the Apostle, "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am 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. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing." And, again, he says, "Now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." In his Epistle to the Colossians, after exhorting them to mortify their evil affections, to put off all anger, malice, wrath, blasphemy, and filthy communications; not to lie one to another; to put on bowels of mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long suffering, forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, had forgiven them, he concludes with this exhortation: "Above all things, put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness." Again; in his First Epistle to Timothy we are told, that the end of the commandment is charity." And in the First Epistle General of St. Peter, we are commanded to "have fervent charity; for charity shall cover the multitude of sins;" that is, shall teach us to hide the faults of our neighbour, instead of displaying them with malignant gratification.

Since, then, the possession of this Christian virtue is so essential to our spiritual welfare, and that without it all other virtues are nothing, it becomes a matter of the highest importance, rightly to comprehend in what it consists, and how we may obtain it. These then are the points which will engage our attention in the present dis

course.

I. Our first inquiry then is, In what does Christian charity consist? By the world, it is understood to

consist in relieving the wants of our distressed fellow-creatures; but although this is an act which will ever be an attendant on real charity, yet, if we attentively examine the Scriptures, we shall find that this is not what our Lord and his Apostles intended we should understand by charity itself. Our Lord calls this Almsgiving, and he warns us to take heed that we do not our alms before men, to be seen of them; otherwise we shall have no reward of our Father which is in heaven. When we do our alms, we are not to sound a trumpet, as the hypocrites in the synagogues and in the streets, to have glory of men; for if we do, we have our reward, such as it is, in the praises of men, and must expect no reward from God, as we sought not his glory. From the passage before quoted from St. Paul, it is evident, that we may give largely to the poor, nay give all our goods, and yet be destitute of true charity, without which virtue our alms cannot be acceptable to God.

Having thus shewn that charity does not consist merely in almsgiving, we shall now consider in what it does consist. True charity, that virtue which our Lord and his Apostles have so highly extolled, is a principle of prevailing love to God, grounded on faith in Christ, and issuing in good will towards all mankind. It is a principle which is not naturally generated in the human heart. For, as (6 an evil tree cannot bring forth good fruit," it is impossible that so divine, so beneficent, a principle as Christian charity can spring from so corrupt a source as the heart of man, before it is purified by the operations of the Holy Spirit of God, without whose aid we are incapable of even thinking a good thought. That charity, then, which, as members of Christ, it is absolutely necessary we should possess, is a heavenly principle wrought in the soul by the Holy Spirit; a principle which, in its reference to God, effectually inclines us to delight in him, ear

nestly to desire an interest in his favour, to value communion with him as our chief good, and to seek him as our portion, our happiness, and the fountain of all perfection and excellence. To love God with all our heart, our mind, our soul and strength, our Saviour tells us is the first and great commandment; and this forms the first and principal part of charity. The next great commandment, and that which forms the other part of charity, is, "Thou shalt love thy neigh. bour as thyself;" and thus we see that "the end of the commandment is charity." By the term, neighbour, we are not to understand here our friends and relations only, or even our intimate acquaintances, but the whole race of mankind, good and bad, friend and foe; for our Lord commands as "to love our enemies, to bless them that curse us, to do good to them that hate, and to pray for them that despitefully use us, and persecute us;" for, says he, " If ye do good to them only that do good to you, and if ye love them only that love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans and sinners the same?" Thieves, murderers, and the most depraved persons-even Jews, Turks, Infidels, those who never heard of or never professed Christianity-love those that love them; but to love our enemies is the proper distinction of the disciples and followers of Christ. God himself commended his love to us, in that whilst we were yet sinners, consequently enemies to him, Christ took upon him our nature, and died for us; and the Saviour himself has left us a commandment, that, as He loved us, so ought we to love one another.

If we truly possess this excellent gift of charity, that is, have our heart filled with the love of God and man, it will be manifested by our works; for "a good tree will bring forth good fruit." Thus we shall ever be ready and anxious to shew our gratitude to God, by liberally dispensing a part of the benefits his goodness has bestowed upon us, to

the relief and comfort of our distressed and suffering brethren, not seeking the praises of men, but, like good stewards, fulfilling the will of our Divine Master, by improving the talents, be they few or many, committed to our care, and laying up for ourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. Thus alms-giving will ever be the fruit of charity. Every person knows, from his feelings of natural affection, how anxious he is to fulfil the wishes of the objects of his regard; and thus, in our love to God, those who truly possess that principle will be ever seeking to do his will in all things, and consequently in alms-giving; for "whoso hath this world's goods, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?"

