besides the day of expiation their Oblations or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that were constantly paid to the Priests and their long and frequent journeys to Jerusalem and their offerings there for their sins and trespasses for their first born and of their first fruits besides their payments for the service of the Tabernacle their other offerings and Emergent expences which the law required not to speak of their lex agraria and the other precepts which prescinded the opportunities of becoming greatly rich were things of great charge and which did yearly expend a great proportion of their Estates And I fear that our love to the world is so great and our devotion so small that we should have been very uneasie under such a service and perhaps have gone as unwillingly to Gods Temple as the Beast we should have sacrificed would have gone to have been slain at the Altar But now since God requires nothing more of us but to do justly and to love mercy and walk humbly before God we ought out of gratitude to shew kindness to one another 3. For Spiritual Mercies and the great care God hath taken of our souls These loudly call upon us to do good to the Poor Hath not God given his Son to Die that we might Live Hath he not Blessed us with the Revelation of his will And hath he not given an assurance of the aid of his Divine Spirit Hath he not given us the means of Grace and the hope of Glory Hath he not lengthned out to us the time and space of Repentance when there are many placed amongst the Dead and Damned Does he not still follow us with Importunities and Beseechings that we would turn and live Does he not wooe and beseech us to be Happy Does he not do it though he need us not and will be nevertheless happy though we are miserable Oh that Men would retire a little and be alone and well consider and ponder upon these things Let us but think how deplorably miserable we were if God had not thus provided for us Let us but suppose our selves bereft of the means of Grace and of all hope of Glory who could express the horror of such a Condition as should deprive us of these Benefits No Tongue could express no Heart conceive the greatness of such a Misery Shall we then think much after we have received so much Mercy from God to do good to an Enemy to do good to a poor Man to help a Widdow or a Fatherless Child Shall our eye be evil when our Lords hath been so good Shall we spare our Purse when God hath not spared his Son Shall we shut up our Bowels against our Brother after such great pity shewen us from God Methinks such love of God should thaw and unlock the most frozen heart Methinks it should enter into hearts of stone And methinks no Breast should be so impregnable as not to surrender to such a Force and Power We must needs yield and say What shall we render to the Lord for all his Mercies And think it a poor acknowledgment of our Thankfulness to bestow our Goods upon the Poor Fourthly we are bound to help the Poor and to do good to the Needy because we shall be Judged hereafter according to the good we do here A great Truth this is however we Dispute or distinguish our selves out of our Duty We are witty and crafty to find a Cheap way to Heaven to contrive a Faith that shall save our Souls and our Estates also A Faith that shall Justifie our Persons whether it cleanse our Hearts or no. VVe are careful of giving God too much and though we profess a great esteem for our Religion yet we take care that it keep its distance and Usurp not over our Temporal Concerns We are so much against Merits that we suspect good works also We Divide between God and the World God shall have good Words some faint intentions a few cold Prayers but an hearty Love an unwearied diligence and vigorous Endeavours we reserve for the World VVell so it is we are crafty and we flatter our selves but our craft will but Ruine us VVe shall find it a great Truth that he who shews no Mercy shall Receive none Let us not deceive our selves the time draws on apace when we shall give a severe Account of our Time and our Abilities our Estates and Opportunities in a word of all our Lords Money that we have received And much shall be Required of them that have Received much VVe shall not onely give Account how we get but how we use our Estates And not onely the Oppressor and unjust Steward but the Unprofitable Servant shall be shut out of the Kingdom of Heaven VVe are told how the Sentence will run hereafter Depart ye Cursed not because ye Oppressed the Poor and grieved the VVidow but because I was hungred and ye gave me no Meat I was thirsty and ye gave me no Drink c. 'T is Mercy makes way and leads us to the greatest Mercy Come ye Blessed of my Father c. not because ye did Miracles or Suffered Martyrdom or Lived a single Life or used Severities to your Bodies not because you went on Pilgrimages and Visited Shrines and Holy Reliques but I was an hungry and ye gave me Meat c. Mat. 25. Fifthly Shewing Mercy to one another is more pleasing to God than other services which were not onely of his own Appointment but had also a particular reference and Relation to Him To do good and Communicate forget not for with such Sacrifices God is well pleased Now God may be said to be well pleased with our doing good with this Sacrifice of Mercy 1. In Opposition to the Bloody and Legal Sacrifices that were prescribed by the Law of Moses They were Sacrifices properly so called and of Gods appointment They were Homages and Acknowledgments of the Divine Sovereignty and such as were in Use both before the Law and before the Flood among Gods People and among the Heathen