Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
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A29356
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A letter to the parishioners of St. B.--- A.--- [St. Botolph Aldgate] shewing the use and necessity of paying Easter-offerings, now restored to the parish minister.
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Brewster, Samuel, fl. 1700-1725.
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1700
(1700)
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Wing B4436; ESTC R1656
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3,674
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22
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A LETTER TO THE PARISHIONERS OF St. B. A. SHEWING The Use and Necessity of paying Easter-Offerings now restored to the Parish Minister LONDON Printed for Geo. Strahan at the Golde Ball over-against the Râ—yal-Exchange in Cornhill 1700. A LETTER To the Parishioners of St. B. A. Shewing the Vse and Necessity of Paying Easter-Offerings SIRS THE Feast of Easter is now approaching wherein our Holy Church Commemorates the great Mercies of God in accomplishing our Redemption by the Death and Resurrection of our Blessed Saviour 'T is at this time especially that we ought to express our Thankfulness to God by acts of Piety and there are no actions so worthy our thoughts as those which immediately concern the Honour and Service of God I think it all times my Duty to promote the Interest of Religion and the good of your Parish and have therefore upon your late Vacancy endeavour'd to make the best choice I could of a Minister to instruct you for your Soul's Health I am verily perswaded that I have placed one among you who is both able and willing to discharge the Duty of his Place and who I doubt not will be careful to watch over you as becomes a faithful Pastor My next Care is to provide him a more sufficient support thereby to encourage his Labours and to enable him to maintain such Assistance as will be needful to perform the great Business of your Parish I am willing to forego my right to some part of that Revenue to which I am legally Intitul'd and to apply the same for promoting the Honour of God and Interest of his Church therefore I have authoriz'd Mr Kennet your Minister to collect and take to his own use the Offerings due at Easter and do earnestly recommend it to you as your Duty to pay the same justly and conscientiously which I hope you will do when I have informed you 1. Of the Nature of Offerings 2. The use and necessity of paying them 1st The Nature of Offerings By Offerings are usually understood those Gifts which are given by devout Men to God and the Church which Gifts were commonly Offered with Solemnity and Devotion at the Altar some upon certain Festival Days and others upon occasion of particular Mercies receiv'd by particular Persons Those which were offered upon Festival Days were on Sundays the general Days of Christians Assembling themselves or on certain Feast-Days appointed by the Church to be kept Holy in remembrance of the great Favours receiv'd from God in completing our Redemption by the Conception Nativity Death Resurrection and Ascension of our Blessed Saviour These Offerings were at first the Free-will Sacrifices of Pious Christians but when Piety and Zeal grew cold and Men began to fail of their Duty then the Laws provided a Means of ascertaining every Man's Offerings thereby to reserve a competent Livelihood to the Parish Minister and now the Offerings due by the Laws of the Realm are two Pence for every Communicant Note That at the time the Offerings were setled at that rate two Pence was equivalent to a Shilling at this Day or of every Parishioner above the Age of 16 payable at the Feast of Easter by the Master of every Family for himself his Wife Children and Servants And now having inform'd you of the Nature of Offerings I am in the next place to acquaint you with 2dly The Vse and Necessity of paying Offerings The chief use and design of paying Offerings is That we may Honour God with our Substance as well as our Bodies for as he made us so he gives us all that we possess and 't is reasonable that we should pay him some portion of what we enjoy in token of his Dominion over us and of our Subjection to him 't is the advice of the Wise Man Honour God with thy Substance and with the first fruits of all thy increase Prov. 3.9 And it has been always accounted a part of our Worship To bring Presents unto him that ought to be feared Psal 76.11 Almighty God took special Care in the Modelling of the Jewish Worship that none should appear before him empty Exod. 23.15 That so he might be honour'd with a tribute from the Hands as well as the Hearts of his People The reason why God commanded the Jews to dedicate part of their Wealth was for the Maintenance of the Jewish Clergy a set of Men appointed to be free from Secular Employments that they might offer up Prayers and Sacrifices for that People The same Care hath God taken of a more Royal Priesthood that of the Christian Church for as by the particular command of God Those who served at the Altar were partakers of the Altar so under the Christian Dispensation Christ has ordained That those who Preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel 1 Cor. 9.13 14. and great reason it is That those