God we have so long a seeds time our seeds time lasteth so long as life lasteth we have good ground so long as one poore man or woman liveth that feares God at least so long as we have the poore with us as we shall have alwaies so long we must be doing good unto them if our mercy must imitate Gods sure it must bee constant for so is his to us-ward indeed if wee give not constantly we give not out of a true habit of mercy for those acts that doe flow from habits will offer themselves upon every occasion and so you have the second rule for manner of giving 3. The last is wee must give in an upright and sincere manner that is to say not induced to it by sinister and corrupt motives and ends but by due and just motives and ends For the truth and sincerity of every action is taken from the inducement that leadeth unto it and the end at which the agent aimeth in it now the right and due motives to bounty must be love to God and man for Gods sake as Saint Paul telleth us that Charity is bountifull as also obedience to Gods commandements and faith in Gods promises these are the three most solid and powerfull motives to every good worke by which wee ought to bee swayed in the course of our lives and so to this good work in particular obedience faith love for so the Apostle tells you You know the grace fo our Lord Iesus Christ 2 Cor. 8.9 how that he being rich was made poore for us that we c. and saith Iohn 1 John 4.11 if God so loved us we ought also to love one another 1 John 3.16 and hereby perceive wee the love of God to us that he laid downe his life for us therefore wee ought to lay downe our lives much more to give a part of our goods for the brethren But there be certaine corrupt and evill motives and ends for those two termes note but the same thing in different respects which we should carefully remove from us The first is vaine-glory to be seene of men for then our Lord tells us we have received our reward this is hypocriticall pharisaicall guilefull a man serves sinne in it not God nor man though it may profit the receiver the givers soule shall be no whit advantaged by it these thoughts of gaining the praise and esteeme of men are to be thrust out of our mindes that they may not pollute our mercifull deeds Another end and motive there is worse then this and that is a conceit of satisfying for sin or deserving life eternall this is to make our deeds stand in steed of Christs obedience of his sufferings and righteousnesse this is to offer strange incense to God a thing deserving cutting off in the old law this is to over-value our deeds and under-value Gods Iustice and kingdome A suddaine oath or taunting terme or the like called veniall sinnes were not such offences to the divine Majesty if the giving of a groate or shilling to a poore man might propitiate for them heaven were an easie purchase and too cheape a penny-worth if a man might buy it by giving almes these fancies do so putrifie works of mercy that they become odious unto God because hee that doth them puts confidence in the flesh as Saint Paul cals it and therfore causeth his almes to be but a worke of the flesh which kinde of worke cannot please God J have done with rules of mercy I goe to the next point and will give you some meanes of helping you to be mercifull That a man may give Meanes to inable men to works of mercy he must have money to give and he must have an heart hee must have a will and he must have a gift too for hee that hath nothing cannot give though hee would hee that wants a heart cannot give because he will not both therefore are requisite and I will shew you what must be done for the getting of both and because the heart is the more needfull of the twaine as I suppose I will begin there hearken my beloved Brethren I will shew you how you must work your hearts to a mercifull liberality to that end you must doe these three things 1. You must seriously consider of those commandements promises and threats which are found in Gods Booke cooncerning this duty pressing them upon your selves get into thy closet search the Bible turne to the precepts to this duty and say is not mercy plainely often earnestly required and shall I dare to disobey so many evident and urgent precepts Why doe I come to Church if for fashion sake then I am an hypocrite if because God bids me doth not he that said heare the Word say give to the poore and if conscience binde me to the one doth it not binde me to the other say to thy selfe shall I dare to live in the manifest breach of so many cleere commandements as doe enjoyne giving to the poore I must not I will not I dare not if I doe I shall give the divell so great advantage in the day of conflict that I shall never bee able to escape grievous terrours for he that keepes all the commandements and breaks one will be found a transgressor of all and little