Another fruit of charity is the forgiveness of injuries. A truly charitable man can never bear malice or cherish revenge. He loves all mankind for Christ's sake: he cannot be at enmity with any one; but, as he hopes for pardon of the sins he has committed against God, so he is ever ready to forgive, and be reconciled to, his brother.

Again; Christian charity will lead us to seek not only the comfort of our fellow-creatures in this world, but what is of far greater moment, their eternal welfare: for as love to our immortal souls was the motive that induced the Divine Saviour to die, that we might live through him, so all his faithful followers will endeavour to promote his kingdom, and bring their fellowcreatures to a knowledge of his salvation. If such a one sees men running in the broad way to destruction, he will seek an opportunity of pointing out to them their errors; of reproving them for their faults; of faithfully declaring to them the unavoidable, the eternal misery

which will overwhelm them in the great day of account, when the secrets of every heart shall be laid open, and men shall be rewarded according to the deeds done in the body. He will also earnestly offer his supplications before God, that they may be brought to a sense of their fallen state, and to unfeigned repentance, and faith, and newness of life.

II. Thus, then, we see that true charity is indeed, as the Apostle expresses it," the bond of perfectness" it is joined with, and leads' to, every other Christian grace. With what earnestness, then, ought we to seek its attainment! Let us then, in the second place, consider the means necessary to be pursued to ensure the possession of this inestimable virtue, without which it is impossible to arrive at the kingdom of heaven.

The first step to be taken in the pursuit, is to gain a knowledge of our own deficiency. Every man is naturally desirous of persuading himself that he is charitable; and, content with this, he seeks no further; but if he would commune with his own heart, and look carefully into his life, he would find that, unless renewed in his character by true conversion to God, he is utterly destitute of this virtue in its scriptural acceptation. Our blessed Lord has given us an infallible sign by which to decide: "If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments:" and again, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." Let every man then examine his heart, not carelessly but closely, and with a determination of becoming acquainted with it. And, during this examination, let him ever bear in mind, that "the heart is deceitful above all things ;" and let him especially pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in deciding upon his own character. Let him put some such questions as the following to himself: "Do I love God above all things? Have I, in all my thoughts,

words, and actions, sought the glory of God, without aiming to gain the praise of men? And have I in all things kept his commandments ?" Happy beyond all conception the man who, after such an inquiry, seriously made as in the sight of God, can lay his hand upon his heart and say, though with much remaining sin and imperfection, "Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love Thee!" But it is too certain that by far the greater number of mankind would be constrained to say, "I have loved the things of this world more than God; I have sought my own glory more than his; and I have in every way broken and despised his commands." Thus becoming in some measure acquainted with our own innate corruption, and our utter inability, without the grace of God, to keep his commandments, we shall be the more disposed to exercise charity towards others. This Christian grace will also incline us to be more severe in our animadversions on our own conduct, and to follow the exhortation of our Lord: "First cast out the beam that is in thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye." Having by this examination stript from before our eyes the veil which had so long hid from us the deformity of our hearts; being divested of all ideas of our own merit; and debased and humbled in our own opinion, we are in a proper state of mind to seek after the attainment of this and every other grace belonging to the Christian character, with a certainty of obtaining it, if sought aright, and with an ardent desire. In Christ is the fulness of every virtue, and out of his fulness we are to receive it. And will that gracious Redeemer, who sacrificed his life for us, refuse us any thing that is necessary for our eternal welfare? No! he expressly says, "Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you;"..." whatsoever ye

ask in my name shall be given unto you." But in making our supplications, we must feel a fervent desire that they may be answered: it must be a request of the heart, not of the lips merely, and then God will as suredly grant our petition.

Let us then, in conclusion, as disciples of a merciful Saviour, "follow after charity;" ever looking to him as a pattern, who has left us au example that we should follow his steps. In his life we have a pattern of perfect charity. It was charity which induced him to leave his Father's bosom, where he was worshipped by all the host of heaven, to take upon him our nature, with all its infirmities, and, by fulfilling those holy laws which we had broken, and becoming a sin-offering for us, to reconcile us to God. He saw the whole race of mankind fallen from holiness, and plunging themselves into eternal misery. "He looked, but there was none to uphold; therefore with his own arm brought he salvation." So great was his love, that he consented to leave his eternal throne in heaven,

to endure the frailties of the flesh, to be despised and rejected of men, to be tempted by the devil, to become a man of sorrows, to bear our griefs, to be wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. His first appearance in the flesh was announced to the watching shepherds by the angels from heaven singing the anthem of charity," Glory to God in the highest; on earth peace, good will towards men." And, from the moment of his entrance on his divine mission, till the hour of his death, s life was one continued scene of charity. We behold him loving God above all things, and seeking not his own will or glory, but the will and glory of his heavenly Father." I came not," says he, "to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me." He loved not his friends only,-for, alas, who by nature can boast that title ?-but his most inveterate enemies; and CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 266.

