and looking round about us we see no Comforter then we should call to mind what Injuries we have forgiven how apt we were to pardon all Affronts and real Persecutions how we embraced Peace when it was offered us how we followed after Peace when it ran from us and when we are weary of one side we should turn upon the other and remember the Alms that by the Grace of God and his assistances we have done and look up to God and with the eye of Faith behold him coming in the Clouds and pronouncing the sentence of Dooms-day according to his Mercies and our Charity From what has been said I think 't is evident that it is upon several accounts more advisable for Men of Ability to dispose of what they intend for charitable Uses in their Life time than to leave it to be manag'd by others after their Death I proceed now in the 2. Second place to shew That Men of Ability are strictly oblig'd to do good while they live I shall not here undertake exactly to state how much good every Man ought to do indeed it cannot nicely be determined There is a great difference in the Conditions and Abilities of Men some want much more than others to support themselves handsomely according to the Station or Office they are in or to maintain or educate their Children agreeably to their Birth and Quality There cannot be one standing measure of Charity common to all and since it has not pleased God under the Christian Dispensation to assign any particular proportion every Man must be left to the direction of his own Conscience herein All that I am about to prove then is this That they who are able ought according to their Ability to do good if they have an opportunity while they live This will appear from the consideration of the Circumstances they are in and the relation they bear to the supreme Lord of all the World For who made them to differ from others or what have they which they have not received The Earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof the richest of Men are only Stewards and Trustees under him The many Talents they possess and all the special and eminent Blessings they enjoy above others are derived from the Fountain of his all-sufficient and overflowing Goodness Therefore they must be employ'd according to his Will and agreeably to those great and noble ends for which they were originally granted such as are the Glory of God and the assistance of their Fellow-Creatures And whether at all or how far they have improved the Advantages here afforded them will be strictly enquired into at the great Day of Retribution Then they must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ then the Almighty's Book of Remembrance will be opened all Men will be called to give an account of their Stewardship and will be rewarded or punished according to their Works They will not then be judged by their bare Intentions or conditional Resolutions which through their own fault never took effect neither will it be enquired what good they have remotely designed but what they have actually done when they were alive and had an opportunity of doing it The time of Life is the only proper season for exercising those Talents they are intrusted with The living the living they may praise God and honour him with their substance but in Death who remembers the Poor or how can a Man be charitable in the Grave Unless therefore Men of Ability will be content to be reckoned among the negligent or unfaithful Stewards either among such as hide their Talents and make no use at all of them or among such as abuse them to the dishonour of their Master they must search out for at least lay hold of every opportunity of improving them while they live I know such as get all that they can and keep all that they can get may say at the last gasp That tho' they have done no good in their Life time yet they have all along resolv'd it and according to these Resolutions their Charity will commence after their Death To this I answer first That Resolution is in its own nature an imperfect Act and therefore can signify nothing without Performance and Consummation unless it be where a sudden Death or some unforeseen irremoveable Impediment has hindred it So that this Resolution will prove an Argument against themselves for if they were not convinc'd of the absolute necessity of doing good why did they ever resolve it and if they were certainly they cannot imagine meerly to resolve it will be sufficient Secondly As for their Charity commencing after their death I dare not encourage any one to depend upon it who might as conveniently have employed it himself I am sure our blessed Saviour frequently presseth his Disciples to work while it is day i. e. while they live because the Night of Death cometh when no man can work And from that most solemn description of the last Judgment wherein he peculiarly recommends to us all the acts of Compassion and Mercy I find no mention made of resolving to clothe the Naked to feed the Hungry to visit the Sick and the like nor any great grounds to hope that a Death-bed Charity which might as well have been setled in the Life of the Donour will be accepted by him Nay rather upon an attentive and indifferent view of that account of the Process of the last Judgment we may conclude that to him that hath an opportunity of doing good while he lives and doth it not to him it will be sin I would not here be mistaken and therefore I must a little farther explain my self which I cannot better do than in the words of a late Author in his Practical Discourse concerning Death It is the good saith he we do while we live that shall be rewarded and therefore we must take care to do good while we live It is well when Men who do no good while they live will remember to do some good when they dye But if God should accept such Presents as these yet it will make great abatements in the Account that they kept their Riches themselves as long as they could and would part with nothing to God till they could keep it no longer The case is different as to those who did all the good they could while they lived and when they saw they could live no longer took care to do good after death Such surviving Charities as these prolong our Lives and add daily to our Account when such Men are removed into the other World they are doing good in this World still they have a stock a going below the increase and improvements of which will follow them into the other World Blessed are the dead which thus dye in the Lord. I come now in the 3. Third place to speak of the peculiar excellency and usefulness of those charitable Settlements which are design'd to promote and
