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A96106 A plea for almes delivered in a sermon at the spital, before a solemn assembly of the city, on Tuesday in Easter week, April. 13. 1658. / By Thomas Watson Minister of Stephens Walbrook. Lond. Watson, Thomas, d. 1686. 1658 (1658) Wing W1137; Thomason E2125_1; ESTC R230810 21,949 77

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given to Christs poor is hoarded up in heaven That is a blessed kinde of giving which though it makes the purse lighter it makes the Crown heavier Whatever Almes you distribute 1. You shall have good security Prov. 19. 17. He that gives to the poor lends to the Lord and that which he hath given will he pay him again * There is Gods counter-band to save you harmlesse which is better security than any publick faith yet here is our Unbelief and Atheisme we will not take Gods Bond we commonly put our deeds of mercy among our desperate debts 2. You shall be paid with over-plus For a wedge of gold which you have parted with you shall have a weight of glory For a Cup of cold water you shall have Rivers of pleasure which runne at Gods right hand for evermore The Interest comes to infinitely more than the Principal Pliny writes of a Countrey in Affrica where the people for every bushel of seed they sow receive an hundred and fifty fold encrease For every penny you drop into Christs Treasury you shall receive above a thousand fold encrease Your after-crop of glory will be so great that though you are still reaping you will never be able to inne the whole harvest Let this perswade rich men to honour the Lord with their substance Before I conclude let me lay down some rules briefly concerning your Charity that it may be the sacrifice of a sweet-smelling savour to God Rule 1 1. Your Charity must be free Deut. 15. 10. Thou shalt give and thy heart shall not be grieved c. that is thou shalt not be troubled at parting with thy money he that gives grievingly gives grudgingly Charity must flow like spring water * The heart must be the spring the hand the pipe the poor the cistern God loves a chearful giver be not like the Crab which hath all the verjuyce squeez'd and pressed out You must not give to the poor as if you were delivering your purse on the high-way Charity without Alacrity is rather a fine than an offering 't is rather doing of pennance than giving of Almes Charity must be like the myrrhe which drops from the Tree without cutting or forcing * Rule 2 2. We must give that which is our own Isaiah 58. 7. To deal thy bread to the hungry It must be de tuo pane The word for almes in the Syriack signifies justice to shew that Almes must be of that which is justly gotten The Scripture puts them together Micah 6. 8. To do justice to love mercy we must not make ex rapina holocaustum a sacrifice of sacriledge Isaiah 61. 8. For I the Lord love judgment I hate robbery for burnt-offering He that shall build an Hospital with goods ill-gotten displayes the Ensigne of his Pride and sets up the Monument of his shame Rule 3 3. Do all in Christ and for Christ 1. Do all in Christ Labour that your persons may be in Christ We are accepted in him Ephesians 1. 6. Origen Chrysostome and Peter Martyr affirme that the best workes not springing from a root of faith are lost The Pelagians thought to have posed Austin with that question whether it was sinne in the Heathen to clothe the naked Austin answered rightly the doing of good is not in it self simply evil but proceeding of infidelity it becomes evil * Titus 1. 15. To them that are unbelieving is nothing pure That fruit is most sweet and genine which is brought forth in the Vine John 15. 4. Out of Christ all our Almes-deeds are but the fruit of the Wild-Olive * They are not good workes but dead works 2. Do all for Christ viz. For his sake that you may testifie your love to him love mellowes and ripens our Almes-deeds it makes them a precious perfume to God * As Mary did out of love bring her oyntments and sweet spices to anoint Christs dead body so out of love to Christ bring your oyntments and anoint his living body his Saints and Members Rule 4 Works of mercy are to be done in humility Away with ostentation the Worme breeds in the fairest fruit the Moth in the finest Cloth Pride will be creepint into our best things beware of this dead fly in the Box of ointment When Moses face did shine he put a vaile over it so while your light shines before men and they see your good workes cover your selves with the vaile of humility As the silk-worme while she weaves her curious works hides her self within the silke and is not seen so we should hide our selves from Pride and Vain-glory 'T was the sinne of the Pharisees while they were distributing Almes * they did buccina canere blow the Trumpet Mat. 6. 2. They did not give their Almes but sell them for applause A proud man casts his bread upon the waters as the Fisherman casts his angle upon the waters he angles for vain glory I have read of one Cosmus Medices a Rich Citizen of Florence that he confessed to a near friend of his he built so many magnificent Structures and spent so mu●h on Scholars and Libraries not for any love to Learning but to raise up to himselfe the Trophyes of Fame and Renown An humble soul denies himself yea even annihilates himself he thinks how little it is he can do for God * and if he could do more it were but a due debt therefore lookes upon all his workes as if he had done nothing * The Saints are brought in at the last day ●as disowning their workes of Charity Matthew 25. 37. Lord when saw we thee an hungred and fed thee or thirsty and gave thee drink A good Christian doth not onely empty his hand of Almes but empties his heart of pride while he raiseth the poore out of the dust he qaies himselfe in the dust * Workes of mercy must be like the Cassia which is a sweet spice but growes low Rule 5 5. Dispose your Almes prudentially * 'T is said of the merciful man he orders his affairs with discretion Psalme 112. 5. There is a great deale of wisdome in distinguishing between them that have sinned themselves into poverty and who by the hand of God are brought into poverty Discretion in the Distribution of Almes consists in two things 1. In finding out a fit object 2. In taking the fit season 1. In finding out a fit object and that comes under a double notion 1. Give to those who are in most need * Raise the hedge where it is lowest feed the Lamp which is going out 2. Give to those who may probably be most serviceable Though we bestow cost and dressing upon a weak plant yet not upon a dead plant Breed up such as may help to build the house of Israel Ruth 4. 11. That may be pillars in Church and State not Caterpillars making your Charity to blush 2. Discretion in giving Almes is in taking the
