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THE CHARACTERISTICS OPCHARITY." Charity snffereth long, and is Hnd : charity enviethnot; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffedup, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh notherown. is not easily provoked, thinketh no eviL"—1 Cor. xiii. 4, B.The two Epistles to the Corinthianshave, perhaps, furnished texts for agreater variety of sermons than anyother books of equal length in theBible.I do not say a greater number of sermons,but a greater variety.If such is the case, it arises from thiscircumstance, that there is in theseEpisties an extraordinary variety oftopics, and also an extraordinary amountof variation of feeling on the part of thewriter.Let any one read throngh the secondof these Epistles from the beginning tothe end. ' He will be very sensible dfits difficulty. And the difficulty iscaused by its sudden changes. Wepass abruptly, for instance, from indignantrebuke to tender remonstrance.Lofty sarcasm against these who weremaking parties and doing mischief atCorinth is foUowed by the Apostle'selaborate justification of himself. Thenwe have narratives of his own histoty,expositions of doctrine, with eamestpraise and most joyful thanksgivings.Such an Epistle must require very carefalstudy in order to be completely understood.In the First Epistle it is rather varietyof topic than variation of feelingthat causes this richness of resource.All sorts of questions connected withspiritual gifts, with the Christian Ministry,with marriage, with idolatry, withpubUc worship, with the Lord's Supper,come in succession before us, besidesthose general principles of religioustruth, and those rales of daily practice,which find their place evetywhere. Bntthere is great variation of feeUng too,in this Epistle also. A general strainof rebuke does indeed ran through it onthe whole, but not without interruption.And here, in this thirteenth chapter, isthe most marked of these interraptions.CHAEACTEBISTICS OF CHABITY. 53On each side of this chapter is the stormof strong indignation, or at least vehementexpostulation. Here, within thelimits marked out by these thirteenverses, is tbe most absolute calm.Here we are invited to gaze upon aform of perfect beauty, without anydisturbance, but with every help forobserving and recollecting the exactand fuU expression.It is a portrait of charity, or Christi'anlove, drawn with a firm but delicateband, and elaborated, touch by touch,so that each feature can be most easUydistinguished, whUe therejs no disturbanceof the harmony and symmetry ofthe whole. The two selected versesgive several of the lineaments of theportrait. We can examine them onlyvety rapidly within the space to whichthis paper must be restricted, but it isvery easy to catch their meaning sepa.-rately; and afterwards we can, withontdifficulty, combine them into one generalresult1. The first three are grouped togetherby a natural connection, and inthe forefront of them is this :—"Charitysuffereth long."This presents to us charity in its passiveside; as the next words exhibit theactive side. Charity is long suffering.It can bear a gi-eat deal. And there isno doubt that many of us have a greatdeal to bear. But there is a calm dignityin charity which does not aUow itto be ruffled by these vexatious annoyances.Not becanse charity is proud;not because it is indifferent; but becauseit is patientCharity can afford to wait If circumstancesare provoking and disappointingnow, they may be better byand by. If the persons among whomour lot is cast are unreasonable, weshall not gain much by opposition andresentment Gentleness is the realstrength which subdues opponents; andif we cannot after all—" overcome evilwith good"—Rom. xii. 21—onevictotyin such a case is sure, namely, the -victotyovei: ourselves.2. But charity rises far above themere amiabiUty of toleration. Charity