upon themselves for the remainder of their Lives Righteous and Merciful Men are the peculiar Favourites of Heaven and by a secret and undiscerned Providence all things are made to work together for their good Lose thy mony saith the Son of Syrach for thy brother and thy friend and let it not rust under a stone to be lost Lay up thy treasure according to the commandments of the most High and it shall bring thee more profit than gold Shut up alms in thy store-houses and it shall deliver thee from all affliction It shall fight for thee against thy enemies better than a mighty shield and strong spear Ecclus. 29. As for what the poor Miser objects That Charity is wholly inconsistent with our temporal Interest and that by doing good to others we shall in a short time impoverish our selves and our Families 't is spoken with as much ease and as little reason as other Calumnies are by Men who dare speak any thing but what is true and do any thing but what is good The Royal Psalmist was a Man of Years and Experience when he declared That he had never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread And his Son Solomon so justly celebrated for his Wisdom observed that there was that made himself rich and yet had nothing and there was that made himself poor and yet had great riches And again that there was that scattered and yet increased and there was that with-held more than was meet and it tended to poverty That the liberal soul was made fat and he that watered was watered also himself Our Heavenly Father who is the Fountain and onely dispenser of all Plenty and from whom alone every good gift cometh is always able and does many times reward the liberal Man with temporal Blessings improving every Alms which he gives like the Oyl in the poor Widow's Cruse which was so far from failing that it increased in spending and grew more by being consumed I own this is not universally true the charitable Man does not always meet with a proportionable recompence in this World But then it should be farther considered that when it pleases God otherwise to order things and to fail him in his returns here he has for his security the Promise of him who is Truth it self with whom is no variableness or shadow of turning that he shall be amply rewarded at Resurrection of the Just. And besides all this if we should farther suppose that God for the tryal of his Patience or out of very faithfulness should cause him to be troubled If he should suffer by any common Calamity if any fatal Change any sudden extraordinary Revolution of State should reach him among others in a word if poverty should overtake him like an armed man yet he has this apparent advantage over the unmerciful Worldling that the good deeds which he has done will recommend him to the liberality of others and the light afflictions which he here indures will procure him a far more exceeding and an eternal weight of glory 2 Cor. 4.17 6. And lastly It ought to be considered by Men of Ability that the Reflection upon what good they have done in their Life will afford them great comfort and satisfaction when they come to dye This is as important a Consideration as can well be for the thoughts of this great Change do naturally affright and disturb the Soul which never stands in more need of comfort than at the time of its separation The best Men when they are laid on the Bed of Sickness feel some disorder within some doubts arising concerning their Salvation they are perplexed and divided between Hope and Fear Nature and Grace Now the most effectual way of removing these disquietudes and of procuring rest for our Souls at the hour of Death is to reflect upon what good we have done in the healthful and vigorous part of our Lives Alms are a lasting foundation and a sure Pledge of Peace and Tranquillity and good Works which are done out of an unfeign'd Faith in Jesus Christ will deliver from Death and contribute very much to the covering a multitude of sins I do not remember saith St. Jerom that I have read that ever any charitable Person dyed an evil Death for having the Holy Spirit for his Comforter a good Conscience for his Testimony and CHRIST for his Advocate he can with cheerfulness commit his Soul to God as to a faithful Creator 'T is a mighty ease and refreshment to him to remember that he has clothed the Naked fed the Hungry entertain'd the Stranger and visited those that were sick and in Prison and to consider withal that whatsoever kindness or mercy he has shew'd to his necessitous Neighbour will be as well accepted by Christ as if it had been immediately done unto himself If amidst these joyful composing Reflections the great Enemy and Accuser of Mankind should raise any distrustful thoughts in his Heart he can presently fly for refuge to the Father of Mercies who knows and pities his Infirmities and who will the rather deliver him because he observes his Confidence is ballanced with Reverence Humility and Godly Fear As for cruel uncharitable Men it is not so with them at the approach of Death when the terrors of the Lord set themselves in aray against them fearfulness and trembling comes upon them and an horrible dread overwhelms them they are like the troubled sea which cannot rest The sensual Delights which they heretofore so eagerly pursued can now entertain or divert them no more neither will their Treasures of Wickedness profit them in this day of wrath They may look for some to have pity on them but they will find none none that can redeem their Souls or make an Agreement with God for them They are left perfectly as Men without Hope which is certainly the most miserable condition they can be in on this side Hell They remember that they many times stopped their ears and turned their faces from the poor and needy and therefore they conclude that the face of the Lord will be turned away from them and as they shewed no mercy so they are under a certain fearful looking for of judgment without mercy The bitterness of their Souls makes them long for Death and yet the sence of approaching Vengeance makes them afraid to dye I shall conclude this Consideration with the words of the truly pious Bishop Taylor Certain it is saith he God cannot will not never did reject a charitable Person in his greatest needs and most passionate Prayers For God himself is Love and every degree of Charity that dwells in us is the participation of the Divine Nature and therefore when upon our Death-bed a cloud covers our Head and we are enwrapped with sorrow when we feel the weight of a sickness and do not feel the refreshing Visitations of God's Loving-kindness when we have many things to trouble us