will it availe me to have seemed religious if I be not mercifull so the like in regard of promises and threats urge them and presse them upon your selves till you have even compelled your unwilling will to resolve to interest your selves into so many promises and to shunne the danger of so many threats if we would thus hide the Word of God in our hearts it would worke J meane God by it would worke for it is his Ordinance even every grace in our hearts 2. But to meditation you must add prayer beseeching God to give you this so worthy a grace by which you shall be made so like unto himselfe that you may know your selves to be his children hereby saith our Saviour You shall bee knowne to bee my Disciples John 13.34 if ye love one another and hereby shall we be knowne to love if we pittie and releeve Hereby wee know wee are translated from death to life 1 Iohn 3.14 because we love the brethren and hereby we know that we love the brethren because our hearts and hands are open to them for love is bountifull O Lord say implant mercy in my heart O make me liberall of my money as thou wast of thy bloud O let me have an heart to give out of my purse to those for whom thou gavest thy selfe a ransome inlarge my heart with Christian charity and compassion that I may be ready to give willing to communicate Thou that tellest me thy selfe art pleased with such sacrifices O work in me that that is well pleasing in thy fight and let me be pleased to offer such sacrifices as thou art pleased to accept Thou gavest this grace
Ghost meaneth that that habit or vertue of Religion or worshipping God is in it selfe sincere and upright and to God acceptable and in his esteeme spotlesse and without blemish which produceth such mercifullnesse in the performer that it makes him voluntarily and of his owne accord helpfull to the distressed Saints Looke into the story of the rich man Luke 18.18 24. He was desirous to inherit eternall life He came to Christ to learne the way to life he knew the commandements He had diligently kept them in respect of outward carriage even from his youth being such a one as Paul in his Pharisaisme in respect of the Law unrebukeable yet lacked hee one things as our Saviour tels him that is to sell all and give to the poore and follow Christ and because hee went away sorrowfull and would not buy heaven at that rate our Saviour saith it is as possible for a Camell to goe through the eye of a needle as for a rich man He must needs meane such a rich man as this was that would not sell all and give to the poore at Christs speciall command to enter into Heaven Now Brethren he that will not at Christs ordinary commandement give away a little would not at his speciall commandement sell all and give it away therefore he cannot get into heaven and therefore if he professe Religion he doth but dally with it and play the hypocrite too in professing it Yet another proofe Mat. 25.41 to the end Those that called Christ Lord and so made a shew of Christian Religion are in this name bidden to take their portion with the divell and his angels in those eternall prepared flames for that they had not ministred to Christ in his necessities not meaning it of his personall necessities which they never lived to see but of his necessities in his members and those whom hee will cast from him at the last day were undoubtedly but hypocrites if they professed Religion and so shall they bee then intertained that are not liberall to the poore wherefore they be but dissemblers how godly soever they seeme Jam. 2.13 Iudgement without mercy shall bee to the mercilesse and hee to whom unmercifull judgement belongeth is but an hypocrite Pro. 21.13 He that turneth away his eare from the cry of the poore hee shall cry and not be heard and hee that shall not have his cry heard is but an hypocrite and Saint Iohn saith let us love in deed and truth shewing it by not shutting our bowels of compassion against our needy brethren when we have this worlds goods and then saith hereby know wee that we are of the truth and shall assure our hearts before him 1 Iohn 3.17 18 19. Whosoever professeth to beleeve in Christ and hath an open heart and hand to his penurious Brother and shewes himselfe to love by his deeds of mercy may by this know that hee is of the truth that is a true beleever He that hath no true charity no true faith no true obedience no true wisedome seeme hee never so religious is yet destitute of the power of Religion because these graces cannot be separated from true devotion to God and the right worshipping of Him must needs beget and increase the same Now there is no faith without workes of mercy Iam. 2.14 For what will it availe to say I have faith and have no workes hee meaneth specially of these workes of mercy though not onely will that faith save There is no love without workes of mercy and