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A66986
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A sermon preach'd May 23. 1700. at Feckenham in Worcester-shire before the trustees appointed by Sir Thomas Cookes Bart. to manage his charity given to that place. By Benj. Woodroffe D.D. Canon of Ch. Ch. and principal of Glocester-Hall in Oxford.
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Woodroffe, Benjamin, 1638-1711.
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1700
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Wing W3470; ESTC R221216
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30,188
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the worst of slaves and yet in love with his bondage He 's every moment in danger of shipwrack and yet he will be putting abroad the sails which are bearing him to the sands and rocks on which he must split This therefore our first Vse to shame the rich in this world for being thus high-minded and trusting in uncertain riches Our second is USE II. For advice how he may make these certain Our Lord hath directed it Luke 12. 33. sell that ye have and give Alms provide your selves baggs which wax not old a Treasure in the Heaven that faileth not where no thief approacheth nor moth corrupteth Now this will take in both our second and third general both the duty here laid down viz. of doing good and being rich in good works being ready to distribute willing to communicate and the encouragement to it in the glorious reward that attends it as 't is laying up in store for our selves a good foundation against the time to come that we may lay hold on eternal life Thou art at last convinced of the uncertainty of thy riches pray God thou art so 't is thy interest thy eternal interest to make something sure and thou hast how to do it Intrust him out of whose hand none can snatch it Intrust the poor who are his receivers 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 says the good Father why seekest thou thy fellow-servants which whom do deposit it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Christ stands ready to receive and secure all thy stores He will not only secure but increase thy stock and add to it his own riches riches that cannot be uncertain even eternal life and glory Thou art afraid thy security is not good lend then to the Lord by having pity on the poor this is done and what thou shalt give he will pay it thee again Thou wantest a good foundation against the time to come afflictions sickness death and judgment too will be upon thee Thou would'st fain be safe against all events Thou hast it in thy own power to be so for so it is written Blessed is he Ps 41. 1. that considereth the poor the Lord will deliver him in the time of v. 2. trouble the Lord will preserve him and keep him alive the Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing Thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness so you had it in the Psalm this morning Thou art afraid thou shalt one day want Cast thy bread upon the waters 't is the best the most fortunate adventure thou canst make thou shalt find it after many days give a portion Eccles â—â— 1. to seven and also to eight for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the Earth Knowest thou not what evil shall be upon the Earth therefore says the worldling provide for the evil day and so too says the divine answer but provide by laying up in a different bank lay up those treasures in Heaven which thou canst not secure on Earth Take it in the words of Gregory Nazianzene 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 give a portion to thy own Soul let that reap the benefit of thy pious bounty 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 give a portion to God himself to his honour and service 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 take away some-thing from thy luxurious belly consecrate it to the Spirit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 snatch it out of the fire 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 set aside a little from those flames which are appointed to carry away all at last 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 snatch it out of the power of the Tyrant 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 trust it to thy Lord and Master who best knows how to improve it for thee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thou would'st build thee beautiful and great houses I forbid it not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but build them not on earth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 build thee Tabernacles in Heaven 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Tabernacles which will never be dissolved 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 why art thou so madly set upon things that are flitting and must stay behind thee here They are St. Chrysostom's words Ad pop Antioch Homil. 2. p. 36 37. Thou art afraid and that 's a time to come worth storing up a good Foundation for it thou art afraid what will become of thee when gone hence when thy riches and every thing else here shall have left thee when as 't is Prov. 23. 5. they shall make to themselves wings and fly away as an eagle towards heaven and what should'st thou do but fly after them let thy affections as the Apostle advises be set on things above and thou hast made the flight Colos 3. 3. imploy thy wealth on what leads thither every Alms given to the poor if given with an heart devoted to him whose the poor are is offered up there 't is the advice of him who is gone before to prepare mansions for us and best knew what would gain us a safe admission you have it Luke 16. 9. make to your selves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness that when you fail they may receive you into everlasting habitations I have but one word more and that is what the Apostle hath given us in his excellent description of charity 1 Cor. 13. 4 5 6 7 8. a description which ought to make us in love with the Duty for is it to be good is it to be happy that we are ambitious of and what can more amply set out either for to say of any person He is one who suffereth long One who is kind One who hath no envy in him One who vaunteth not himself is not puffed up hath no pride One who doth not behave himself unseemly seeketh not his own is not easily provoked thinketh no evil One who rejoyceth not in iniquity but rejoyceth in the Truth One who beareth all things believeth all things hopeth all things endureth all things can neither do nor think ill One who never faileth Is all this at all times i. e. is never out of humour is always contented is still doing good and can neither receive nor feel any evil and what is there you can say that is greater what more advantageous to human nature Now all this is Charity 't is the Grace that sanctifies every condition here the Grace that makes every condition happy the Grace that must because it self is not only the pledge and earnest but the full consummation of all rational pleasure turn all into Glory To which He who is all Love and Charity bring us through Jesus Christ our Lord to whom with Himself and the holy Spirit be praise honour and glory now and for ever Amen FINIS
