IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // ^^ .<^^4p. :- ''S-l'-'I--^- ■ U:.''' --..;■ 'KsSyf^ BY V. ■^h« . QUEBEC : Piinted by T. Cabv & Co. 1842. I l»|»,*I.HIl ■ iM?"\"fv:;rA Mqou .inrijt.." #a i .mim •> " And now abideth faith, hope, charity, thaw threa ; bat the greaMst of thase ia charity.''— M CoritilhUnu, Ittk C/lopler, ISlft Mrae. Each dispensation recorded in the Scriptures, was attended with a promise ; under the dispensation of the Old Testament, the promise of a Sayiour was given ; under the dispensation of the New Testament, the promise of the Holy Ghost. The first of these was fulfilled when Christ came into the world, to offer up himself, a sacrifice for the sins of Adam's ruined' 'race. '" •", ■..'*,».; -- •■"■'i ■'^^'hnu.Au^, iu) •■...'.■ a The second Was fulfilled it the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Ghost descended in the shape of cloven tongues of fire, and sat upon each of the Anostles. It is also fulfilled in the daily history of the Church, when He comes to regenerate or sanctify the heart of man. It was given for a two^fold purpose ; first, to enable the 'Apostles to work miracles, and to speak in divers tongues r and, secondly, to assist in that great work planned by the Father of Lights, before all ages ; and, finally, to be consum- mated in the Kingdom of His own dear Son. The Apostle in the preceding chapter, addressing the members of the Corinthian Church, points out in a particular manner, the gifts of the Spirit. '" : . , . ui Speaking of them he says^ " Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. '* And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. '♦ And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. " But the mr^ifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. " For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom ; to another, the word of knowledge by the same Spirit ; " To another, failh by the same Spirit ; to another, the gifts of healing by the same Spirit ; " To another, the working of miracles ; to another, prophecy ; to another, discerning of spirits ; to another, divers kinds of tongues ; to another, the interpretation of tongues : " But all these worketh that one and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will." And again, ** And God hath set some in the church, first apnstler, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. _ ,11 -iAAi .vnt'Aii .-hii't' Mhu tU;il)k'flyf,'i)nbrrt ' ** Jire all aposUes } art all prophets ? ore aSl tiBachera ? are all workers of miracles ? " Have all the.gil^ of h^alifig ?df) all sgeajf^i^tfjth: Ungues ? ^ But poivet, i^aro^tly th^ hest , gifts. , , Anc| yejt .sitew X unto you a moro e^Qllei\t way." An error of , bsUe|[ ^^^. tp have crjBpt intp the ;C)burch at Corinth — ^that if a^msfii. possessed one of the gifb of th^ .^ipjlnt, it was an indubitable proof, that he possessed all thp reqi^site qualifications necessary t9 ponstitute the cjharafrter,, of the true Christian. 1*116 ^po^tle, therefore,, after shewing them the nature, of these giits, and commending them for seel^ing ailer the possession of them, proceeds to shew jthat Uiere is fani^thing still wanting ; and m the chapter whence my text is , taken, disabuses them of their error ; in doing which he makes use of some remarkable language, which I 'lyilj^ first jpoiQ.ipent upon, and then proceed to the words of my text. jr.rKVH.f K^r He commences thus : *' lliough I Sjpeak with the tongues of men and of angels,, and have not charity, I am b^pome as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal." As if he had said, though I possessed the faculty of expressing myself in all the known tongues of the earth,— though I could boast the most sublime language, the loftiest diction, and the most splendid and most effective elocution, — though my powers of oratory far surpassed those of the most transcendant sages, whose names have graced the annals of fame, — nay — though I could express myself, as angels do, when wjith veiled faces, attuning their golden lyres, they celebrate the praises and majesty of Jehovah, the King of kings ; and though I even stood on the vantage ground of the angel Gabriel, and had heaven itself revealed to my wondering view, whereinto I might look, and steal imagery to adorn my flowing words, yet if I had not charity, all I could utter would be no better than the sounding of brass, I myself should be , no better ^han. a tinkling cymbal. <> ,. !,•.«■»- He proceeds — " 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." .1 As if he had said, though I possessed the powers of intuition, and could look into the mystic volume of futurity, and unfold its ample page to the view of mankind. — Though, like Isaiah, my lips were touched with hallowed fire from the holy censeri —though I were acquainted with the mystery of the creation, and of me ages prior to the formation of the spheres which gem the starry firmament, — though I possessed all the knowlwlge which nature, art, and science embrace, — ^though I could take the wings of the morning and flee to the remotest and unex- plored regions of the earth, and solve the enigma of the wondrous poles which, keep l^is mighty globe in equipoise, — thou^ I had explored the secret recesses of the earth, and had trodden the coral grottoes and the crystal palaces of the fatliom- lese deep, and had beheld its monsters of