These did God Command and bear witness to with Fire from Heaven and therefore with these Sacrifices God was pleased But yet was more pleased with Mercy than Sacrifice even then when Bloody Sacrifices were Commanded This pleased him better than the Fat and Blood that was presented at his Altar God did not delight in Burnt-Offerings nor Calves of a Year old not in Thousands of Rams nor in ten thousand Rivers of Oyl not in the Fruit of our Body for the sin of our soul but Required of his worshippers that they should do justly and love Mercy c. Mic. 6.6 7 8. The unmerciful Man was always unwelcome to Gods Altar he frowned upon Cain whatever his Oblation was who did not Love his Brother Acts of Mercy and Kindness he always smelt a sweet savour in For bloody Sacrifices they were never welcom alone or for their own sake nor were they always to continue VVhen the Lamb of God was Offered
nihil est Our Life is but a Parenthesis an heap of Cyphers that amounts to no summe or sense if we onely Live and do no good God does not give us Riches to hoord up we are not Proprietors but Stewards They are entrusted to us to dispense and they have a Charge upon them They are ours Cum suo onere with the charge and burden that lyes upon them God gave them that we might distribute them and if we do it not we are unjust Riches are called unrighteous Mammon and as they are unrighteous when they are unjustly gotten so they are when they are unjustly detained And in that sence those words are understood Luk. 16.12 Secondly This is the way to become like God and like our Blessed Saviour We can do nothing more safe in it self nor that is more for our own advantage and our brothers than to imitate him whom we worship And certainly it was truly said that speaking the Truth and doing Good makes us like God And we are commanded to be followers of Him as dear Children Eph. 5.1 Now God is good and does good and by doing good we become like him Our Saviour uses this Topick when he perswades his followers to do good even to their enemies That they might be the Children of their father which is in heaven who maketh his Sun to rise upon the Evil and upon the Good Mat. 5.45 God feeds the hungry that never give him thanks cloaths the naked that do not praise him gives Health and Riches to the Atheist and unbeliever to them that love him not and desire not the knowledge of his wayes Quam multi indigni luce sunt et tamen dâ—â—s oâ—â—â—ur Sen. de Benef. l. 1. How many are there that deserve no light and yet he makes his Sun to arise upon them How many that deserve to live upon an Earth of Brass and under an Heaven as hard as Iron and yet he sends them the former and latter Rain And this will make us like our Blessed Saviour who went about doing good His very miracles were the effects of his Mercy as well as Power and spake him to be Good as well as Great They were works of kindness and benignity and did at once confirm his doctrine and rescue and relieve the afflicted and oppressed And though he might have confirmed his doctrine by miracles that should have wrought terror and astonishment yet he rather chose to work saving ones He taught the ignorant and by a miracle feeds the hungry restores the sick heals the infirm raises the dead and seeks and saves that which was lost He conversed with those that stood in need of his assistance We hear of him among Lepers or Lunaticks Blind or Bed-rid among the hungry or the sick affording his aid to those that needed it And after his many labours and travails his excellent speeches and works of Mercy at the last he prayes for his Enemies that hang him upon a Cross Father forgive them for they know not what they do And verily if we consider how very short our Saviours life was and that not much more than one tenth part of that remained when he entered upon his ministry and again remember the many works he did in that time besides the very many that are not recorded Joh. 20.31 that is how many he fed and Taught and Healed and Dispossessed and Raised and that in Sundry places distant from one another as we may truly say of our Saviour what the Book of Wisdom ch 4. v. 13. sayes of Enoch that He being made perfect in a short time fulfilled along time So certainly if we be the genuine disciples of so good a Lord his Example will teach us mercy and kindness to our Brother Thirdly We are bound to relieve our Brother as there is due from us a Tribute of Thankfulness to God for his mercies and that upon these following accounts 1. For giving and preserving to us any of the Comforts of this present life It was churlishness in Nabal to deny a morsel of bread to David and his servants who had been a wall about what he had by day and by night When our Neighbours house hath been thrown down by the flames the mercy of God hath kept ours standing When my Brothers vessel hath been split upon the rocks our Ships have come to shore safe and well laden When my friend grows poor by by me the blessing of God for nothing else could do it hath made me rich We have escaped those dangers which have swallowed up our friends and relatives Our children are living and well when the next door will lead us to a weeping Rachel that mourns for hers because they are not Others have no abiding place no peace no health or safety when we sit down quietly under our vine and fig-tree Do we owe nothing to Gods care for this VVho is it that hath made the difference Shall we not pay some tribute for so many mercies It will become us to look over our store and pay some tribute of praise Let us look back and we shall find that we have been preserved from robbers