his kindness may when he would not only find himself unable to give but him also whom he would oblige in an incapacity to receive A little time and small circumstances alter the whole state of humane things and what to day might prove a Blessing may at another time not only be an useless but an hurtful Offering However this we may be sure of that so long as we delay the doing good so long we still protract the poor Mans Pain and Misery And there is so much Sowerness in the mixture of such kindness that probably it may not be relish'd when it comes If I design to shew a favour Wisdom will prompt me to dispatch because by this I heighten the Obligation of the Deed and hasten and ascertain my Reward The timing of a kindness makes it If I give money to buy the Needy Food and the Market's gone and past and nothing's to be had I offer a stone instead of Bread 'T is but like Meat that 's plac'd upon the Hearses of the dead may serve for shew but can never be of use to them for whom it is there set If I would reclaim a Man from Vice I ought to watch the first motions of his Soul to evil Councel will come too late when frequent Acts have hardened him in his way How do I know if when I see one in a wicked course and like Foelix do put off my Reproof unto another season but that very Act may conclude the Fate of his poor Soul He may by that fill up the measure of his Sins and so be reprobated for ever And then either to check or to advise is but to call the Physician in when the sick Man's eyes shall rowl in death and the trembling joynts declare the whole Building 's tottering down Therefore the best timing Benefactions is to make the Object and our Bounty meet When e'er we see one need immediately to supply the want never to stop the Hireling's Wages nor the poor Man's dues For how do we know how great and pressing their Necessities may be And perhaps the defect but of one day may starve both the Virtue and the Man Thus much to shew when we may be said to have an opportunity to do good which is as often and as soon as the Object of our Charity requires 3. The Third thing to be considered is the Measure of the Duty which obligeth us to do good to all Men and more especially to the Houshold of Faith 1. And First we are to do good to all Men which general Charity I shall treat of under these two respects either as the words may signifie all Nations or else as they include both the good and bad And 1. First as all Men doth take in all â—â—â—ons of the World At the time our Saviour came on Earth there seem'd to be a general Errour crept into the minds of Men that all Humanity was to be confin'd within the narrow limits of a Country and that the Law of Nature did no farther bind them in this case than as they became form'd into particular Bodies or Societies of Men without the bounds of which the Rule did cease and the Obligation became void The Jews at the time of our Apostle's writing this Epistle entertain'd a general hatred to all Nations of the Earth besides themselves and had been so far mis-led by the Pharisees false Interpretations of the Law as hardly to permit a Gentile to live amongst them denied them all Traffick and Commerce and even the common Civilities of Men. What Gentiles were unto the Jews that Barbarians were unto the Romans they treated them with the same Civilities and both the name and usage which they gave them sufficiently declare they esteem'd them as little better than the other Salvage Creatures of the Earth And the Letter which Josephus mentions in the 12th Book of his Antiquities to be sent from one of the Kings of Lacedemon to Orias the High Priest gives us light into the sense of other Nations also in this matter In which the Reason given why they and the Jews should communicate to each other was because by an old Writing they had found that both were originally descended from one common Stock And thence we may easily infer that had there been no such Affinity and Kin they would not have thought themselves any otherways oblig'd And I could wish this temper of theirs had perished in the destruction of those Nations But they must have made but little observation in the World whose own experience cannot tell them that many even amongst us have been acted by the same Principle towards a Neighbouring People driven to us for Relief 'T is plain some look'd upon them only as Locusts sent for to devour the Land and the cry was Have we not poor enough amongst our selves but we must call in Strangers to take the Bread out of our own mouths and to rob and ruine us in our Trade All bowels of Mercy and Compassion seem'd to be swallowed up and lost in a National Interest and Concern And tho' they were Christians as our selves sufferers in the same common Cause and what was their Fate was our Danger at that time yet all would not suffice to perswade some they were sit Objects for their Charity whilst others grudgingly and repiningly did give It may not therefore be improper here to give such Reasons for a general Charity as may incline us to be of a better temper in such Cases for the future And 1. We are to do good unto all Men because we have the same common Parents and Original And this whether we Respect either God or Man 'T is true the Heathens knew nothing of their Rise from Adam but where they found the Descent to be the same they there did always think themselves oblig'd to shew all Acts of Kindness and Humanity But that God was the