Selected quad for the lemma: law_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
law_n	common_a	court_n	equity_n	4,332	5	10.6896	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A40092	A sermon preached before the Right Honourable the Lord Maior of London, and the Court of Aldermen, &c. on Wednesday in Easter week, in the Church of St. Andrew Holborn being one of the anniversary spittal sermons / by Edward Fowler.	Fowler, Edward, 1632-1714.	1688 (1688)	Wing F1719; ESTC R10667	20,353	37

them should their Practices be narrowly lookt into if they be not found guilty of such gross Injustice as will render them obnoxious to the Laws of the Land yet they may be discerned to make no scruple of many such sly Tricks as will speak them no less Vnjust than Vncharitable in the Court of Heaven nay and also in any impartial Court of Equity That common Saying Such a one is a very just but an hard man is founded upon making mere humane Laws the Measure of Justice but a man may be a great Villain and yet be as honest as he can be made to be by the Laws of his Country And I say 't is many to one but that those Misers who most be-pride themselves in their being just and honest in their Dealings will be found to have much too good an Opinion of themselves were their Actions measured by either the Laws of the Gospel or of Natural Equity even such as are to be seen in Tully's Offices and many other Writings of the Pagans But however 3. Men are Unjust in being Uncharitable For the Uncharitable are alwaies transgressing that Rule of Justice given by our Saviour and which is as much a Maxim of the Law of Nature as of the Christian Religion viz. What you would that men should do unto you do you even the same to them There is no man let him be never so insensible of the Miseries of others who would not should himself fall into needy Circumstances complain of it as a great Cruelty to be denied Relief by those who have power to help him And therefore 't is the plainest Case that men as often transgress this Golden Rule as they refuse to close with Opportunities of being Charitable Again every Uncharitable Person is as such Unjust in that the Poor and Necessitous have a Right and Title to their Charity God hath by many Laws given them a clearer Title to our Charity than any man can shew for his Estate And therefore in denying it to them we withhold a plain Due and What is this but as plain Injustice These things considered What can be more evident than that those do put the grossest Cheat upon their own Souls and are befooling themselves into Eternal Misery let them be never so great Professors of Christianity and never so observant of its easie and cheap Duties who hope to be Saved upon such accounts while there is no prevailing with them by all the Arguments that Almighty GOD hath laid before them though they are the greatest imaginable to employ any considerable proportion of their Mammon of Vnrighteousness in Works of Charity Before I proceed farther I would briefly speak to this Question What Rules should we go by what Measures should we take to satisfie our selves that we are truly Charitable and therefore have a right to the Promises made to such 1. In answer hereto let us take notice that GOD expects our spending more or less in Works of Charity according to the Estates he hath blest us with If the H. Scriptures had been silent as they are not about this matter we may be certain from the Equity of the Divine Nature that according to our Circumstances and Abilities God looks for more or less from us If there be a willing mind it is accepted according to what a man hath and not according to what he hath not Which words the Apostle spake in reference to Charity And mens Estates and therefore their Abilities for doing good are to be measured not only by their incomes but also by their necessary layings out And consequently he who hath a Family to maintain is far from being obliged to give as much as he who hath no body to take Care of but himself though the Lands or Stocks of both are equal And according as a mans Family is greater or less more or less of his Estate is to go to Charity This is too plain to need proving 2. GOD expects more or less of our Charity according to the Opportunities His Providence presents us with of being charitable As we have opportunity saith the Apostle let us do good unto all men c. The more or greater the Objects of Charity are that we hear of within our reach the more Liberal are we bound to be 3. We ought to be much less cautious of offending on the Right than on the Left hand in our Charity He is like to be but a Sorry Creature at Charity who is resolved to do no more good than he needs must In an highly important Affair the Extreme of Over-doing is far more safe than that of Vnderdoing The Overdoer in a good Work supposing his Excess proceeds from a good Principle shall have his Charity rewarded and his Imprudence pardoned but the Wilful Vnderdoer must neither look for a Reward nor without Repentance that is Reformation a Pardon And whosoever is an Vnderdoer from too great inadvertency and a too-little Concern about the Duty of Charity hath no Title to any greater Promise than this He that soweth sparingly shall reap sparingly And as with respect to our selves the offending on the Right hand is by much the safer Extreme so is it also with respect to others There is more good in giving to one Needy Person than there is evil in giving to twenty Counterfeits For as being liberal to these proceeds from a better Cause than doth the with-holding from the really Necessitous so 't is more Eligible that some should have more than enough of our Charity than that any should want bread And the Extreme of being too charitable of which fault I doubt but few are guilty is better for the World in general which I need not stand to shew than the other Extreme In short Most I am sure do exceed in their Expences upon something or other but he who does so on Objects of Charity of all Exceeders exceeds the most safely That Saying Too good is stark naught needs some Wit and Pains to make it a true Proverb But 4. Though we should rather chuse offending on the Extreme of Charity yet we ought to manage our selves with such Prudence as so to give at one time that we may give at another and hold on in giving 5. This is the best general Rule I am able to prescribe Viz. That we never refuse to part with our Money to Charitable Uses from the love of Money It is not to be particularly and exactly stated how much it is each Persons Duty to give Circumstances in this Case to be considered being infinitely various But if this Rule be carefully observed and we keep alive and cherish in our Breasts the true Christian Principles of Charity which I need not again repeat though 't is possible we may not alwaies be so very prudent in our Charity as is desirable yet we need not fear but we shall so govern our selves in this weighty point as to be accepted of GOD and rewarded by him as Charitable