and pestilence from sword and famine And that also when many have fallen on our right and left hand VVe have been restored from a sick bed when we were within the prospect of death not to say of the terrors of Hell These things call upon us loudly to do good to our poor Brother when God has shewed so much mercy to us If we do it not we may justly expect that God should do by us as David intended to do by Nabal Quid ergo dubitas bene collocare id quod forsan tibi eripiet aut unum latrocinium aut existens repentè proscriptio aut hostilis aliqua direptio Lactant. l. 6. c. 12. that he should destroy us and ours For in this case our mercies are forfeited and they Escheat and we may expect God will seize and turn us out of possession God can soon send a fire among thy goods leave thee in the hands of Thieves and Murderers He can soon smite thy Child blast thy Corn destroy thy Cattel and render thee as naked as the world found thee if thou do not pay thy tribute of praise Fear not then to offer that to God which is so due to Him and so uncertain to thy self That which a fire may consume or thieves steal or moth corrupt and which the mercy of God alone preserves unto thee 2. For exempting and excusing us from the costly service the Jewes were obliged unto Their service was not only Carnal but Costly To say nothing of their several tithings which was far beyond the proportion of one in ten and their Sabbatical year Scalig. de Decimis when they neither sowed nor reaped nor claimed propriety Their Morning and Evening Sacrifices throughout the year besides the additionals upon sabbaths and new Moons and Festivals the Passeover Pentecost and feast of Tabernacles
up and the Temple fallen down they were to cease But neither the Death of Christ nor the Fall of a Temple shall put an end to these Spiritual Sacrifices Mr. Mede Book 1. Dist 49. This Christian Charity and Compassion is a Fire that must burn in our hearts for ever now the fire upon the Altar of Brass hath of so long a time been put out Among the several sorts of Oblations in the Law of Moses there was one sort which was not Typical nor was it to be done away by the Coming and death of the Messias and that was the Teruma For this was an Oblation whose very Nature did import Prayer or Thanksgiving By this Oblation Men acknowledged Gods goodness and Sovereignty and testified their acknowledgment by Offering unto God out of their substance their Tribures of Praise Now these things we are concerned in as much as the Jews ever were and shewing Mercy to our Brother is a Sacrifice of this Nature And 't is farther to be Observed that for this Terumah or Heave Offering it is never mentioned among those Sacrifices which the Messias was to do away when he should appear Of the Messiah the Prophet Daniel fore-tells that he should cause to cease the Sacrifice and Oblation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Dan. 9.27 that is all the Offerings of fire whatever whether bloody Sacrifices or Meat-Offerings The Apostle mentions Burnt-Offerings and Sacrifices for Sin Heb. 10.6 But then the Terumah or Oblation of Praise was not done away And to this purpose we have a saying among the Jewish Writers That every Corban or Sacrifice should cease but that the Sacrifice of Praise should never cease Buxtorf Lexic Rabbin in voce 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Now as the Poor are Gods Charge as they bear his Image and are his Receivers so we Offer up this Sacrifice of Praise when we Communicate to them and when we do it we Offer up a Sacrifice more pleasing to God than he that Offered up Thousands of Fatlings upon his Altar 2. In contradistinction to the other Spiritual Sacrifices which we are bound to Offer up to God He that Prays to God as he should and Meditates of Heavenly things he that Lauds and Magnifies the Name of God Offers up a Sacrifice which God is pleased with But then he that does good to his Brother he that helps the Poor Teaches the Ignorant Visits the Fatherless and Widow Offers up a Sacrifice with which God is well pleased also Ay better pleased than with our other Devotions to himself God delights to see us love one another This is more pleasing to Him than our long Prayers our deep Contemplation of Heavenly things our Hymns of Praise and Thanksgiving our Passionate and rapturous Meditations God is willing to stay for the Sacrifices we are to Offer unto him till we be first Reconciled to our Brother Our shewing Mercy to him is pure Religion and undefiled 'T is this we shall come principally into account for at the last day Mat. 5.23 24. James 1.27 Mat. 25. To what hath been said let me add that the work it self carries with it an Invitation When we do good to another we do a kindness to our selves we do Create our selves a new pleasure He that shews Mercy to a Man in his misery does a double kindness at once and 't is hard to say which is the greater one to his Brother and another to himself There is a Delight and Joy that Accompanies doing good there is a kind of sensuality in it As unmercifulness and Oppression are attended with horror so are mercy and kindness with Joy and Pleasure 'T is a blessed thing to give I may add that we all stand nearly related to one another Every other man is a part of our selves and partakes of that Nature which our Lord did not disdain to take upon him The poorest Man is our Brother and he is the Image of our God and the price of our Lords Blood The distance between us is not great and if we look up but ten Generations above the Flood we shall find that we are a Kin. Let no Man think himself unconcerned in the Poor