who dispense to us Spiritual Comforts should be supplyed by us with Temporal Conveniencies I take the liberty to prescribe you two short Rules for your more faithful discharge of this Duty they are 1. Justice 2. Chearfulness 1. JUSTICE All Persons whatsoever as well Adversaries as Friends have a right to our Just Dealing but more especially they are intitul'd to it who may be truly termed our Benefactors such are the Ministers of Christ whose Business and Care it is to instruct us and inform us in all things necessary to Salvation they are those who by wholsom Doctrines and Advice do keep us from degenerating into wild and savage Creatures for such were the Inhabitants of this Island before the Glorious Light of the Gospel spread its bright Beams upon this Land The Errand of those who Preach the Gospel is not to make us an offer of short and transient Pleasures but to lead us into that way which will bring us to a durable and everlasting Happiness And surely those who teach us Devotion towards God and upright Dealing towards others have deservedly a right to our Justice I have no reason to doubt your Justice to your Minister when I consider with what Zeal you are promoting some good Works in your Parish towards the support of the Poor and the propagating Christian Knowledge among the younger sort but give me leave in a few words to acquaint you what Offerings you are obliged to pay The Offerings then that you are legally obliged to pay Mr. Kennet are two Pence a Head according to the Number of your Families as I have before informed you but seeing I have for your sake and for the Honour of Religion restor'd them to their first Religious Use I rather wish that you would think your selves obliged to do as did the Primitive Christians those Pious Souls who began to Honour God with their Substance as soon as they had embrac'd the happiness of the Christian Faith for they thought themselves oblig'd to offer according to their Ability and thought nothing too much for them who Preached the glad tidings of the Gospel but alas many in this Age are arriv'd to that heinous degree of Impiety as not only to grudge the giving a little of their abundance but even to wrong and deprive their Ministers of what they can clandestinely conceal from them I would therefore exhort you for your own sakes as well as that of your Minister in the making your Offerings to consider your own Abilities and if you intend to act the parts of good Christians and are resolved to manifest your selves true Servants of God to pay your Offerings not barely according to the Rules prescrib'd by the Laws of the Land but according to the Reason and Dictates of a good Conscience and according as God hath blessed you 't is true that according to the Laws and Statutes of this Realm no other Offerings can be exacted than what are prescrib'd by Law but a good Christian will not think he has done his Duty when he has done all that the Laws oblige him thus for example a conscientious Person will think himself bound to serve God every day tho' the Laws compel him only to Worship God on Sundays You will also think your selves obliged to offer according to your Ability if you consider when you make your Offering that God is not pleased with a mean and sordid Service for he has discouraged the Offering of those who Offer the Price of a Dog or the hire of a Harlot Deut. 23.18 That is an Oblation which is mean and nothing worth or that which is got by Wickedness and Injustice but he has encourag'd those to hope for a plentiful Harvest who sow their seed plentifully but they that sow sparingly shall also reap sparingly Now that your Offering may truly become a Religious Performance I shall further direct you in the other Rule I propos'd and that is 2. CHEARFULNESS Chearfulness is at all times the Duty of a Christian but then especially when he is about to exercise a Religious act such as is the payment of Offerings towards the Maintenance of our Ministers those Embassadors of Christ for whether we distribute Alms or make an Oblation we ought to do it chearfully and not grudgingly or of necessity because God loveth a chearful giver 2 Cor. 9 6 7. I am not desirous to boast of my good intention towards you in bestowing those legal Dues of mine upon your well-deserving Minister but this I desire to assure you that I have done it chearfully with a prospect of promoting your Good and therein the Glory of God and Honour of Religion I intreat you also to remember That as the just and conscientious payment of your Offerings will be a well-pleasing Sacrifice to God for the Reasons before-mention'd so it is the highest Indignity and Affront to Almighty God to withhold whatsoever is Dedicated to the Service of his Ministers for he counts it no less than Sacriledge Mal. 3.8 the worst sort of Robbery and which was one great cause of God's inflicting heavy Judgments upon the Jews for you may observe a severe Doom pronounced by the Prophet Malachi for this very Sin Mal. 3.9 which may serve as a sufficient Warning for all those who boast themselves in their Cunning of defrauding their Minister and concealing his Dues But let such remember That tho' they escape Vengeance here yet they are heaping up to themselves Wrath against the Day of Wrath which that you may escape shall be the humble and fervent Prayer of Your Christian Friend and Brother S. B. FINIS