This is a course which at present is beset with much that is the opposite of pleasure. Although the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, will be amongst our experiences, our comfort will be somewhat tried by the social penalties involved. This is a needful exhortation. We are in a very disjointed condition at present. We have to shut our eyes to a great deal.
Charity hides a multitude of sins.
This exhortation contains an idea that is also full of good sense, the realization of which would often enable people to act a more sensible part than they do. Everything a man has, he is indebted to God for, inasmuch as by whatever means he has acquired it, those means have been bestowed upon him, in one way or another, by the permission or action of the Deity. If, again, he has favourable connection with trade, or is related to opulent people, by whom he gets position and substance, he is again a beneficiary of God, for the circumstances leading to the substance were not his own contriving. If he accumulates a fortune by industry, there is no more ground for boasting than if God had put the money in his hand, because he has been fortunately constituted upon a principle that has enabled him to be industrious. Everything a man has he has received, and therefore he ought to be modest in his use thereof, and kindly in his attitude to the less fortunate.