they are his Relatives and when he provides for them he provides for his own The Jews give us several Reasons why at the beginning of the World one man alone was made from whom all others were to be derived Among the rest they tell us that it was because no Man should boast of his Parentage and Noble Blood beyond his Neighbour Lactant. l. 6. c. 10. Sanhedrin c. 4. m. 5. But sure I am it does sufficiently recommend Charity and Mercy as well as Humility We ought to be kind one to another as proceeding from the same stock God hath made us all of one Blood Acts 17.26 And this should teach us sincere kindness and hearty Love to one another There are a certain People in the World that call Men by the Phrase of the Moieties of others Needy Men they call Needy Moieties And so sure they are Mâ—â—â—â—â—gn's Essays l. 1. p. 106. They are so many pieces of Humane Nature one and the same Nature is shared out and divided amongst them The same Blood runs in all their Veins and the same breath is in the Nostrils of them all they came from the same Root and are of the same Family This should teach us the greatest kindness to one another He that is unmerciful to a man is so to his own Nature He that covers not the Naked hides himself from his own Flesh as the Prophet does express it Isa 58.7 Remember them that are in Bonds as bound with them and them which Suffer Adversity as being your selves also in the Body Heb. 13.3 In that we are in the Body we are partakers of the same Nature as weâ—â— as liable to the same miseries and Infirmities Again I may well suppose my Brothers Case my own for it hath been or it may be ours Cui vis potest accidere quod cuiquam potest Now in this case let us but do as we would be done by He that will not give takes it for granted that he shall never want For if he did but suppose he should himself want he would be glad both of pity and relief and therefore would think himself Obliged to shew it We cannot tell what may happen but we may well suppose that we shall not always be prosperous 'T will be well that we sometimes put the case to our selves that we were stript of all our Wealth and then we cannot sure but shew the Mercy that we would receive Besides all that hath been said the mercy and pity we shew will not be unrewarded If we give God hath said he will repay Prov. 19.17 VVhat we give will be at once a gift and a debt VVe may if we will when we give to the poor set down so much at such a time lent to God There is no money we lay out turns to
so good an account The good man that shews mercy will not fail to receive it God hath promised great mercy to the man that shews it That he shall be blessed and delivered and strengthened on the bed of languishing and be made fat Prov. 22.9 Ps 41.1 Prov. 11.25 we shall need mercy e're long 'T will be seasonable on a sick bed in a storm or tempest in this or in another life If we shew it we may hope to receive it 'T is the best way to make our Sickness tolerable and our Death easie 'T was the Observation of one of the Ancients That in all his Reading he did not remember to have met with any Charitable Man that ever dyed an ill Death It is the most likely way to mercy upon our selves and our Posterity 'T is an Advantage to be born of merciful and Charitable Parents I doubt not but the Children of such men fare the better for the mercy that their Fathers shewed I have been Young and now am Old yet have I not seen the Righteous forsaken nâ—r his Seed begging Bread He is ever Merciful and Lendeth and his Seed is Blessed Psal 37.25 26. I doubt not but many men now Living do fare the better for the Charity of their Ancestors God pays them in their Children and Posterity The recompence is conveyed by the hand of Heaven that is not Discerned and when the Bread hath been many days upon the Water it is found again and falls into the hands of those that succeed them that first cast it away And though the Children of such men may meet with straits yet I doubt not but that they are the special care of heaven We read a sad Complaint of a VVidow who cryed to Elisha Thy Servant my Husband says she is dead and thou knowest that thy Servant did fear the Lord and the Creditor is come to take away my two Sons to be Bond-men 2 Kings 4.1 whose VVidow this was Child Paraphras Kimchi R. Sâ—lâ—m in loâ—um the Text tells us not but the Jewish writers do They say she was the VVidow of Obadiah and we have no cause to doubt it The Time and Character agree well Thy Servant did fear the Lord says she Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly 1 Kings 18.3 See now the Charity of this good man rewarded in his VVidow and his Sons He had in a time of Famine fed an hundred Prophets with Bread and water 1 Kings 18.4 And now God multiplies her little Oyl and by a miracle preserves the good mans VVidow and Rescues her two Sons The very Heathen could tell us that the gods dealt indulgently with some men upon the Account of their Parents and Ancestors Sen de benef l. 4. c. 32. That some men came to a Crown upon the Account of a good man that was one of their Ancestors And perhaps it would be no hard matter to reckon up a great many examples to this purpose But that will not be needfull 'T is enough God hath said that he will repay the mercifull man The good man serves God for greater ends than these worldly things He is satisfied that he serves a good master when he serves God and 't will be to him all one when God makes his word good He gives perfect credit to God and 't will be well for him whether he meet with a reward or his children after him whether he meet with it in this life or