be manag'd by others after their Death 3. It shews they firmly trust in and more entirely rely upon the good Providence of God 4. It may conduce very much to the raising of their Affections from things below and placing them on things above 5. By settling what they design for charitable Uses while they live they will in all probability derive a Blessing upon themselves for the remainder of their Lives 6. And lastly The Reflection upon what good they have done will afford them great comfort and satisfaction when they come to dye 1. In the first place it should be considered by Men of Ability that it is utterly uncertain whether what they leave to the disposal of others be ever settled according to their original design and intent For a Man's Will may be stifled or perverted it may be the interest of some that it never see light of others that it be interpreted quite contrary to the intention of the Testator A Son does not always inherit the Vertues of his Father and those generous Principles whereby the one was governed are many times found to have little or no influence on the other If this should be the case if the Son's eye should be evil because his Father's is good we must expect to see him instead of fulfilling his Will making a thousand trifling scruples against it Either he will except to some particular Clauses of it or by objecting the contradiction and inconsistency of its parts he will at one stroke attempt to invalidate and overthrow the whole Like the unfaithful Disciple he reckons all wasted that is set aside for God's Service and thinks his Father's giving any thing to the Church or Poor is a direct robbing of his own Children or Relations and consequently a sufficient Arguent that he was not in his right Mind If the trust and execution be lodged in extraneous hands which have no such immediate relation to the Testator they also may be careless and negligent ignorant and unskilful Men that don't love or don 't understand business they may disagree among themselves or have private ends of their own to promote These are no impertinent impossible or maliciously contrived suppositions as appears from the frequency of Commissions for charitable Uses and the many Years distance between the Death of some Donours and the compleat settlement of their Benefactions After all Admit that none of these things should happen but that the Executors out of a sence of their Duty should resolve to use their utmost diligence in order to the settling every thing as it was design'd yet the Charity it self may be such as cannot be so employ'd When it comes to be put in practice it may be found contrary to some Constitution of the Realm or it may be inconsistent with the Customes or Priviledges of the Body or Society for which it was originally intended There may be several other impediments which while the Charity was only in Theory or design could not be foreseen or prevented The Civil Law indeed in such cases directs very well that when what is given for any special or determinate Use cannot be so applied it may be dispos'd of otherwise as shall be thought most necessary for the publick good I think our Laws likewise make some such provision nevertheless it is still most advisable for Men of Ability to fix what they design for Charity in their Life time For by this means if one way be observed unlikely to take effect they may immediately resolve upon another They may review their Settlement when it is made they may add to it they may correct alter or explain what they please in it and at last leave it entirely to their own satisfaction It is to my purpose and therefore I must by no means forget to observe here what unexpected hindrances that Honourable Person who has already been a great Benefactor to this place has met with which though they have created him much trouble and uneasiness yet I have all imaginable assurance that his Heart is still fixed and ready and I do not question but his more diffusive Charity will in a short time be firmly settled in Oxford which he has long since designed as a completion of his other good Works so beneficial to and by the care of his worthy Trustees and skilful Masters so successfully carry'd on in this County 2. The second Consideration I would propose to Men of Ability is this That it is a greater Argument of a free and liberal Heart to dispose of what they intend for charitable Uses while they live than to leave it to be manag'd by others after their death 'T is certain that God has a peculiar regard to the thoughts and intents of their Hearts and 't is no less certain that that onely will be accepted and rewarded by him which they dispose of not grudgingly or of necessity but with a free and ready Mind for God loveth a cheerful giver 2 Cor. 9.7 Now those who seek and embrace every opportunity of employing what they design for charitable Uses while they live do abundantly evidence this readiness and cheerfulness in giving Whereas such as leave their Charity to be distributed by others after their Death which they might conveniently dispose of themselves whilst alive seem to have a certain secret reserve that the World shall never be the better for what they possess so long as they can reap any benefit from it themselves and by resolving to give part of their Substance when they dye they do in effect resolve to give nothing while they live As therefore we pass not the best Complement and consequently lay no very great Obligation upon our Friends by offering them what we cannot any longer keep or make use of So in the esteem of all indifferent Men there is little generosity in him who adjourns his Charity as Sinners commonly do their Repentance not to a more convenient season for the present will be always equally inconvenient but to the very utmost extent of Nature and at last goes naked out of this World meerly because he can't carry his Mammon of unrighteousness away with him Such a Man's Charity if I may so call it is somewhat like that improper kind of Donation which the Roman Law calls Donatio mortis causa Whereby he that gave any thing did it only conditionally propter mortis suspicionem in case he should dye in his Journey in Battel or of the Disease under which he then laboured He had rather indeed the Person to whom he thus gave any thing should have it than his Heir but he still secur'd the propriety to himself so long as he lived and it many times happen'd that he lived long enough to repent of and revoke his Donation Just so it is here A Man's Will tho' never so solemnly made is during his Life-time provided the use of his Reason be continued to him changeable and ambulatory So that he who gives any thing