first Cause of all things that from him we had our Being and our well-being too was generally own'd by all the world The Writings of Heathen Authors are full of that Confession and St. Paul quotes one of their own Poets to this purpose Act. 17. v. 28. The light of the Divinity shone so clearly in their Souls that they could not but discern the Fountain of those Rays The swift Motions and the reflex Actions of their Minds gave them clearly to understand that there was something more concern'd in their Formation than pure Man And the Inferences which some drew from this were the very same which we should make that there was no room left for any Man to Boast or Pride himself in his Extraction or the mighty affluence of his worldly goods nothing to value our selves upon since the best part of Man was common unto all The same Reason dwelt under the Thatched Cottage as the Gilded Roof and shin'd as bright under the dark Veil of an Aethiopian Skin as in the fairest Case of Flesh and Blood that Nature ever yet produced
occasion offer'd and a due object shall present it self so often ought you to think you have an opportunity and accordingly do good and then our whole Business is to enquire when and in what cases we may be said to have a sit season for our Charity from the Objects of it Now there are some Acts of Charity which seem to be never out of season but always to be done because the Object 's always ready and in being such are those Alms required of us for the Poor consider'd as a distinct Body and Society of Men and to this case our Saviour's Words the poor ye have always with you seem to be apply'd and for this Exigency all Nations have in their way provided a Relief as general and constant as the occasion is The Jews for this purpose had their Treasuries set up into which every one according to his Abilities did cast This amongst us the Poor's Box supplies which with the Tax added to it doth from time to time and by a continual course feed and supply the dry and empty veins of the Body Politick with Blood and keep in repair these National decays But besides these common and ordinary Acts of Charity there are more private and particular to be done the Publick never can provide against all Exigencies of Time or Persons and therefore the defects are as occasion serves to be fill'd up by us And for these there can be no fix'd time or manner set for the performance but are to be redress'd in such a time and way as the Object before us shall require and therefore it must be worth our while a little to Examine when any thing becomes an Object of our Charity and when that this is found the Duty follows close upon it and our own Reason will inform us in what manner 't is fittest to be exercis'd 1. First then we may be said to have a due Object for our Charity when the Necessitous shall open his Condition to us and seek unto us for Redress when the crys of the Widows and the Orphans call unto us as well as Heaven for relief he that in such a case shall like the deaf Adder stop his Ears unto their Prayers must never expect to have his own heard by God and if the Afflicted at such time shall curse him in the bitterness of his Soul the Curse will stick and God hath promised to avenge his Cause This is a loud call but they may sometimes speak unto us in a more still voice by Sighs and Groans by the soft Whispers and Breathings of a breaking Heart such gentle Gales as these should fill our Sails and make us extend our Pity and Compassion to them And to this case refer that of Ezek. 21.6 sigh therefore thou Son of Man with the breaking of thy loins and with bitterness sigh before their eyes and in the 79th Psalm v. 11. we are charged to let the sighing of the Prisoner come before us And if after all we take no notice then as he says Psal 12.5 For the sighing of the needy will God himself arise Sometimes again we may come to be inform'd of the Miseries of another by the languishing of the Eyes the pale Visage and the dejected Countenance which like a true Picture livelily paint out unto us the inward disturbances of the Soul and if plain Sence will here not guide and direct us to the knowledge of their case yet Reason and Duty ought to put us upon the Enquiry for we are sure all these Effects must have some Cause and then we are as sure we lye under an obligation to remove it where it is So that in all these circumstances nothing but downright Ignorance or a well grounded Suspition of the reality of their Wants can any ways free us from the obligation of laying hold upon the Opportunity to do good 2. A Second occasion may be taken to Exercise our Charity when we are Eye-witnesses of another's wants and here he that turns out of his way when that he sees a poor man in it or hides his face from such an one God also will hide his from him in the day of his distress Christ takes such Injuries as done unto himself and passeth this Sentence on all those who see the hungry and give them no Meat the Naked and cloathe them not Depart from me ye Cursed into everlasting fire Not that I here would give Encouragement to loose Wanderers and to Vagrant Men whose calling 't is more than their Unhappiness to want he who gives to any one that shall appear with the known Marks of such a Person his intended Chairty becomes Extravagance and Sin because he acts both against Prudence and the Law and helps for to support such men whom the Government thinks fit should be suppress'd