Reason for this shall be because it is a Duty God requires of us Deut. 4.10 wherein he not only enjoyns it but promises to be himself an Instrument an Agent in the furtherance of it I will cause them to hear my words saith he that they may learn to fear me all the days they live on the earth and that they may teach their Children This is what the Apostle so often inculcates in all his Epistles as in that to the Col. 3.16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you plenteously in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another and in the 1 Thess 5.11 Exhort one another and edify one another even as you do So Heb. 3.13 Exhort one another daily while it is called to day and again Rom. 14.19 Let us follow those things which concern peace and wherewith one may edify another St. Peter 1 Ep. 2.5 compares the Faithful to a Spiritual House whereof we are the Living Stones which if not cemented together by Christian Charity will soon turn into a ruinous heap Every Man must bring something to the building up or repairing this House and altho' the Pastors of the Church are the Principal Builders under our great Master Christ yet must we all in general and every one in particular contribute our utmost endeavours not only by private Reproof and Admonition by Exhortation and Counsel but especially by our own good Examples to reform what is amiss and not suffer Sin to reign in our Brethren So that every Man in some sence is what Cain denied to be to Abel his Brother's keeper Gen. 4.9 And as God has placed within every one of us a Conscience as well to chide us when we have done evil as to check our Jehu-like march when we would run into Sin so has he given to each of us a Friend or a Brother without that should as the Angel did by Lot Gen. 19.16 call upon us and lead us nay enforce us out of Sodom out of the danger into which Sin would hurry us And he that doth truly and faithfully discharge this duty to his Brother doth the highest and most transcendent act of Charity in the World for he saves a Soul that was likely to perish and instrumentally redeems his Brother from the jaws of Hell and the power of Satan and not only so but receives likewise infinite advantage to himself by the performance of this Duty For besides his reward with God and the comfort in his own Bosom he engages his Friend to a return of Gratitude and Justice and so begets the truest Friendship and the most indissoluble tye of Amity that can be between Man and Man So that he that performs this Duty as he ought treasures up to himself three of the most inestimable Jewels in the World First A good Conscience within 2 dly A true Friend without 3 dly The favour of that God who hath enjoyned it who for our Reward shall make us to shine as the Stars for Wisdom in this lower Firmament Dan. 12.3 and for transcendency of Glory in that which is above reason II Secondly Let us practice this doing of good to our Brethren because we cannot express our Love unto God or our Thankfulness for those Blessings we receive from him better than by improving them to the enlargement of his Glory in the Conversion of others Simon thou Son of Jonah lovest thou me then feed my sheep saith our Saviour Joh. 21.15.16,17 Which words he repeats no less than three times Thrice he urges him to the same Confession saith St. Chrysostom and thrice he conjures him by that Confession to the same Duty to shew that as there is nothing wherein Christ is more joyed than in the welfare of his Church so there is no better way for us to demonstrate our Affections unto him than by all holy means to endeavour the Salvation of each other By this shall all men know that ye are my Disciples if ye have love one for another Joh. 13.35 reason III And thus in the Third place as it is the best demonstration we can make of our Love to God so is it likewise of our Love to our Neighbour The greatest Love that we read of among Men is that of a Father to his Son and therefore is the Love of God himself often shadowed out by that Love As a Father pitieth his own Children so the Lord pitieth them that fear him Psalm 103.13 Now how doth a Father express his Love to his Son Surely not so much by Feeding and Cloathing him This is the least part of the Duty incumbent on Parents and more properly belongs to the Mother than the Father 'T is the Mother's Duty to cherish and bring him up but the Eather's to educate and instruct him faith the great Philosopher in his Oeconomicks The Love of the Father is most seen in the well modelling of his Son's Manners which is a thing of wonderful importance and for the most part of Immortal consequence for what we sow in the Spring we reap in the Harvest The Spring of a Man's Life is his Childhood and what impressions are then made be they good or bad those we generally carry with us to our Graves and what we carry thither remains on the Tally of Eternity The first Token of the Father's Love to his Son is seen in the care he takes of his Education that the first impressions that are made on him be the fear of God and the love of Goodness and afterwards as his Faculties grow more strong and vigorous he goes on to season them with the Principles of Religion the Precepts of Morality and the Dictates of Wisdom and Prudence And to this end he sometimes Counsels and Advises him what is to be embraced and what avoided what is necessary for his well-being and what superfluous what is just and honest and what is not Sometimes he comforts and encourages him against the Difficulties that may dishearten him and when he finds him neglective of his Duty he changes his Countenance toward him and first admonishes then rebukes then threatens him and if none of these will prevail he adds Verbis Verbera to words of reproof stripes of Correction and all these are but the Expressions of his Fatherly Affection an Affection as infinitely surmounting that of giving Food and Raiment as the incorruptible Soul doth the perishing Body Thus the highest Expressions of our Love and the purest works of Christian Charity are those which have for their Object the Spiritual welfare of our Brother's Soul To Instruct the Ignorant to bind up the broken-hearted to reduce those that are out of the way to support those that are weak â—o restore with meekness those that are fallen to admonish reprove convince and as much as lies in us to restrain those that are wilful and obstinate this is the proper Language and the most perfect Demonstration of Divine Love Non amatur Servus aut Filius cùm non