communicate Now doing good will extend as far as there is any thing that can be the object of our Charity and that being the Body and Soul of those to whom we owe this it will reach to all the outward and inward temporal or spiritual wants of our Brother To the former will belong the feeding the hungry the cloathing the naked the taking in the stranger the visiting the sick and imprison'd the ransoming the captive the relieving the opprest c. To the later the comforting the sorrowful the assisting the weak the reforming the vitious the instructing or advising the ignorant the imparting to them the knowledge of God and his ways the teaching them the Principles of Religion praying for all men and studying the good of their immortal Souls and as far as God shall enable what of this we cannot do by our selves to do it by others by providing fit means and persons to carry on these charities that so neither the Body nor Soul of our Brother may be left naked or hungry none of his wants may be left unprovided for Now this we cannot be too intent upon this is that wealth in the pursuit whereof we cannot be too covetuous cannot too much set our heart upon it for as to the frequency of such actions the rule is we must be rich in good works as to the sincerity and constancy of our affections ingaged therein we must be ready to distribute willing to communicate And that as the best proof we can give of our trusting in the living God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy For by this we make it appear that as we look upon Him as the fountain of all so to this fountain we desire all the stream's should again return By this we make it appear that 't is to his power his goodness his wisdom his Justice his faithfulness and truth we commit all for to be the living God is all this It being the same thing to be the fountain of life and of all other perfections whatsoever This is all I shall say as to the extent and manner of acquitting our selves in this Duty as it 1. reaches all the wants of our Brother and 2. requires the sincerity and constancy of our affections and 3. is the best proof of our trusting in the living God to which for the farther illustration of its excellency I might add 4. the perfection of the Rule we have for it which is no less than the whole Law and Gospel the summ of both being Love and Charity with 5. the perfection of the great example of this excellent Grace which is God Himself for He 1 John 4. 8. is Love all the works of Creation and Redemption are but one display of his beneficence Our Lord Jesus Christ too our great Redeemer he is all Love 't was that brought him down from Heaven that carried him through all he did and suffer'd for us here below and that now employs him as our Advocate and Intercessor at the right hand of the Majesty on high Nor is the holy Ghost any thing but the Spirit of Love Gal. 5. 22. 't is Love that he sheds abroad in our hearts and by Rom. 5. 5. what alone the highest honour certainly as well as the highest happiness of the Creature we can be made perfect even as our Math. 5. 48. Father which is in heaven is perfect But these are too large topicks to be enter'd on at present what therefore we must content our selves with is what was observ'd from the third part of the Text viz. III. The encouragement to this Duty in the certain reward that will attend it expressed in those words Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come that they may lay hold on eternal life The Foundation is the chief strength and support of every building the more firm and durable that is the more firm and durable will be whatever is superstructed on it This our Lord hath most aptly set out in his Parable of the wise man building his house upon a rock and the rain descended and the flouds Math. â— 24. 25 came and the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell not for it was founded on a rock Now no rock so sure as that of Charity the rains may descend the flouds come the winds blow and beat upon the house that is thus founded sickness afflictions persecutions tryals temptations death judgement are these rains these flouds these winds but it will not cannot fall It hath the word of God which must stand for ever to uphold it for so 't is written you heard it in one of the Chapters read this day * The Chapters read were Is 32. for the first lesson Math. 25. for the second the liberal deviseth liberal things and by liberal things shall he stand Is 32. 8. again blessed is he that considereth the poor the Lord will deliver him in the time of trouble the Lord will preserve him and keep him alive the Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness Psal 41. 1. 2. and Math. 10. 29. 30. There is no man that hath left house or brethren or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for my sake and the Gospel's 't is only exalted Charity can lead us to such high degrees of self-denyal but he shall receive an hundred fold nâ—w in this time houses and brethren and sisters and mother and children and lands with persecutions and in the world to come eternal life Would we have this still more expresly take it then in that account there is given of the manner of proceedings to be at the day of judgement according as men shall have done good been rich in good works ready to distribute willing to communicate for so we read Math. 25. 34. 35 36. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand come ye blessed of my father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world for I was an hungred and you gave me meat I was thirsty and ye gave me drink I was a stranger and ye took me in naked and ye cloathed me I was sick and ye visited me I was in prison and ye came unto me And what now will encourage to the duty if not the having whatever of Charity we do to others accepted of Christ as done to himself what so crown all as when by every the least Alms we shall do for his sake we shall be intitled to his kingdom But besides that it is written and they are the promises of him with whom is no variableness or shadow of turning so in reason it cannot be otherwise For can we if I may so speak ingage the living God for 't is to him we lend what we give to Prov. 19. 17. the poor 't is for his sake we yield up our present possession in the works