But bare suspicion or Ignorance of the Person of a Man are no good pleas to excuse the duty for he who shall refuse to give for fear of counterfeits must lie under an endless jealousie and is in a fair way never to see an opportunity to do good And he who will not admit a Stranger into his House because he knows him not must unavoidably live in a constant breach of Hospitality and so lose not only the glorious chance of entertaining Angels unawares but also run the hazard of having the Doors of Heaven shut against him for not opening his unto another He that shall see a Forreigner or a Stranger wounded on the Road the Levite's Case instructs him to pour in Wine and Oil and to bind up his Wounds And so far must we be from sparing pains or cost in such a case that we even ought to save anothers life tho' with some hazard of our own He that endeavours not to stop that hand which he sees lift up unto another's death if the common Maxim doth hold true Qui non prohibet peccatum cùm potest facit hath even sided with the Murtherer hath helped to the shedding the one's Blood and the endangering the others Soul Besides in all these cases we slight the hand of Providence which seems to lead us to such Objects for our good too as well as theirs And heedlesly not minding the Angels stirring of the Pool neglect the care of our Souls and often slip the happy season of doing such a Charity as possibly might cover a Multitude of Sins 3. A Third opportunity to do good may be with relation to the time of doing it and here the present always seems to be the fittest He that defers his doing good until to morrow puts it perhaps beyond his own life and foolishly ventures all that great reward which he is hereafter to expect for his well doing on the uncertainty of an hour But it 's my business here to shew what time is most proper only with relation to the Needy's wants 'T is a known Rule in the bestowing of a favour Quò citius eò melius the sooner and the better still He that defers
unto Christ their Head So that he who refuses to relieve any one under this Denomination proves cruel not only to a Member of Christ's Body but his own And this is the Reason given for our Love by St. Paul Rom. 12.5 where he says So we being many are one Body in Christ and every one Members of one of another Now Did ever any one yet hate his own Flesh He that doth must first throw away his Reason and his Sense So that Christianity becomes a Principle of Self-Preservation to oblige us unto Love and a mutual Support of one another 'T was this Consideration help'd to preserve the first Race of Christians and carried them through all the barbarous Persecutions of the Roman Emperors still as their Blood was shed the Cement grew the stronger And what was said of Saul and Jonathan held also true of them They were lovely in their Lives and in their Deaths they were not divided 'T was upon this Account the Christians became the envious observation of the Heathen World There was no Wars or Divisions heard of in God's Holy Mount but all as if actuated by the same Soul were of one mind felt the same wants and rejoyced with one common joy So that we may be sure where Bitterness and Divisions reign there Satan hath broke loose and set up his Standard in the Hearts of Men. Pride Strifes and Envyings are principal Officers in his Camp by whose help he endeavours to destroy Christ's Kingdom here on Earth which is and always was best defended by Amity and Love For if our Saviour had not spoken it yet common experience would have told us this that a Kingdom divided against it self can never stand Thus have we seen upon what grounds a Christian love is founded but amongst them too there may be a distinction used which brings me to a second consideration That tho' we must be more particularly kind to Christians than other Men yet still more especially to those of our own Church And the reason of this is because every Man is bound to promote Truth Now every one that hath entred himself of any Church must think that the truest or else hath built his Faith on a very Sandy and weak Foundation And if so then where there is any room for choice we ought to have a more particular regard to Men of the same Communion with our selves because by this we shall confirm them the more in it strengthen the weak Members and establish them in their way Besides we may win others over by it by laying out a price we may make a Purchase of Mens Souls When Men shall see us zealous in good Works Peace and Love in all our ways and Charity and good Will in all our actions they will then think that God is in us of a Truth and will naturally leave that Party amongst whom nothing but hatred and inhumanity is seen The Rule of all Beneficence in this case may rationally be this that where there is not a manifest inequality in the Object there Charity lawfully may and ought to begin at home And where an Overplus to what is necessary is designed there still the Benefactor is at Liberty to use his own Judgment and Discretion But whilst we give to one we are not to suffer the other to want nor load the one with Superfluities whilst the other hath not what is convenient and enough This is a Rock on which too many seem to split The Jews first led the way and there have been Christians since have followed the Example Because the Gentiles as they thought were Aliens to the Promises of God they esteemed them also as unworthy to receive the common