creation never beforo exhibited to human eye,— though I had traversed the gloomy hallg of Satan's dark domain, and, like St. Paul himself, caught up into the third heaven — ^had beheld the ravishing and entranciog glories within its pearly gates, which eye might see and heart conceive, but neither tongue nor pen can tell, — though I had faith so that I could say to this tree, let no fruit grow upon thee hereafter, and presently it should wither away ; and to this mountain be ye plucked up, and be ye^'cast into tiie sea, and it should be accomplished ; nay, though I could arrest the sun in its course, and change the moon in its phases— -call down the stars from on high — stop the swift progress of the comet's awful flight-r-silence the thunder, and render harmless the forked and arrowy lightnings — swift messengers of death—- ** yet if I have not charity, I am nothing." Again — *' 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 nxe nothing." As if he had said, though my life were spent in deeds of benevolence — though I had administered to the wants of tlio poor, and relieved the necessities of the stranger, — though I visited the sick, and applied remedies to their various sufferings, with free and gratuitous hand, — ^though I did not forget the prisoner, but obtained his release from the jailer, — though I redeemed the bond of the debtor, and procnred his discharge from prison ; and after having thus dispensed all my wealth and substance, and nothing more remained for mc to bestow, — though I should freely give my body to be burned for the benefit and welfare of my fellow men — yet' if I have not charity — if I have not the graces, as well as the gifts of the Spirit, it profiteth me notliing. Tho apostio after making these remarkable observations on churity, iUisely so called, proceeds to point out some of the most rcmarkiiblo features in that charity which never faileth ; but as it will form the concluding head of my discourse, I shall dwell more particularly on it in its proper order, and explain as briefly as the subject will allow : i . ..,, 1st.— The nature of Faith. ' , - . te wl. r: . 2ndly.-*The nature of Hope. •'n'>i:j< biw ,175J fOmmn tknthv -/ 3rdly. — The nature df Charity. j.'ii>wn d/b V) ^'jn'.w eiiJ' And may that Holy Spirit which Cbriist lia9 pfomised h> guide m into all truth, enlighten our minds^ and assist us by His divine power, in these our meditations, that they tnay indeed be to us the words of eternal life. Faith, in the words of the apostle, ii the substance' of things hoped for, the evidence of thin^ not seen. Man has sinned — he is a guilty creature in the isight of Ood, both by nature and practice ; by nature he inherits the corruptions which Adam's sin entailed upon him ; and by practice, he sins daily against His Maker. He has, therefore, the guilt of original sin from our first parents, and the guilt of actual sin from his own transgression ; he has become amenable to the offended majesty of heaven — justice cries aloud for vengeance — death is ready to slay him, and hell is open to receive his guilty and polluted soul. Whose gloomy condition is this ? "Tis yours my friends. Alas ! 'tis mine also. But is there no hope, no way of escape ? Is despair to overwhelm us in the black darkness of eternal night ? Is there no sun of hope to dawn upon our benighted souls ? Oh! yes. Behold the Sun of Righteousness arising with healing in His beams — -penetrating the thick darkness which surrounds us — dissipating our gloom — renovating our hopes — leading us back to, and reconciling us with our offended Father and God. Jesus has paid the ransom due for our transgressions, He has atoned for our misdeeds on the cross at Calvary. The salvation which He has wrought is perfect, is complete ; and a glorious jubilee of liberty is proclaimed to ransomed sinners : death and hell are overcome, and lie vanquished under the feet of the mighty and all conquering Jesus. Justice is satisfied. Man is saved — is saved, did I say ? Oh, no ! Strange infatuation ! Man refuses the offered pardon ; h%kputs from him the proffered salvation. Why this strange coTmucf i lie (Iocs not believe the message — *' Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou bhall be 5avud/' — Nu ! he is either so «inlul that he cannot bclievu that the Saviour will have regard for, and accept such a wretch as he is ; or else he wishes to trust to his own arm, a puny arm of flesh, and his owii worthless deeds, (good, certainly, in his own eyes,) rather than accept a free pardon. His pride would rather desci've forgiveness than receiveit gratuitously. But what is reauired on the I part of the sinner? Nothing but this faith — a belief that Chnst is not only ready to save, but that he is also ready to save you. Faith then, my dear friends, is all that is required on our parts; pardon is o£fered to you, and now, will you accept it, with its accompanying privileges ? A peaceful con- scieBce in this world, a crown of immortality and glory in tho world to come, — or do you reject it and chodse, what it pains me to say, unutterable and everlasting misery and woe ? ** Choose ye this day whom ye will serve, whether the the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the floo^ and in Egypt, or the Lord of Heaven, and Chr.