corripitur saith St. August Think not that thou canst love thy Servant and not correct him thy Son and not chastise him or thy Neighbour and not reprove him Non est ista Charitas sed languor this is not Charity but fondness and stupidity Fervet Charitas ad emendandum ad corrigendum perfect Charity burns with an holy Zeal and will not be satisfied till it hath wrought that Character and Impression of Grace and Goodness in others which it hath received in it self reason IV Fourthly and lastly We cannot imitate our heavenly Father in any thing more than in endeavouring the Spiritual Good of others without which Man is so unlike the Image wherein he was made that he is but little better than a Beast preying only to satisfie his own appetite whereas Homo homini Deus a good Man is a God among Men For as every Creature derives its Being from that inexhaustible Fountain of Goodness that is in God 〈◊〉 the whole Universe is partaker of the Charitable Mans communicated Goodness This is it Charity I say it is that gives Life and Being to all other Graces and Virtues which without this are not so properly Graces as Blemishes and Deformities not so truly Virtues as Vanity and Emptiness Honour Riches Beauty Wisdom Knowledge if not season'd with this Salt do but putrefy and lose their savour Hast thou all Faith so that thou canst remove Mountains and hast not Charity thou art nothing 1 Cor. 13.2 Couldst thou comprehend in thy Memory the whole Book of God and understand all the Mysteries thereof couldst thou speak all Tongues and unriddle every Prophecy yet if thou enjoyest those Gifts to thy self only If thou hidest these Talents in the Earth or puttest this Light of thine under a Bushel Mat. 25.25 Luke 11.33 what is the World the better for thee what account canst thou give of these Graces to him who hath intrusted thee with them True Love is never idle wheresoever it is it is working so that when once the Holy Spirit of God hath made this impression on our Hearts there doth naturally and necessarily succeed an indefatigable endeavour to propagate that Goodness in others which God hath imprinted on our selves and therefore let us beseech God that he would Engrave the Characters of this Divine Love on our Hearts That we may every one of us as we have received the Gift minister the same one to another as good Stewards of the manifold Grace of God So much for that sence of the words as they signisie the improvement of God's Gifts and Graces in us to the spiritual Benefit and Edification of others I come now to the other sence of them namely That of Communicating the good things of this Life wherewith God has supplied us to the Releif and Support of those from whom he hath either withheld or withdrawn them that we would in this respect according as every man hath received the Gift that is his Portion of God's Bounteous Liberality minister the same that is impart and dispence of our Substance toward others that are in want as good Stewards as becometh faithful Stewards who are intrusted with God's various Mercies and Blessings to the same end of the manifold Grace of God that is of his Liberality in divers kinds particularly of the Wealth he has committed to them as Stewards to distribute to them that stand in need of it saith the Learned Dr. Hammond in his Note on the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in that Place And here we may observe how that God in the Allwise Dispensations of his Providence has order'd it so that we should never want Objects to exercise our Charity upon some being Born in such Circumstances as daily to need the Assistance and Releif of others some being reduced by the sudden violence of Fire Water Storms Tempests Thunder Lightning Rapine and other surprizing Accidents from a plentiful Condition to extreme Want and Poverty from being able to assist others to stand in need of that assistance themselves Some by the cruel Tyranny of Merciless Men to be driven from under their own Vines and their own Fig-trees to seek Shelter and Support in Foreign Countries and that too for the sake of God and his holy Religion chusing rather to endure and undergo the greatest Hardships than to make Shipwrack of their Faith and a good Conscience 1 Tim. 1.19 which is the Case of those who are this day recommended to your Charity who if Suffering for Righteousness sake can claim any Title to our Pity and Compassion and certainly we must disclaim our own Title and Interest in Christ if it does not may challenge as great a measure of our Commiseration as ever any Object did they being such as have kept their Faith intire and undefiled ever since their first embracing the Gospel and that is longer than can be said of any other Nation or People in the Christian World and rather than they will now pollute themselves with Romish Idolatry and Superstition suffer not only the spoiling of their Goods Heb. 10.34 but even the being Exterminated and Banished from their Native Soil Enduring a great fight of afflictions wandring in Deserts and Dens and Caves of the Earth Heb. 10,32 11,38 herein coming not behind the first Professors of Christianity who were dispersed and scattered abroad upon the Persecution that arose about Stephen Act. 11.19 On the mentioning of which let me propound to you the example of that First Age of Christians how ready the Churches of Philippi Thessalonica and Corinth were to relieve the Necessities of their Poor Brethren that were in Judea Of which we find St. Paul giving a large account in the 8 th and 9 th Chapters of his 2d Ep. to the Cor. How that even under a great tryal of afflictions when they were in great Distress and Poverty themselves they abounded in a chearful Liberality toward them and even beyond what their Circumstances would allow them to do they were willing of their own accords without being so much as called upon to make large Collections for their Supply that they did I say without being solicited voluntarily contribute what they were able nay and more than they could well spare to their power saith St. Paul yea and beyond their power they were willing of themselves 2 Cor. 8.3 And that ye may all here present abound in this Grace also v. 7. I need use no other nor can give you better Encouragement than the Apostle gives his Corinthians on that occasion encouragement I First From the Example of Christ For ye know saith he the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that tho' he was rich yet for your sakes he became poor that ye thro' his poverty might be rich v. 9. As if he should have said To the performance of this Duty ye can want no Motives when ye consider the Example of Christ in his Dealings towards us his Liberality and Bounty