bounty to the poore For hee that hath this worlds goods and seeth his brother have need 1 Ioh. 3.17 and shuts up his bowels of compassion against him how dwelleth the love of God in him There is no true obedience without works of mercy for obedience is a walking in all the waies of God and doing all that he requireth of which this giving to the poore is one as plainely required as any other and more often then very many other There is no true wisdome without these workes of mercy for the wisedome that comes from above is pure and full of mercy and of good fruits So now it is more then undeniable that all shewes of piety are counterfeit where giving to the poore is wanting as a companion of them And yet one more reason shall confirme it and I have done with this point Reas 5 Whosoever seemeth religious and is under the power of covetousnesse is surely but a dissembler for it is a thorny ground that is choked with the deceifullnesse of the riches of this world Now hee that giveth not to the poore is possessed and overcome of covetousnesse because the love of money keeps him from following the directions of Gods word in the using of it and so he loveth money more then God more then his poore brother more then the rewards of God and more then heaven it selfe and therefore hee is but thorny ground an arrant hypocrite and so will Christ account him and censure him at last Wherefore my Brethren you cannot but acknowledge the necessity of this good work without it all your religion is in vaine as you have heard it proved undeniably So have I done with the first point the next is Doct. 2 Bounty is the best meanes of proventing povertie I say to the poore this particular kinde of bounty is the certainest way to escape penurie nothing can more effectually deliver a man from need then to be liberall to them that are in need In due order and manner I shall strive to make this Paradoxe good for nothing seemes to the miser more absurd then this that his giving away his goods will cause him to lacke nothing But looke what our Saviour saith Luke 12.33 where commanding to sell and give almes hee bids make bagges that waxes not old If any thing will secure from need it is to have full bagges safely laid up and you see that this almes-giving is providing a man full bags for it were in vaine to bid make bags if his meaning were not that they shal be filled He that soweth liberally shall reape liberally 1 Cor. 9.6 Doe you not see that giving is nothing else but sowing and there is never an husbandman amongst you but knowes that sowing is the way to be rich and to keepe away necessity He that hath much and good land to sow and seed to sow it and doth sow it he if any man hopeth to escape wants if therefore Saint Paul may be beleeved giving liberally will make a man rich Eecles 11.2 therefore Salomon having bidden give to seven and to eight adds the reason for thou knowest not what evill shall bee on the earth as if he had said that this is the best way to be secured against all hard chances that may befall There is that scattereth and yet increaseth Prov. 11.24 25. Loe this scattering brings no losse but gaine to the scatterer the liberall soule shall be made fat
saith Mat. 25 40. In that you have done it to any one of these you have done it to me yet so that wee must remember the commandement of Saint Paul that wisheth to doe good to all and he treateth particularly of doing this kinde of good All whom God not their idlenesse makes poore must be releeved but chiefely the godly poore so you have two rules 3. A third concernes the gift it selfe in respect of the quantity and quality of it First for the quality of it it must bee our owne every man must sit under his owne vine and fig-tree and therfore must give away no figs nor grapes but his owne Iustice must be joyned with bounty Iustice must gather together and mercy must spread abroad the Prophet bids doe justice and love mercy but to give away another mans goods is to commit theft which no bestowing of the thing stollen can possibly excuse he that hopeth to make amends for his wrongfull getting by bestowing suppoe it were the whole much lesse some part of the whole is abhominable to God for he goes about as I may say to bribe God and to make him a partner in the spoyle therefore Saint Paul wisheth a man not to steale but to worke with ones hands the thing that is good that he may have to give to him that needeth we must resolve to be rightly interessed into that which we communicate to others you see for giving is transferring the givers right to the receiver of free will now how is it possible that he should passe any right from himselfe to another which never had it in himselfe wherefore an unjust man makes himselfe utterly uncapable of giving almes till hee have purged his goods and separated that which was his owne from that