(4) Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, (5) Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; (6) Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; (7) Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
The Apostle having in the preceding verses spoken so highly of charity, in general terms; now begins to describe the special instances of this Christian grace, somewhat more particularly. If the Reader will number the several very sweet, and striking qualities, Paul hath noted down, of charity, he will discover, that there are no less than sixteen peculiarities, in commendation of it, which he hath enumerated. And, indeed, such a lovely principle, and flowing from such a source, may well be supposed, as diffusing itself in various streams, everywhere around.
I beg the Reader to observe also, how much the Apostle hath heightened the representation, by personifying charity under those several features of character. It seems all along, as if Paul is speaking of a person, and not simply of this grace given to a person. And is it a violence to this scripture, or will it be thought imaginary, if I were to say, might not Paul have his Lord in view all along, as he drew the portrait? Of whom but Jesus, can it be strictly said : seeketh not her own, thinketh no evil, beareth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things! Surely, none but Jesus, comes up to this character! Yes! thou Almighty burden-bearer; of thee, and thee alone, can it be truly said : Thou hast borne our sins, and carried our sorrows. Even now, thou art bearing the cares of all thy Church, and the persons of all thy people. And while, through all the present time-state of thy redeemed, thou art bearing all in the arms of thy love; shortly, when this time-state is over, thou wilt bear them everyone home to thine eternal glory.