^^t the Redeemer of mankind.'' What is faith then 1 It is simply an implicit belief on the promise and o£fer of Christ, when He says, " Come unto me all ye that are weary an.i heavy laden and I will give you rest." It is the believing and accepting the offer in our own persons — it is taking the Almighty at His word, in the same simplicity of mind and feeling in which a child believes and relies upon the word of its parent. But is this all — is faith alone requisite for salvation ? Yes, provided you have a lively faith. But faith without works is dead. If you have this lively faith, your whole life, walk, and conduct will bear the evidences or fruits of this lively faith. — Your consciences will become tender of doing any thing that may be displeasing to God. You will have prayer in your families, prayer in your closets, you will not neglect the assem- bling of yourselves together, as the manner of some is, but you will embrace every opportunity of shewing forth your Maker^s praise, not with your lips only, but also in your lives, by giving up y<)ui'8f)lves to His service, and by walking before Him soberly and righteously all your days ; but as the gracious evidences of the possession of this vital principle is compre- hended in the term of Charity, I shall leave this part till I come to that head, and proceed to shew the advantage derived i'rom the possession of Faith, namely Hope. Hope springing from a lively faith, is one of the purest I innuences, Has he faith that God, by him through once more set Has he faith sources whence the Christian draws consolation and support in the hour ot trial and adversity. Through faith he has hope that God, his Heavenly Father, will forgive him ; that' J^sus Christ, his Redeemer, will save him ; and that the Holy Spirit will sanctify his heart, mind, and actions, and make him li meet partaker of the inheritance of eternal life. Hope, as I said before, springs from faith. Has the Christian faith in God! he hopes' that his' 'siml will be forgiven, and that he shall be accepted by his Heaverniy Father. Has he faith in Christ ! he hopes to be saved firom his sins, and from the punishment due to them of hell and death. Has he faith in the Holy Ghost! he has hope, peace, and joy in believing that he ii, by its sanctifyih^ * a fit inheritor of everlasting happiness in heaven. in time of difficulty and trial? He hopes the power of His Almighty hand, will brmg the floods of distress which surround him, his feet on a rock, and establish his goings, in the time of persecution, when he is evil spoken of — when calumniated by enemies — when false fHends with smooth tongues, and treacherous hearts, wrin| froiii him, alas ! too confiding, the secrets of his inmost soul, and betray them, misrepresented by their own monstrous exaggeratiotis and departures from truth, to an unthinking, censorious, tmd fault-finding world ! hope brings back to him comfort fi^om the integrity of his own heart, and from the reflection that the good hand of God will not desert him, but mako his name, character, and reputation, appear as unsullied in thfe eyes of the world, as it really is. This hope will enable him to bear censure, and in the' lan- guage of the admirable Cecil, he will know that good men and great minds can aflbrd to lose somewhat by censure and detraction ; for as the bright sun retains its splendour, though occasionally eclipsed and darkened by a passing cloud, so a truly Christian spirit, buoyed up by faith and hope, will main- tain and set forth the dignity of the Christian character, while the mere professor and man of little mind will be angry and fretful at the slightest breath of censure and detraction. He will, indeed, be, like the dim taper, afraid of being puffed oiit. It is this hope that makes the Christian not ashamed of acknow- ledging his master, Christ. It was this hope that made Abraham willing to offer up his son Isaac on Mount Moriah. It was I I 'sinisi Ian- this hope that was the stay of Job in the midst of his afflictions, and which caused him to say, *• Oh that my words were now written ! oh that they were printed in a book ! •' That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever ! ^^ For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth : ^' And though after my skin worms destroy thi(« body, yet in my flesh shall I see God : *' Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another ; though my reins be consumed withii me." It was this hope which strengthened and fortified the holy army of Martyrs, and enabled them with becoming constancy to endure the cruel tortures and fiery trials to which they were subjected. It enabled the pious Latimer when preparing for the stake, to say to his fellow martyr, " Brother Ridley, be of good cheer, we shall this day light up such a flame in England, as I trust, by the grace of God, will never be extinguished." That flame never has been extinguished — I pray to God, it never may. Such a hope as this inspired other holy martyrs, who, when they were ready to be oflered up, clasping each other's hands exclaimed — Farewell, sun ! Farewell, moon and stars ! Ye glittering orbs of light, farewell ! Farewell, ye lovely land scapes, verdant vales, and gently flowing rivers. We leave this world with all its fleeting scenes, without a sigh ; for, " Lo ! a world of never ending bliss bursts to our enraptured gaze." In fine, hope springing from faith, disarms death of his sting, takes away the fear of the grave and hell, and presents