch admired and as a practice, was exceedingly bers or ministers of Christ confound the mighty, common schools were established to teach the art, perplex the wise, or guide the simple inquirer after and places of public resort were frequented to dis- fruth, by the demonstration of the Spirit, and of play it. Hence, in the Church of Christ, and espe-power: the control of the laws of nature, and of the cially with those whose hearts were unsanctified by spirits of darkness, is no longer intrusted to us; but Divine grace, and who converted miraculous ope- that which is more excellent and more heavenly rerations into a means of personal ambition, the gift mains; that which is more valuable in itself, and of tongues was the most admired of all these extra-less liable to abuse, continues; and that is, CHARITY. ordinary powers. A desire after conformity to the envied distinctions of the world, has ever been the share and the reproach of many of the members of the Christian community. Where distinctions exist, inany evils will be sure to follow, as long as human nature is in an imperfect state. Talents, or the rower of fixing attention and raising admiration, will be valued above virthes; and the more popular talents will occupy, in the estimate of ambition, a higher rank than those that are useful. Consequently, we must expect, wherever opportunities present themselves, to see on the one hand, pride, vanity, arrogance, love of display, boasting, selfishness, conscious superiority, Miracles were but the credentials of Christianity, but CHARITY is its essence; miracles but its witnesses, which, having ushered it into the world, and borne their testimony, retired for ever;-but CHARITY is its very soul, which, when disencumbered of all that is earthly, shall ascend to its native seat the paradise and the presence of the eternal God. CHAPTER II. THE NATURE OF CHARITY. In the discussion of every subject, it is of great importance to ascertain, and to fix with precision, the |