that is not his own by a due just practise of the work of restitution Now for quantity Saint Paul determines it saying that the same may be as a matter of bounty 2 Cor. 9.5 and in the same Chapter but this know Ver. 6. that hee that soweth liberally shall reape liberally and that it may be liberall it must be fitted to two things first the necessity of the receiver secondly the ability of the giver so the Lord commandeth in the law as before Thou shalt give him sufficient for his need in that he wanteth and S. Paul saith That your abundance may be a supply for their want and their abundance for your want that there may be an equality and after the ministration of this service supplieth the necessity of the Saints Ver. 12. this is one thing that must limit the gift the other is the ability of the giver as Saint Peter saith Let him that ministreth doe it as of the ability which God hath given and the Disciples purposed as they were able to send reliefe to the brethren in Iudea onely we must take heed that we do not streighten our selves in our owne conceits and make our selves beleeve our ability is lesse then it is this is to give sparingly but we must follow the Thessalonians who were forward according to their ability and rather beyond it though one man cannot supply the wants of all yet each must open his hand so that all together may bring things to such an equality that he that gathered little may have no lacke as Saint Paul saith yea if the time be hard and great need lie upon the brethren then we must practise our Lords advice Luke 12.33 and sell and give almes as we reade that the beleevers did in the beginning of the Gospell at Ierusalem Acts 2.45 4.34 who sold their possessions and laid the money at the Apostles feet and distribution was made as every one had need and so it came to passe that none of them wanted The praise of giving in this kinde is that it be a liberall gift as S. Paul calleth it with blessings and not sparingly an abundant gift is with blessings with blessings to God from the receiver and blessings from God to the giver therefore covetousnesse must not measure out the gift but it must be riches of liberality A more particular rule for the quantity of giving I cannot name and if our hearts be upright this is sufficient and the Lord in not appointing for every man a more particular quantity doth but trie the naturallnesse of our love as Saint Paul speaketh Now for the manner of giving it must be given cheerefully freely willingly and of a ready minde as Saint Paul tells us 2 Cor. 9.7 That God loves a cheerefull giver and saith if there be first a willing mind a man is accepted which have begun not to doe alone 2 Cor. 8. 10 11 12. but to be forward or willing A forwardnesse willingnesse and promptnesse of the minde is required by the Apostle as waters come out of the fountaine as light commeth from the Sunne what good things are done out of an habit of vertue must be and will be done gladly the soule contents it selfe in them and doth them with delight and alacrity this willingnesse is a proofe that we count it no losse so to give but a gaine that we doe it as a man that soweth Corne which rejoyceth to have the opportunity of sowing because he knoweth the end shall be advantage the worke will recompence it selfe then is it the naturallnesse of love for what things operate according to their owne nature they doe it freely as a stone goes easily downeward but upward it goes by force and compulsion what is wrested out by importunity and earnestnesse as a thing compelled can scarce be called a gift and this is the first rule for the manner of giving 2. The second is you must give constantly to seven and also to eight as Salomon saith even so often as the necessities of the Saints require for the Apostle saith distributing to the necessities of the Saints he doth not say distribute but distributing using the participle which noteth a continued act of distribution so saith Saint Paul of the Philippians Phil 4.16 You sent once and againe to my necessity a well head or a spring runnes with a constant streame and will not bee drie so should mercifull deeds flow from us how else doe we abound in this grace he that gives but seldome abounds not in giving no more then hee that seldome prayes and heares abounds in praying or hearing 2 Cor. 9.11 being inriched in all things to all bountie which causeth through us thankes-giving to God and that you having alwaies all-sufficiencie in all things Ver. 8. may abound in every good worke this abundance cannot be without a constant streame in giving Saint Paul treateth chiefly of workes of mercy when he bids us not to be weary of well-doing We must not wax weary of giving no more then men doe of sowing so long as seed time lasteth so long will there be casting in seed every day is our seeds time blessed be