1 Cor. xiii. 13. Jnd noiv ahideth faith, hope, charity, these three ; but the greatest of these is charity.
THE scope of the whole chapter is, to shew the superiority of Christian love or charity to all the gifts that were so erroneously estimated, and so ostentatiously displayed, in the Church of Corinth. In the course of his argument, the Apostle enume- rates the principal offices of charity, and marks with singular accuracy and minuteness its proper qualities. The last of the properties which he mentions is, that it *' never faileth ;" whilst all miraculous powers, of whatever kind they be, are but for the short period of this present life. They, he observes, will soon vanish ; but this, instead of disappearing, will endure in uninterrupted exercise, and be continued in un-
deviating perfection for evermore. Thus incidentally he is led to speak of the whole experience of Chris- tians in relation to the objects of their faith and hope : they view them all but indistinctly, and know them very imperfectly ; having little better concep- tion of them than of a riddle, or enigma % in which some leading particulars only are set forth ; and the rest is left, as it were, as matter of conjecture. In short. Christians, not excepting the Apostle himself, are but children, in relation to the deep things of God ; and, when they shall be exalted to heaven, they will discard all their puerile notions respecting them, just as they now do the weaknesses of child- hood on their arrival at man's estate^. The Apostle having thus, unintentionally as it were, been drawn from the consideration of miraculous gifts to the mention of Christian graces, proceeds to assert the superiority of love among the sister graces of faith and hope, as he had before shewn its superiority to all the miraculous powers that ever were possessed : " There now remain " (for constant use and exercise) "faith, hope, and charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."
To confirm this declaration, we will shew, I. The distinguishing excellencies of faith and hope —
These, with love, form the cardinal graces of a Christian : and they are indispensable to his happi- ness, both in this world and in the world to come. That we may know how to appreciate their value, we will distinctly notice the excellencies^
1. Of faith—
[This, when infused into the soul by the Spirit of God, and called forth into exercise according to the will of God, is a principle truly wonderful. It beholds things that are in- visible ; and presents to the eye of the mind all the perfections and purposes of God himself. It is conversant with all that God has ever revealed ; and especially with that stupendous mystery, the redemption of the world by God's only dear Son, and the restoration of men to tlie Divine image by the influence
^ See the original, and the marginal translation of ver. 1 2. *> ver. 11.
Si2 1 CORINTHIANS, XIII. 13. [1988.
and operation of the Holy Ghost. It goes farther still ; and apprehends all that God has ever promised^ and appropriates to itself all the blessings of his everlasting covenant. It seizes by a holy violence •= all that God is, and all that God has, even all his glory ; and invests the soul with all of it, as its present and everlasting portion. It brings Christ himself down into the soul*^ ; fills it with his love, and enriches it with all his fulness ^ As for difficulties they all vanish, and are dispelled by the power of faith. There is a kind of omnipotence in this grace. No enemy can withstand it : " All things are possible to him that believeth." The more dark our way is, the more scope there is for the exercise of this grace, and the more it triumphs. In this point of view, it, far beyond any other grace, reflects honour on God : it fixes on the Divine perfec- tions, and calls every one of them to its aid : it presses even justice itself into its service ; and never will let go its claims upon God's mercy and truth : it finds quite sufficient encouragement in a single promise. See it in Abraham : he assured himself, that though Isaac should be slain and reduced to ashes, he should be raised again from the dead, and the promises should be fulfilled in him. And thus does faith operate in the hearts of all ; and, in proportion as it operates, secures to us a victory over all the enemies of our salvation.]