to the view of the dying saint, a joyful resurrection, when time shall be no more, and a glorious immortality through the long drawn vistas of a never ending eternity. Hope springs from laith, and love or charity from both. Faith without works is dead. The fruits of faith and hope are good works, in other words, " charity." Let us direct our attention as briefly as possible to this charity. I have already shewn what it is not — it remains to be shewn ' what it is. Charity embraces in its comprehensive name, all the fruits of the Spirit, which are love, peace, joy, gentleness, meekness, goodness, temperance, long>suflering. It is the love of God B 10 shed abroad in the human heart, and displayed in every act of our lives, towards our fellow men. Is it love ? It displays itself in a peculiar manner towards God, who as .>ur Father in Heaven takes care of our souls, and provides for the wants of our bodies, defends us from the dangers to which we are constantly liable, and forgives us for His Son^s sake, the manifold transgressions we have com- mitted against Him. We shew this love towards our Saviour, who died for us, and who by His blood has reconciled us to His Father, and washed away all our guilty stains. We have by it sweet communion and fellowship with the Holy Ghost, to whose dictates we listen, over whose precepts we ponder, and by whose gracious assistance we are enabled manfully to enter the lists against the world, the flesh, and tb^ devil ; and whose sanctifying influences render us more than conquerors through the blood of Him who I 'ved us. Is it peace ? Free from the fear and consequences of sin, assured of our interest in the Saviour's blood, and of His love towards us, we have quiet minds, and peaceful consciences, free from the distracting cares of this life, which otherwise would press more heavily than man could bear, knowing that we are in God's hand, and trusting to His bounteous Providence, in every tiding hour ; and fully assured of His kind guardian hand being extended over us, to shield us from every foe, from every adversity, ^ve shall evidence another fruit of the Spirit, joy — joy produced by the delightful thought of freedom from sin, death, and hell, by the experience of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and communion with the Holy Ghost ; and in anticipation of an eternity of bliss, our joy wiil be unspeakable and full of glory. Charity refines the tempers and passions, it renders the sloth- ful diligent, the drunkard temperate, the usurious and extor- tioner merciful and just, the stealer a worker with his own hands, the Sabbath breaker an attendant on God's house, it causes the swearer and blasphemer to use Godly, pious, and serious lan- guage ; it makes the prayerless man prayerful, the mere pro- fessor a true christian, the disobedient child dutiful and sub- missive, bad husbands and wives patterns of conjugal love and felicity, to sura in as few words as possible, it is the fulfilling of the whole law, " Love to God and lovo to man." Charity never faileth, as it is far beyond compare in excellence with the gifts of the Spirit, so it excels the otlier graces, faith and I 11 and hope. Faith and hope are the means, charity is the end to be obtained. Faith is the bark on the tempestuous ocean of life, to which the Christian mariner commits his soul, hope is his anchor, stay and safeguard amidst every storm which may arise to buffet him. Faith and Hope are the two beacons which guide him to the celestial Haven — which having attained — Faith and Hope like pale stars shall die away and vanish in the superior effulgence and brightness of love made perfect in that land of bliss. Faith and Hope are the two arms which the pilgrim bound zionward stretches forth to pluck the pleasant fruits on his journey to refresh his weary, panting soul and to enable him to reach the gates of Paradise, which having entered — Faith shall be absorbed in vision — in beholding the glories of the everlasting hills, the starry pavement, the golden throne — and Jesus, the King of Saints, sitting amongst his redeemed people — Hope shall be swallowed up in fruition in the enjoyment of those felicities, glories, faculties, powers and communion with the souls of the just made perfect, which nor words can de- scribe nor heart can conceive. — But charity shall still remain, shall exist through the boundless ages of eternity, love shall reign pre-eminent, redeeming love shall be the theme, its strain shall never cease. My friends, is any thing more, in the way of remark, re- quired from me, or do you draw inferences yourselves ? I would fain recommend the drawing of practical inferences in your own minds. — Have you ever reflected on the nature of True Faith? Are you assured that you possess this vital principle ? Do you feel hope and joy in believing ? Have you the hope which maketh not ashamed ? Hope of a joyful resurrection and a blessed immortality ? Have you then this faith and this hope ? If so, produce your evidences — shew me a credential that you possess them — shew me your good works, your kindness to servants, your obedience to masters, your attention to families, your love to parents, your respect to neighbours, your loyalty to the Queen, your affection for christians, your esteem for Christ, yo'ir love to God. Shew your Faith and Hope by shewing charity. Clarity Ith the and 1^. #