Above all Things have fervent Charity among your felves.

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The INTRODUCTION.

MONG all the Duties which are recommended to our Pra tice in the holy Scriptures, there is not any one that is mention'd with fo much Praise,

or enjoin'd with fo much Earneftness, as the Duty of Charity. The Book of God is la

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39, 40.

John xiii.

35.

1 Cor. xiii.

vifh in its Praises and Commendations, and moft excellent Things are there fpoken of this bleffed Virtue. Charity is there faid Matt. xxii. to be the greateft, and the moft effential Part of our Religion, and the Principle of all Gal. v. 22. Righteousness; it is reckon'd the first among the Fruits of the Spirit, and is made the diftinguishing Badge of a Difciple of Chrift; it is the chief of all Virtues, and without which the Practice of the reft will be to no Purpofe; all other Virtues take their Worth and Excellency from This, and are esteemed more or lefs valuable, according as they are accompany'd more or lefs with this heavenly Grace: Gal. v. 6. That our Faith may avail with God, it is neceffary, that it work by Love; and that our Knowledge may be acceptable to him, it muft abound in Works of Charity. Tho' we enjoy the moft excellent, and the most admired Gifts; though we have the Gift of Tongues, and the Gift of Prophecy, and underftand all Myfieries, the facred and heavenly Myfteries of the Gofpel, and the deep Things of God; tho' we have all Faith, fo that we could remove Mountains, and do the moft ftrange, and the moft incredible Things; yet if we have not Charity, we are nothing, we are nothing in a truly spiritual Senfe; thofe rare and extraordinary Gifts are

Phil. i. 9.

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I.

Cor. xiii.

I Cor.xiii.

2.

nothing

nothing in God's Account, and fignify nothing to our everlafting Eftate, unlefs Charity difpofe us to employ them to the Glory of God, and the good of Men; to the building up of out felves and others in Faith and Holinefs. Tho' we beflow all our Goods 1 Cor. xiii. to feed the poor, and impoverish ourselves to 3. relieve others; tho' we give our Bodies to be burned, and freely facrifice our Lives for our Religion; yet if we have not Charity, it profiteth us nothing; the higheft and most tranfcendent Works of Mercy, that we perform, will avail us nothing to Salvation, unless they are perform'd out of true Love to God, and to our Neighbour for God's fake: even Martyrdom itself, which is the higheft Instance we can give of our Obedience, is nothing worth, is but vain and utterly infignificant, if a real Love to God, and to his Truth, to the Church, and to the Brethren be wanting in us. How beautiful and fpecious foever our Actions and Sufferings may appear without, if the Grace of Charity be not within, if that be not the fecret Principle by which we are moved, either to do, or to fuffer; our Labour is but all loft, and God regards it not; God regards not fo much what we do, or what we fuffer, as how we do it and how we fuffer; he chiefly minds the Motives,

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Motives and Principles upon which we act; and 'tis Charity alone that can make our beft Actions, and our greatest Sufferings acceptable in his Sight. In a word, as this divine Grace of Charity recommends us to God here, and never fails to give us Comfort and Happiness in this Life, fo it does infallibly procure for us an eternal Reward of Glory in the next. For fo we read, Charity is the greatest Qualification of those that are to be receiv'd into the Kingdom of Chrift; and of all the Works that we have perform'd, thofe of Charity alone will have the Privilege of being particularly regarded in the Day of Judgment. For when that great Day shall come, and we all ftand before the JudgmentSeat of Chrift, then will the Judge of the whole World fay to those on the right Hand, to those who have been kind and charitable to the diftreffed and the neceffitous, and by their Bounty have refreshed, and comforted Matt. xxv. the poor Members of Chrift: Come ye bleffed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the Foundation of the World. For I was an hungred, and ye gave me Meat; I was thirfty, and ye gave me Drink; I was a Stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye cloathed me; I was fick, and ye vifited me; I was in Prison, and

34.

ye

came

But

came unto me, &c. In as much as ye have done it unto one of the leaft of these my Brethren, ye have done it unto me. they on the left Hand, they who have been unmerciful, and hard-hearted to the Poor, and the Sick, and the Prisoners; who have neglected to affift the Needy and Helplefs, and have turn'd a deaf ear to the Cries of the Afflicted; what a fad and terrible Sentence will they hear thundering in their ears? a Sentence, at the very mention of which, who is there that can forbear trembling? Depart Matt. xxv.. from me ye curfed into everlasting Fire, pre-41. pared for the Devil and his Angels; for I was an hungred, and ye gave me no Meat, &c. Those miferable Wretches, whilft they liv'd, were utter Strangers to doing Good, and to Acts of Charity; and now they are feverely punish'd for their Unmercifulness; they were never ready to fhew Mercy to their Brethren, and therefore they can expect none from God; They shall have Judg- James i ment without Mercy, that have shewn no Mercy. No Wonder then that we have fuch ftrict Commands, and fuch urgent Injunctions; fuch paffionate Commendations, and fuch earnest Intreaties, and fuch preffing Importunities to encourage, and oblige us to the Practice of this Duty! This is my Com- John xv.

13.

12.