Benefits of Nature And there are those amongst us too who seem to confine all Kindness to a Party if possible would traffick and trade only amongst themselves none but who are of the same Opinion shall willingly be encouraged or employed and if ever they bestow a Favour it must be a great wonder if it be not to one of their own Image and Complexion As if where Salvation could not or was not without some difficulty to be allowed there the Body was to perish with the Soul and all who had not the same Sense in matters of Religion were to be treated as gangreen'd Members in which Case it shall be thought im-Proper to pour Balm into their Wounds and the only Remedy proposed is to cut off and to destroy Another Mischief to be avoided is That whilst we favour our own Church we do not condemn all others who are not of the same Perswasion with our selves Rash Censures seem to be the most improper Task that a Christian can possibly be put upon whose Business it is to be long suffering and forbearing and excusing one another And 't is really wonderful to think that there are some who can give themselves this Name who mercilesly can take a poor Infant from the Womb and straight condemn him to Eternal Flames and others who can reprobate all the World besides themselves Who though Christ tells us he came for to save all shall yet confine Grace within so small a Compass as hardly to leave him room enough to be a Saviour All who have not the same Light which they boast of are presently cast into Outer Darkness a thick and mighty Darkness which no kind Beam can ever pierce through or any ways dispel but like those who live in the Extremities of the World are doom'd to a perpetual Night without all hope of ever seeing the Appearance of a Day But whatever some Men can do let us put on Charity which hopeth all things Let us not judge that we be not judged for so doing always resigning the Sentence unto God whose Right it is and who therefore claims it as his due And instead of this let us as the Text exhorts learn to do good as often as we have Opportunity and that in all Kinds to all Men to all Christians and more particularly to those of our own Church Having thus done with the Words in general I come in the last place more particularly to apply them to the Company here present And First We may consider that there is now a different Opportunity put into our hands from the fore-mention'd Seasons to do good This Meeting it self is one and they who come here without design to give have without Reason and to no purpose met The Occasion here is greater than and more publick far than what those others were and therefore if our Charity equal the Occasion the Degrees of Recompence will be greater too In giving other Alms God requires Secresie in the Act but in this Circumstance the more open our Benefactions are the more they still answer the Intention and the End of coming here We may be allowed in this Case to blow a Trumpet up in Zion and to let our Light so shine before Men if possible that the whole World may see our good Works and follow our Example In this imitating the great Globe of Light which at the same time it sheds its Influence upon us lends us its Rays that we may look up and see from whence all those Benefits descend But now might I be worthy to advise my Country-men should ne're sit down with the thin Praise of barely Serving the Necessity of a Duty but also seek and raise Occasions for their Charity For we are set as Stewards upon Earth and 't is our Business not only to supply all visible and apparent Wants in God's Family and Estate but also to prevent in some Cases and to improve in others to search out Ways and Means how best we may employ that Talent which God hath here committed to our Charge And though a Failure in the exalted Measures of this Vertue shall be no Man's Condemnation yet it will take from our Reward and he who might receive Fifty and an Hundred fold must otherwise be contented with a far less proportion of Increase And I must still mind you farther yet That making an Abatement of the Faith there are others to be reckoned of the Houshold too Such are our Relations Country-men or Friends and with reference to their Case St. Paul affirms He that provides not for his own House is worse than an Infidel 1 Tim. 5.8 So that in all Cases where there is no great Inequality either of Want or Merit these ought to have the Preference from us to receive a Benjamin's Mess and a double Portion of our Blessing And may you now in all the Actions of your lives equal the design of this present day and may the effect still answer the design May Righteousness flow down from Heaven upon you And Peace and Truth kiss one another over our Land and brood upon our Ground May Love Reign here and your Bounty run to those below and spread it self about your Dwellings Unity both in Loyalty and Religion hath formerly been our Country's Glory and may it be your Praise may you be as unspotted in them both as was that blood with which your Veins were at first filled and as untainted as that Air in which you commonly do breath In a word May you be of one mind but if that shall prove too great an Happiness to be obtain'd at least let all unite in Brotherly Kindness and Affection May ye abound in all Christian Graces But above all things my Brethren put on Charity which is the Bond of Perfectness the New Commandment of the Gospel and the Fulfilling of the Law FINIS