promise our selves alwayes Halcyon dayes God knowes how soon any of us may change our pasture The Cup which now runnes over with wine may be filled with the waters of Marah Ruth 1. 21. I went out full and the Lord hath brought me home again empty How many have we seen like Bajazet and Bellizarius invested with great Lordships and Possessions who have on a sudden brought their Mannor to a Morsel Irus erit subito qui modo Croesus erat So that 't is wisdome in this sense to consider the poor remember how soon the scene may alter we may be put in the poors dresse and if adversity come it will rejoyce us to think that while we had an estate we did lay it out upon Christs indigent members This is the first thing in Charity a judicious consideration 2. A tender Commiseration Isa. 58. 10. If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry bounty begins in pity * The Hebrew word for mercy {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} signifies bowels Christ first had compassion on the multitude then he wrought a miracle to feed them Mat. 15. 32. Charity which wants compassion is bruitish The bruit Creatures can releeve us many wayes but cannot pity us 'T is a kind of Cruelty saith Quintilian to feed one in want and not to sympathize with him True Religion begets tendernesse * as it melts the heart in tears of contrition towards God so in bowels of compassion towards others Isa. 11. 16. My bowels shall sound as an harp Let me allude when your bowels of pity sound then your Almes make sweet Musick in the eares of God 3. Charity consists in a liberal Contribution Deut. 15. 8. If there be a poor man within thy gates thou shalt open thy hand wide unto him The Hebrew word in the Text {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} to disperse signifies a largenesse of bounty * it must be like water that overflowes the banks Non tenuitur erogandum pauxillum aliquid If God hath enrich'd you with estates and made his Candle as Job saith to shine upon your Tabernacle you must not incircle and engrosse all to your selves but be as the Moon which having received its light from the Sun lets it shine to the world The Antients as Bazil and Lorinus observe * made oyle to be the Embleme of Charity The golden oyle of your mercy must like Aarons oyle runne down upon the poor which are the lower skirts of the garment This liberal disbursement to the necessities of others God commands Grace compels Reas. 1 1. God commands There is an expresse Statute-Law Levit. 25. 35. If thy brother be waxen poor and fallen in decay with thee then thou shalt releeve him The Hebrew word is {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} Thou shalt strengthen him put under him a a silver crutch when he is falling 'T is worth our observation what great care God took of the poor besides what was given privately God made many Lawes for the publick and visible relief of the poor Exod. 23. 11. The seaventh year thou shall let the land rest and lye still that the poor of thy people may eat c. Gods intention in this Law was that the poor should be liberally provided for * They might freely eat of any thing which did grow of it self this seaventh year whether of herbs vines or Olive-trees If it be asked how the poor could live onely on these fruits there being as it is probable no Corne growing then For answer Cajetan is of opinion they lived by selling these fruits and so converting them into money lived upon the price of the fruits There is another Law made Leviticus 19. 9. And when ye reap the harvest of your land thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest See how God indulged the poor some Corners of the field were for the poors sake to be left uncut and when the owners did reap they must not go too near the earth with their sickle the vulgar latine reads it non tondebis usque ad solum Thou shalt not shear to the very ground Something like an after-crop must be left The shorter eares of Corne and such as did lie bending to the ground were to be reserved for the poor saith Tostatus And God made another Law in favour of the poor Deut. 14. 28 29. At the end of three yeares thou shalt bring forth the Tythe of thy encrease the same year and thou shalt lay it up in thy gates and the Levite and the fatherlesse and the Widow which are within thy gates shall come and shall eat and be satisfied The Hebrewes write that every third year besides the first tyth given to Levi which was call'd the perpetual tyth Numbers 18. 21. the Jewes did set apart another tyth of their encrease for the use of the Widdows and Orphans and that was call'd the tyth of the poor Sol. Jarchi Besides at the Jewes Solemn Festivals the poor were to have a share Deut. 16. 11. And as relieving the necessitous was commanded under the Law so it stands in force under the Gospel 1 Tim. 16. 17 8. Charge them that be rich in this world that they {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} do good that they be rich in good works c. 'T is not onely a counsel but a charge and the non-attendency to it runnes men into a Gospel-premunire Thus we have seen the minde of God in this particular of Charity Let all good Christians comment upon it in their practise What benefit is there of gold while it is imbowell'd and lock'd up in the Mine And what is it the better to have a great estate if it be so hoarded and cloister'd up as never to see the light Reas. 2 2. As God commands so grace compels to works of mercy and benificence 2 Cor. 14. The love of Christ constrains Grace comes with Majesty upon the heart 'T is not in sermone but virtute Grace doth not lie as a sleepy habit in the soul but will put forth it selfe in vigorous and glorious actings grace can no more be conceal'd than fire Like new wine it will have vent * grace doth not lie in the heart as a stone in the earth but as seed in the earth it will spring up into good works Use 1 Use 1. Inform It may serve to justifie the Church of England against the calumny of malevolent men Julian upbraided the Christians that they were Solifidians and the Church of Rome layes upon us this aspersion that we are against good workes Indeed we plead not for the merit of them * but we are for the use of them Titus 3. 14. Let ours also learne to maintain good works for necessary uses We preach they are needful both necessitate precepti and medij We read the Angels had wings and hands under their wings Ezek. 1.