(1 Pet. i. 12). And if it be the study of saints here, 'to know the breadth, and length, and depth, and height of the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge' (Eph. iii. 18, 19), the saints' everlasting rest must consist in the enjoyment of God by love.— BAXTER, The Saints' Everlasting Rest, ch. i. p. 14. And if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.-Rom. xiii. 9, 10. The general temper of mind which the due love of our neighbour would form us to, and the influence it would have upon our behaviour in life, is now to be considered. The temper and behaviour of charity is explained at large, in that well-known passage of St. Paul: 'Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, thinketh no evil, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things.' (1 Cor. xiii. 4-8.) As to the meaning of the expressions, 'seeketh not her own, thinketh no evil, believeth all things,' however those expressions may be explained away, this meekness, and, in some degree, easiness of temper, readiness to forego our rights for the sake of peace, as well as in the way of compassion, freedom from mistrust, and disposition to believe well of our neighbour; this general temper, I say, accompanies, and is plainly the effect of love and good-will. And, though such is the world in which we live, that experience and knowledge of it not only may, but must beget in us greater regard to ourselves, and doubtfulness of the characters of others, than is natural to mankind, yet these ought not to be carried further than the nature and course of things make necessary. It is still true, even in the present state of things, bad as it is, that a really good man had rather be deceived, than be suspicious; had rather forego his known right, than run the venture of doing even a hard thing. This is the general temper of that charity, of which the apostle asserts, that if he had it not, giving his 'body to be burned would avail him nothing;' and which he says, 'shall never fail.' The happy influence of this temper extends to every different relation and circumstance in human life. It plainly renders a man better, more to be desired, as to all the respects and relations we can stand in to each other. The benevolent man is disposed to make use of all external advantages in such a manner as shall contribute to the good of others, as well as to his own satisfaction. His own satisfaction consists in this. He will be easy and kind to his dependents, compassionate to the poor and distressed, friendly to all with whom he has to do. This includes the good neighbour, parent, master, magistrate and such a behaviour would plainly make dependence, inferiority, and even servitude, easy. So that a good or charitable man, of superior rank in wisdom, fortune, authority, is a common blessing to the place he lives in: HAPPINESS grows under his influence. This good principle in inferiors would discover itself in paying respect, gratitude, obedience as due. It were, therefore, methinks, one just way of trying one's own character, to ask ourselves, Am I in reality a better master or servant, a better friend, a better neighbour, than such and such persons; whom, perhaps, I may think not to deserve the character of virtue and religion so much as myself? And as to THE SPIRIT OF PARTY, which unhappily prevails amongst mankind, whatever are the distinctions which serve for a supply to it, some or other of which have obtained in all ages and countries; one who is thus friendly to his kind will immediately make due allowances for it, as what cannot but be amongst such creatures as men in such a world as this. And as WRATH, and FURY, and OVERBEARING upon these occasions proceed, as I may speak, from men's feelings only on their own side, so a common feeling for others, as well as for ourselves, would render us sensible to this truth, which it is strange can have so little influence, that we ourselves differ from others just as much as they do from us. I put the matter in this way, because it can scarce be expected that the generality of men should see, that those things which are made the occasions of dissension and fomenting the PARTY SPIRIT are really nothing at all; but it may be expected from all people, how much soever they are in earnest about their respective peculiarities, that humanity and common good-will to their fellow-creatures should moderate and restrain that WRETCHED spirit. This good temper of charity likewise would prevent strife and enmity arising from other occasions; it would prevent our giving just cause of offence, and our taking it without cause. And in cases of real injury, a good man will make all allowances which are to be made; and, without any attempts at retaliation, he will only consult his own and other men's security for the future against injustice and wrong.-Bp. BUTLER on Rom. xiii. 9, Love to our Neighbour, serm. xii. Joy (see p. 261). Rejoice (kavɣáoμa) in hope of the glory of God.—Rom. v. 2. Rejoiceth (xaípw) not in iniquity, but rejoiceth (ovyxaípw) in the truth.-1 Cor. xiii. 6. As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing (xaípw).—2 Cor. vi. 10. What then? Notwithstanding every way, whether in pretence or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice (xaípw); yea, and will rejoice.-Phil. i. 18. Who now rejoice (xaipw) in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh (ráp), for his body's sake, which is the church.-Col. i. 24. Rejoice (xaipw) evermore.—1 Thess. v. 16. Whom having not seen, ye love: in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing ye rejoice (àyaλiáw) with joy (xápa) unspeakable and full of glory.-1 Pet. i. 8. The great object of Christianity is to make men contented and happy; and where it fails to do this, there is evidently a great fault in its application. Where we find a so-called Christian grumbling, quarrelsome, and ill-conditioned, we may be quite sure that his Christianity is very defective. Some people delude themselves with the idea, that bad temper, or moroseness, is a sign of intellectual power, and, in short, they are 'nothing, if not critical.' But surely this is a great fallacy; for the man who lacks cheerfulness, and is always irritable to his fellow-sinners, may also lack intellectual capacity. Even happiness itself may become habitual. There is a habit of looking at the bright side of things, and also of looking at the dark side. Dr. Johnson has said, that 'the habit of looking at the best side of a thing is worth more to a man than a thousand pounds a year!' And we possess the power, to a great extent, of so exercising the will, as to direct the thoughts upon objects calculated to yield happiness and improvement rather than their opposites. In this way the habit of happy thought may be made to spring up like any other habit. And to bring up men or women with a genial nature of this sort, a good temper and a happy frame of mind is perhaps of more importance in many cases than to perfect them in much knowledge and many accomplishments. SMILES, Self Help, Manners and Morals, chap. xiii. P. 391. There are in this loud stunning tide Of human care and crime, With whom the melodies abide Of th' everlasting chime; flock; it attacks our flocks also. How, then, are we not only to keep ourselves unharmed, but to preserve them from the like contagion ? Now, the first requisite for a due discharge of this part of our work is, that we should set it before our minds as a special object of endeavour. 'Love,' as our good George Herbert says (Country Parson, xxxv.), 'is our business and aim.' We must regard ourselves officially as PEACEMAKERS—as pledged by our office to prevent discords and to heal quarrels. Their existence in a parish is at once a consequence and a cause of sin. They are a great hindrance to the spread of Christ's truth; we find them to be often the secret cause of men's absence from public worship, still more of their neglect of the Holy Communion. They divide those who, but for them, would work together for God; they grieve the Blessed Spirit; they make our services dry and lifeless, and they lay waste souls. We must, then, regard it as one part of our duty to use our best endeavours to prevent and heal them. And we can do neither without self-denial; and this self-denial so borne gives a dignity and nobleness to the commonest actions. Thus, for instance, it should not be a light matter which should keep the incumbent of a parish from abiding perpetually at its vestry meetings, in order that he may allay the irritations and prevent the strifes which so frequently break out at them. And when so presiding, he should be always on the watch to promote kindly feelings between those who may be naturally disposed to differ. His influence, thus used, would soon be felt, and his very presence would breathe PEACE around him. Thus, again, we should seek to know the real relations of our various parishioners to each other. There are often longestablished grudges in a parish, which for years have alienated persons or families, and kept them living in a dull and halfdefined consciousness of sin, which our labour, and patience, and judgment may enable us absolutely to remove. The parties want some kind and firm hand gently, but resolutely to probe |