The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-04-01

tains the love OF man; ~ -ls 1ne PIluClPie vi
nnIversal benevoleuce; m0eed, 1t ls the toun-
tain nj all the virtues both OF religion IN the
stricter sense and of practical morality. Bls
pietv II is obedience 1t is pity 1t Is mercy, even
10 tHe FORGIVENESS ana love of our enemies.
The blessed Jesus well rebuked the marrow
and spitefuI Jews of His own day, when de de-
ciared ait hath been said Thou shalt love tny
neigbbor and hate thine enemy, but / say unto
Won Love your enemies do good to them that
hate YOU, and pray Tor them that despitetuily
use YOU and evil entreat you" Paul, IN the
twelfth chapter OF Romans, rises into sublime
and touching eloquence when ne commands the
same divine virtue, and ends his exhortatlon oy
saying, Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, iced
him; if he thirst, give him drink" But IN
the thirteenthe chapter OF First Corinthians,
in what may be called his beautiful ode
on charity, he surpasses all that has ever been
written on that subject:-"C Charity sutfereth long
and is kind; charity envieth not; charity
vaunteth notltselt, is not pulled up, doth not
behave unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not
easily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not
in iniquity, but reioiceth in truth; beareth all
things believeth all things, hopeth all things,
enduretn all things; charity never taileth."
Charity, therefore, holy Christian benevo-
lence, wishes all good to all, does all possible
and lawful good to all, not excepting even our
worst and btterest and most injurious enemies.
This is the doctrine of charity; 1t is the oppo-
site OF all eXClusiveness; OF all narrOwDess, OF
all avarice, and especially Of all malice and
revenge.
But while we make charity thus intense, we
do not mean to make it weak we do not intend
1T shall overthrow justice or truth The loving
God, the very ground of whose character and
being is love, is also inhexibly just. 1t is He
that hath denounced eternal death as the doom
of the finally impenitent. Such law, such
Justice is essential TO the broadest charity. To
allow sin to go unpunished, or to be punished
lightly, would be TO leave the universe unpro-
teCted: and while il might seem to be charity to
the offenders, would be cruelty to the universe.
The same is true OF human authority and
human law. If the Quaker theory, denying that
w
be no security. If a civilized nation were to
accept it, and act upon it, any inconsiderable
tribe of savages might come in with their inn
plements of war, overthrow the State, rob the
citizens, ard make them slaves. If we say
the civilized people would be too
strong for the savages, we abandon
could only be resisted by armed force, and that
! would be war. The Quaker theory, therefore.
however it may look in,private life, would be
unsafe for the State; It's charity would only be
charity to the worst people, and cruelty to the
rest Charity in its broadest sense, therefore,
includes justice; the wicked must be punished
as a measure OF charity to the good.
This the Apostle Paul sets forth in the thir-
teenth chapter OF the Eplstle TO the Romans.
In the thirteenth of First Corinthians we have the
celestial ode on charity, but in the thirteenth
chapter of Romans We are told that the civil
ruler is to be "a terror 10 evil doers," mot
bearing the sword in vain" These two views
aIe in perfect accord with each other; the
charity that is not easily provoked, that en-.
dureth all things and never taleth. is to be
fenced about by the justice that bears the sharp
sword Of power. Justice, therefore, is only
another form of charity; 1t is charity throwing
up its breastWorks and making itself secure by
power. AS the penitentiary is charity for
the honest people whose lives and property are
secured by the confinement OF outlaws, so is
the world of woe, the pTison-house of perdition,
charity to the good in the spiritual and eter-
nal state. And on this ground, and this alone,
can war be vindicated; and on this ground
musket may be as much charity as gratui-
tous dinner, q fortress as au lntrmary.
But these harsher forms Of charity whether
in war or in peace, must be free from personal
spite.
We may sometimes strike, but we may never
hate The Judge on the bench must grieve for
the personal suffering to which he consigns the
criminal. If he took pleasure in pronouncing
sentence, we should feel that ne was unworthy
of his place. The nation that wars, even for
the highest right, is only In he spirit of the
Master of all, when it grieves for the blow
| which justice requires 1t to deal.
But my brethren I'VE we have S1Ntos said enough to
charity; enough to show that the great
Christian law Of love must be pure at every
hazard; enough to show that genuine justice,
| and truth, and purity are only forms of charity,
sometimes hard on the outside, bat always in
! stiuct with royal gentleness within.
And now allow short application OF this
topic to the times and to the service Of this day.
This morning we take collection tor our suffer-
! ing brethren at the South. War has hushed It's
| dreadful voice, even the legislative strug-
! gle is at an end and a sad, sad wall
! ofwant comes up 10 us from those who were
| lately in arms against us. What sublime op-
! portunity is thus afforded us to be magnanl-
nous! We collect millions of dollars in this
| country every year to send to the heather.
! Our well-supported missionary stations are the
expression Of our broad and worldwide Chris
tian charity. We love the tar-of nations
simply because they are men, made like our
selves, in the image Of God, and redeemed
| by our own Saviour. What, then,
shall we say in response TO call
| from our own country Here are not
only human ties, but ties Of common history,
| common country common language, common
religion, ay, and ties OF kindred. The people
that dwell on the Gulf are closely allied to
those who tread the banks of the Ohio; those
who till the shores of the James, the Poto-
| mac, and the Chesapeake, are brothers to those
on the Delaware and the Hudson. We have
been separated in affection for years; both
before and during the war great dark
for the first time for fifty years, is a
genuine peace possible. May Heaven bring
| about a true peace, and weld it firmly in the
| fires OF Christian charity! May the Churches,
| parted by the war, come together again-Bap-
tist 10 Baptist Presbyterian TO Presbyterian,
| Methodist to Methodist! May severed friends
| avow, with all the frankness of which l am
| capable, that / know of no good reason
| why the two great Methodist Churches should
| remain any longer apart. 1t is my full behet
| that the only causes Tor continued separation
| must be found in feeling, mostly IN personal
| feeling. And, then as to personal friendships,
| why may they not be restored? ] will take the
liberty to say for myself, that have not allowed
| my heart to be alienated from any OF my former
| friends by the terrible occurrences OF the lasI
| few years. | have been deeply interested ior my
| country, have labOred earnestly or her welfare
1 lrv. htrr.y yiFare |