sought not only the present but the future welfare of mankind; healing the sick, feeding the hungry, raising the dead, preaching to sinners the words of eternal life, and warning them to flee from the wrath to come. His charity was no less conspicuous when arraigned at the bar of Pilate as a criminal; when scourged, reviled, and insulted with every indignity; when condemned to an ignominous death. He was "led as a lamb to the slaughter; and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth." When brought to the place of execution, and nailed to the accursed tree, instead of calling down vengeance on his murderers, he prayed to his heavenly Father to pity and to pardon them: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." With so bright, so exalted an Example before our eyes, let us, without ceasing, "follow after charity," and let it be our great endeavour so to run that we may obtain the prize.

Tothe Editorofthe Christian Observer.

In reply to your correspondent X. X. in your Number for last December, respecting the authority of a deacon to pronounce the Absolution, and to read other parts of the Church Service, I beg leave to state the following particulars:-Burn, in his Ecclesiastical Law, asserts, that a deacon may perform all the offices of the liturgy which a priest can do, with the exception of consecrating the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, and pronouncing the Absolution: to which I should add, with your correspondent, giving the Blessing; though I am not aware of the existence of any ecclesiastical law on this last subject. It seems, however, to have been the custom of the Christian church that the blessing should be pronounced by the priest alone: a custom probably retained from the Jewish church, in which it was an especial part of the priest's

N

office to bless. The mistake of X. X. respecting the powers of the deacon, appears to have arisen from his not reflecting upon the ambiguity of the terms priest and minister. Burn states, that the words minister, curate, and priest, are all ambiguous. The word minister is equivocal in our statutes, canons, and rubric in the Book of Common Prayer. Oftentimes it is meant to express the person officiating in general, whether priest or deacon: at other times it denotes the priest alone, as contradistinguished from the deacon, as in canon 31. The determination of the word, therefore, can be ascertained only from the connexion and circumstances. The word curate is also ambiguous. Sometimes it expresses the person, whether priest or deacon, who officiates under the rector or vicar, employed by him as his assistant, or to supply his place in his absence: sometimes the person officiating in general, whether he be rector, vicar, or assistant curate, or whoever may perform the service for that time: sometimes exclusively the rector, vicar, or person beneficed, who has curam animarum, as in the rubric in the Ordination Service, where it is stated to be the office of the deacon to inform the curate respecting the sick poor, and impotent people of the parish. The word priest has also an ambiguous signification. Sometimes it is understood to signify a person in priest's orders only: at other times, and especially in the rubric, it is used to signify the person officiating, whether he be in priest's or only in deacon's orders: and, in general, the words priest, minister, and curate, seem to be indiscriminately applied throughout the liturgy to denote the clergyman who is officiating, whether he be rector, vicar, assistant curate, priest or deacon.

It is not clear, therefore, from the rubric, whether a deacon is thereby prohibited from pronouncing the Absolution. For, although -it is there directed that it shall be

pronounced by the priest alone, yet the word alone in this place seems only to intend that the people shall not pronounce the Absolution after the priest, as they did the Confession: and the word priest, throughout the rubric, does not seem to be generally appropriated to a person in priest's orders. But the argument, to evince that the priest only, and not the deacon, has power to pronounce the Absolution, seems most evidently to be deduced from the forms of ordination. To the deacon, it is said, "Take thou authority to read the Gospel, and to preach." To the priest, it is said, "Receive the Holy Ghost: whose sins thou dost forgive, they are forgiven; and whose sins thou dost retain, they are retained.”—An amplification of these particulars may be seen in Burn, under the head

ORDINATION.

To absolve, in an ecclesiastical sense, is officially to pronounce forgiven. The term forgive seems to be used in this sense of absolve, in the passage above cited from the Ordination Service. For no true Protestant ever supposed that any minister possesses the power of absolutely forgiving sins. In the same official declaratory sense must the words of our blessed Lord be explained, "Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained." This official power is, by the Church of England, given to bishops and priests, but to no others. For a deacon, therefore, to pronounce the form of absolution, in the official sense in which it is intended by the church, is to usurp an authority never committed to him. With respect to the ground on which the power of absolution is granted to bishops and presbyters, the reader is requested to consult Comber and Wheatley, and many of the judicious and standard commentators on the various passages of Scripture on which it is believed to be founded.

With regard to the question,