the sake of getting back anything he has been deprived of, he would not have it at the price. Oh, how pure and lovable is Christian and Evangelical doctrine; and how badly do Christians correspond with it — how little do they deserve their name!
'Give to him that asketh of thee; and from him that would borrow of thee turn not away,’ [1] as people commonly do; but do what you can to comfort him: be liberal and beneficent. Not all the riches in the universe can ever equal the value of those two virtues, or the reward that they will get for us.
Here, then, we find three degrees of charity towards our enemies — to love them, to do them good, to pray for them. The first of these produces the second; if we love, we give. The last is commonly believed to be the easiest, but as a matter of fact it is the most difficult, because it has to be done purely for the sake of God; and nothing ought to be more sincere, hearty, or genuine than what we offer to Him Who sees even to the very depths of the heart.
- ↑ Matt. v. 42.
