,
yet so deeply do I feel impressed with the excellency and amiable
sweetness of the grace of _Charity_, that I feel constrained to commend
it to your notice in a separate letter. Charity is the queen of the
graces, excelling even faith and hope, and enduring when all those gifts
which add brilliancy to the character shall cease their attractions;
and, though you may not possess great personal charms, superior
accomplishments, or great powers of mind, yet if you do but "put on
charity," you will, like the blessed Saviour, "grow in favor both with
God and man."

The apostle calls charity the "bond of perfectness;" alluding to the
girdle of the Orientals, which was not only ornamental and expensive,
but was put on last, serving to adjust the other parts of the dress, and
keep the whole together. It is a bond which holds all the Christian
graces in harmonious union, and, by keeping them together, secures a
permanent completeness and consistency of character. Without the
girdle, the flowing robes of Oriental dress would present a sad
appearance; hardly serving the purposes of decency. So the apostle
concludes that the most brilliant gifts and heroic actions are all
nothing without charity.

Charity, however, is not to be understood in the popular sense of
_almsgiving_. It is the same word which is elsewhere rendered _love_. It
means a benevolent disposition of heart--love to God and good will to
man, diffused through the whole character and conduct. But the
description of charity given by the apostle relates chiefly to its
manifestations in our intercourse with our fellow-men. My principal
object in this letter will be to apply this description so as to
discover _negatively_ what conduct is inconsistent with charity, and
_positively_ the effect of charity on the human character.

I. Charity _suffereth long_. It will endure ill-treatment, and prefer
suffering to strife. It will not resent the first encroachments, but
patiently bear with injuries as long as they can be borne. If charity
reigns in your heart, you will consider how many and aggravated are your
offences against God, and yet that his long-suffering bears with your
perverseness, and he is daily loading you with benefits; and shall you
be impatient of the slightest offences from a fellow worm? Consider also
how liable you are to encroach upon the rights of others, and to try
their patience by your infirmities. Do not, therefore, be hasty in the
indulgence of ha