in the next I adde That to shew mercy to the poor is the best use that riches can be put to VVere it not for this poverty hath several advantages above them It hath less of care of envy and makes us less obnoxious to an account hereafter 'T is use gives riches a colour that makes them weighty and valuable Argento nâ—llus â—â—lâ—â— est nâ—si splendeat usu and nothing gives them so great a price as that they give us the advantage of doing kindnesses This is that which the Apostle directs rich men to viz To do good to be rich in good works ready to distribute willing to communicate laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come that they may lay hold on eternal life 1 Tim. 6.18 19. I might after all this put you in mind of many great examples to provoke us to do good to the needy Surely the heathen world will rise in judgement against many titular Christians and will condemn them Though they had not those obligations upon them to bind them nor that light to guide them nor those promises to incourage them nor those motives to excite them that we have yet they went beyond many of us What would they not do and suffer for the generall good of their Commonwealth What hardships or death did they refuse Curtius and the Decij devoted themselves to destruction for the safety of their Countrey Quin. Fabius sold his farm to redeem the Captives of the Commonwealth The Roman Caesar reckoned the day lost in which he had not done a kindness Another of the Heathen Emperors thanks the Gods as his phrase is for two things that he never wanted relief from others and then Marc. Antonin l. 4. S. 14. that when he desired to relieve a poor man he never wanted means to do it Their Philosophy had taught them that which we have not learnt from the school of Christ And yet we do not want great examples among the ancient Christians They loved one another greatly insomuch that the Heathen world took great notice of it VVe read of some men that made themselves slaves for the good of others And Paulinus though a Bishop sold himself to be a captive to ransom a widows son Their Charity was so great that they did not onely give their estates but very readily exposed their lives also for the sake of their brethren But there is nothing like the example of our Blessed Saviour He became a Man that he might bring us to God He made himself poor and mean that we might be rich and exalted and that he might make way for our Bliss he submitted to a shamefull and painfull Death A miracle of love That hath all its dimensions and that passeth all understanding Methinks we of all men should be taught of God to love one another and God having loved us so greatly should need no motive to perswade us to love one another VVe enjoy great blessings and live in the hopes of life and immortality of joyes that eye does not see nor hath ear heard nor hath it entred into mens heart to conceive what it is VVell then let us put these things together and we shall find our selves constrained to shew mercy 'T is in it self a blessed work and will make us like God and our Saviour VVe shall do a kindness to our selves and profit our neighbour at once This course will ease our account hereafter and adorn our Religion here 'T is an excellent way to exchange
temporals for eternals It does our brother good and it pleaseth God It blesses our store and keeps the rest of the lump from Corrupting It brings down many blessings on our selves and estates and on our children If we shew no mercy now 't is because we dare not Trust God or we do not Love him VVe doubt his Truth or we question his Power And if we do are egregious hypocrites when we pretend to any faith in God or love to our neighbour Such a faith we may have as will save our Estates but will never save our Souls And in vain we pretend to love God when we refuse to relieve our brother I Shall conclude with the words of the Apostle Whoso hath this worlds goods and seeth his brother have need and shutteth 〈◊〉 his bowels of compassion from him how dwelleth the love of God iâ— him My little Children let us not love in Word neither in Tongue but in Deed and in Truth 1 John 3.17 18. Having premised these things and in that also complyed with your Request I shall now return to those severals which I propounded to speak to in the beginning of this Paper First I shall shew how a Man may so give Alms as they may turn to his own Account That is I shall lay before the good Man some Rules of giving Alms that may secure the Duty and make him certain of the Blessing And they are these that follow 1. He must do it deliberately and in cold Blood That is he must take care that it be his own Act as much as may be Hence it is that we many times lose our Reward because the good we do was not premeditated and designed it was not the Issue and Result of our purpose We are fermented into a Charitable paroxism or heat by the Example of another upon some sudden surprize to gratifie a present humour or some prevailing Passion Perhaps the Poor man surprises us and he does it in Company and then we think our Reputation concern'd and we give something or else he follows us with great Importunity Multi sunt quos liberales facit frontis infirmitas Sen. and we give to be rid of his Noise and purchase our Quiet with our Alms. And in these cases we give but did not intend we bestow but did not choose And though we may do good in the Event yet we Designed it not And whatever good we do to another we take not a course to do a kindness to our selves And Men sometimes do a kindness and Repent when they have done it But that God accepts which we do deliberately and of Choice ' That 's our Act which we design and purpose before hand For as that cannot be called Malice how mischevous soever which was not fore thought and intended no more can that be called Charity how profitable soever otherwise which was not Designed God looks at our purpose and accepts of that which we choose to do To this purpose are the Apostles words to be understood Donne ce qu'il aura resolu en luy même de donner vide French Traâ—â—â—atioâ— Printed at Mons. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Every Man according as he purposeth in his heart so let him give 2 Cor. 9.7 As he purposeth in his heart i. e. as he resolved in himself before so let him give as a late Translation hath it And surely 't is a great Commendation of their Charity of whom the Apoâ—â—le affirms that they had begun before not onely to do but also to be forward a year before 2 Cor. 8.10 To be forward we render it but the Greek signifies to be willing That is They had of themselves formed the Design the Year past even before they were spoken to To which sence the same Translation turns those words And that it is the Readiness of Will and purpose that God regards is evident from what follows v. 11 12. And the Apostle would have the good man lay by him in store what he intends to bestow in Alms 1 Cor. 16.2 And the very Heathen have Observed that many Men do bestow their Benefits rashly and without Judgment Quae beneficia aquè magna non sunt habenda atque ea quae judicio consideratè constanterque delata sunt Cicero de Offic l. 1. being hurried by an impetuous mind as by a strong Wind and he well Observes that those kindnesses and Benefits come short of those which are done with Judgment Consideration and Constancy So that 't is very advisable that we should before hand set apart so much for the Poor and then 't is ours no longer and we may bestow it to no other Use than that to which we have Designed it and after this it must be our care to bestow it as we see most needful 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theophyl in locum 2. The next Rule I would give is that he give speedily As we have Opportunity or whiles we have time let us do good Gal. 6.10 That is let us do it in our Life time and because our Life is short and uncertain also let us do it speedily Let us make our Eyes our Overseers and our Hands our Executors Tâ—â—â— good when we lye a dying is neither so Praise-worthy nor yet so safe Besides that he that was long before he did it was a great while before he was willing 'T is small Charity to bestow that which we can keep no longer and we run a peradventure in leaving that to others which we might see done our selves He takes the wisest course that takes the present time and he that does not give presently perhaps will never give at all Indeed our intention is rewardable but 't is so onely when it is sincere and the best Evidence of its sincerity is to do good to our Brother when 't is in the power of our hand And thus Solomon does Advise us to do Prov. 3.27 28. when we do what we can our good will is Accepted If we do not this we have cause to fear we use a subter-refuge The Apostle hath Ruled this case If there be first a willing mind it is accepted according to that a man hath and not according to that he hath not 2 Cor. 8.12 Our Intention is then accepted when we can go no further But he that can do it presently and yet delays does not do what he can and according to what he hath Our Time and with it our Opportunities of doing good is flying hastily from us and there is no wisdom or Operation in the Grave It hath been thought good Advice that the Jew gave his Scholar when he bid him Repent one day before he dyed and that because he did thereby require him to Repent presently because he could not tell but he might dye the next day What good we do let us do it quickly or else perhaps it will be too late How many men have we known prevented in their Charitable intentions We know not what a day
is taken from her and yet the whole burden lies upon her Her strengâ—â—â— less and yet her burden as great not to say greater than ever it was And it being thus she is a great Object of our Pity and Compassion and the care of her is devolved upon us by the All wise Providence of God And accordingly we find that the Christian Church did at its first Formation and beginning take care of the Widows Acts â— And St. Paul Commands us to Honour that is to assist and help the Widows that are Widows indeed 1 Tim. 5.3 And who they are he tells us v. 5. And we find that God declares himself greatly concerned for the Widows He stiles himself a Father of the Fatherless and a Judge of the Widows Psal 68 5. And promises that he will establish the Border of the Widow Prov. â—5 25 And God hath given great demonâ—â—â—ations of his care of them He Rescues the Widow of Obadiah and her Sons by a Miracle We Read of but three in the Old Testament that were raised from Death to Life and one of them was the Son of the Widow of Sarepta 1 Kings 17. Nor do we Read of any greater Number that our Saviour raised and one of them was a Widows Son of Naim Luke 7.12 12. They are the care of God and they ought to be ours I add that the Condition of Prisoners is very pitiable I mean those that are Imprisoned for small Debts or that are detained for want of Fees And there are many such who for want of a little Money are bereft of their Liberty which is so dear to us all And besides that they Live miserably in those places and are not onely rendred Useless Members of the Common wealth but are I fear too frequently Debauched in their manners in those places But what the Condition of these Men is and upon what small Accounts they are frequently detained there I need not in this place represent to you who have been the Happy Instrument of Delivering great Numbers of them from their Confinement I shall not need to say that the Redeeming of Slaves from their Captivity is another great act of Mercy For if a Prison at home be grievous what must it be to be in Slavery among Infidels and Unbelievers There are many other Objects of Compassion and ways of bestowing wealth to great and Noble purposes viz. The putting poor Children to School which I wish were the publick Care and Charge as much as the providing for their Bodily subsistance the encouraging hopeful Students that are forced out of want to leave the Schools of Learning too soon Buying provisions when they are cheap and Selling them out again without gain to the poor when they are dear c. But I must remember that I am confined and have not the Liberty to enlarge now perhaps I may hereafter have time to speak more largely of the several ways and honest arts of doing good in the world For there are more ways of doing good than Alms-giving And I am now limited to that Argument and must not trouble you with too long an Epistle 2. The Alms-giver that would with his Charity do the most good to the Poor will do well so to contrive his Alms that the Receiver may perceive he intends him a farther kindness My meaning is let every good Man aim at the good of his Brothers Soul in the Mercy he shews him This is the Noblest kindness of all Let the Poor Man discern that he that Relieves the Needs of his Body hath a greater Design upon him and that he aims at his Eternal welfare Our Saviour went about doing good And so it was that his works he did were such as did at once give Relief and Instruction And when he shewed Mercy to the Bodies he did at the same time shew another to the Souls of Men. His Miracles were Demonstrations not of his Power alone but of his Kindness also And that was not a single kindness neither but a double one VVhen he confirmed his Doctrine he healed the Sick and restored the Blind And as the Sick and Blind received a great Advantage in their Sight and Health so did the Souls of Men as he confirmed his Doctrine and by that means strengthned our Faith Our Saviours Relief and Instruction went together And as he fed the Multitude so he Taught them too When he Cured the Body of him that had been infirm thirty eight years he is also mindful of his Soul and bids him sin no more lest some worse thing overtake him Our Alms give us a great Advantage of doing good to Mens Souls For by them we may encourage Vertue and sincere Piety And then we do Effectually recommend it when we do Reward it And he that Receives a bounty will listen to our Instruction and Advice Our Liberality joyned with our Exhortations will render them more likely to prevail 'T is an incredible Force that Kindness hath it will prevail where all other ways are ineffectual And when this kindness is joyned with the Evidence of Truth we shall be most likely to prevail When Mercy and Truth meet thus together it may be hoped they may prevail upon the sinner to lead a New Life I have often thought that if he that Preaches to the Poor could plentifully Relieve them also he would not fail of great Success He must be a very Obdurate sinner that could stand out against the Evidence of Truth and the Force of Mercy and Compassion Truth it self hath a mighty Energy and Force and 't would alone prevail upon us if we would suffer it Exercere regnum suum to Rule over us But if we joyn Mercy with it 't will be greatly strengthned 'T were to be wished that all the Ministers of Religion were able to relieve the Needy They might by this means with Gods blessing render their Sermons and other Spiritual Advices more available They might with their Charity they shew their Bodies win upon their Souls and be Instruments of the Salvation of more of their People However they and all good Men must Design this in the Alms they do bestow VVe are Obliged to relieve the poor but especially the Houshold of Faith Gal. 6.10 And if they are to be first regarded 't will be great Charity to endeavour to increase that Number and by our Alms to encourage Godliness and Vertue And therefore when we give let our Alms serve the ends of Piety and real goodness let them advance as much as may be the good of Souls Let us give especially to those that are good to those that frequent the publick worship of God to those that are willing to submit to Instruction and to those especially that bring up their Children well Let us rise in our kindness as we discern them more diligent in Gods Service VVe may with our other Alms give good Books such as may serve to their Instruction and Devotion and enjoyn them to a constant
employ those that are able to work and 't is no charity to relieve those that will not It would be of great advantage to the community to find out a way to employ all that are able to work And as it would be no hard matter to do it in the city with the united charity of many so it would ease us of many begging people and prevent their growing numbers I shall onely adde to what I have said that it is advisable that he that gives do it seasonably we say he gives twice that gives quickly A seasonable releif prevents a greater charge 'T is much easier to prevent the fall of an house than to build it up when it is once down And thus Sir I have given you my thoughts how a good man may give to the best advantage to himself and to the greatest profit of the receiver But still there are very many will desire to be excused from giving Alms and that because they are not able And indeed if they are not they have a just excuse But there are too many pretend this because they are not willing and too many others who render themselves unable by their negligence and ill husbandry I shall therefore shew Thirdly How a good man may so order his affairs as to have something to bestow I make no question but that a provision might be raised for the poors releif and employment without hazarding mens estates or greatly impairing them which is the Infidel objection that worldly men have against works of mercy And how this may be done I am now to shew First by retrenching of superfluities There are very many that Trifie away those Summs yearly which if they were united would amount to a very great treasure big enough to employ and relieve great numbers of indigent We might save much which we spend intemperately we eat and drink not only largely but we do it with great Art and Cost That which we might spare would preserve the poor from hunger and from starving and we our selves would enjoy a greater health and have lesser accounts to give hereafter 'T is for our health to eat and drink sparingly Vnde bestias Emis hinc captos redime unde feras pascis hinc pauperes ale Lactant. l. 6. c. 12. and it may turn to the great advantage of the poor here and of our selves hereafter Again we spend much in our attire that might be saved without any loss to us and with great advantage to the poor What we spend in this vanity would serve to cloath many that want a Covering What we trifle away in Sports and Shows in Games and Wagers in unnecessary Beasts and supernumerarie Servants in Visits and Feastings in needless Journeys and avoidable Law-suits in pursuing our vain and ambitious Desires would serve to many and great purposes We might at as cheap a rate build Hospitals erect Work-houses found Schools maintain young Students endow small Vicarages in a word do Great and Noble works where now we trifle and spend our money for that which does not profit But besides that we spend much in this trifling manner we spend very much upon our sins and follies And they that have nothing for a poor widow or fatherless child that begs for the Lords sake have it for their lusts and follies They maintain their vices at great rates when they refuse to give a little to a charitable work How often do men contend at a Tavern who shall pay the score when they will refuse the next object of Charity that offers it self They are our Lusts undo us and not our Charity If we loved our God we should love our Brother And if we did this as we ought we should deny our selves some things that his wants might be supplyed And certainly our love is very cold if we cannot part with an ornament or a vanity to supply his reall needs We may help him and not hurt our selves What is to us superfluous and we can well spare will relieve his necessities It astonishes me when I see how many abound in all the Comforts of life even to the greatest superfluity and yet have no sense of these men that want bread And it is something strange to me how these men can sleep quietly amidst all their abundance and superfluity with which their houses are stored when so many of their poor brethren want bread to eat Quae utilit as est parietes sulgere gemmis et Christum in paupere periclitari Hieron Ad Pammachium and garments to hide their nakedness Methinks they should take little pleasure in their pomp and gaiety if they did but consider the needs of those that want relief Secondly By giving that or part of that which is looked on by us as very contingent or desperate and which we set little by and do not much esteem As for example suppose a man some time play at innocent games for his recreation and play for something 'T is to be supposed a wise and good man will play for no more than he is willing to lose and then he may well bestow that upon the poor or some proportion of it Or again suppose he do not play yet methinks he may set aside so much as he would be well content to lose Again suppose a man receives a desperate debt which he gave for lost and such things do sometimes happen or have goods arrived which he was informed and did believe were lost in this case methinks he should be inclined to give at least some proportion to the poor out of gratitude to God Plutarch Quest Roman For as of old those men that were thought to be dead were not received into their houses the ordinary way so why should we not separate some part of these goods at least and by this means procure a blessing upon the rest We sometimes recover what we value at a great rate and that against the rules of reason and beyond our hopes and in this case we may very well spare a part of its price at least upon the poor And may reasonably believe that God preserved it to us for this very end The same is the case of Lotteries of all sorts He that uses them renders what he has the certain possession of uncertain and contingent and sure our charity is small if we cannot devote that to the service of the poor which we are content to render uncertain to our selves Again a good man falls into the hands of Thieves and Robbers He is surprized and they are about to rifle him and he thinks he comes off well without the loss of his life but at that moment some company intervenes and the good man is preserved and all he had is safe In this case 't is hard if he have not so much Charity to give something of what he saves to the poor when he would readily have parted with all of it to these violent men Or thus we have a suit at Law