or some Dolphin shall make good our Adventure That Bread you so graciously bestow shall not fail to be returned with Advantage as the Ring of St. Arnold in the Legend or that of Polycratus in Herodotus The Fathers of the Church further ingage us to bestow our Bread or works of Mercy with Waters that is our Alms moistened with tears of Pity as if a liberal hand in the Donor should be prompted to give by the secret Motions of the Bowels of Compassion and that the Sluces of Grief should remain open to render the Charity Perfect Some would have the Waters here signifie distressed Merchants poor Seamen and Passengers that in their way of living are compelled to struggle with an Ocean of Danger so much indeed the word carries and more for by Waters all infirm and decayed persons all people of the meanest condition are signified Apocalyps 17.15 such as creep into their Graves in Silence that come and go without notice that pass away from this World without any noise of Revenge or pomp of Ceremonious Lamentation The vulgar the most common sort of Men are denoted by the word Waters because they are very dangerous in their Use and Excesses unsettled in their Condition always Rouling this way and t'other their Temper is Weak their Motions Irregular always in Perturbation every Hurricane of State Wind of false Doctrine Tempest of Fears and Jealousies transports and hurries them hither and thither so as they can remain at no certainty The Poet made such a Remark upon them and hath suited the Epithet of Moveable to their Inconstancy Mobile vulgus whose humour and departure the Royal Prophet so well understood that he thought he could compare the raging of the Sea to nothing more properly than to the Madness of the People So when he telleth us The Waves of the Sea are gone over his head and entered into his Soul Psal 69. he meaneth the Insolencies of the Rabble for it exceedingly troubled David to see the common people so prone to Rebellion The first English Bibles of Tyndal and Erasmus have it Lay thy Bread upon wet Faces that is upon all people in a Mourning condition that water their Couches with their Tears and appear lamentable Objects of your Pity and Compassion St. Jerom alone Interprets the words in this manner Cast thy Bread that is place the Word of God upon the Waters that is Penitent Souls intimating that you are not to give your wholesome Doctrine of Salvation to such as will have you in Derision Such another Caution as that is offered us Eccles 32. 4. Not to be Wise unseasonably 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for so shall we loose the good Seed of Christian Admonitions and Reproofs upon Hearts obdurate and impenitent 'T is a breach of that Precept Mat. 7 To cast Pearls before Swine by offering a Creed to those that are ready to throw Contempt upon the Gospel The English word Cast in the two famous Translations of the Greek and Latin Churches is the same with Sow Send or Scatter The Truth is the first English Translators were no very good Linguists but made an easie mistake of the letter Caph for Cheth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 WHEREAS THE ORIGINAL WORD IS Shallah 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they Construed it as Shallach 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 making a notorious difference in signification for the latter imports Deliberation and Judgment the former Profuseness in giving the one sounds as if we never could bestow too much the other that a Man as soon giveth too much as too little These Interpretations do well together and so long as they afford us divers excellent Rules of Practice we may admit both as Orthodox All objects of Charity are here designed by the word Waters that is the several parts of Mankind all such as appear Poor Infirm or any way Miserable Captives and Gally-slaves Exiles decayed Merchants or Tradesmen distressed Passengers Schollars not prefer'd impoverish'd House-keepers that through too much Trust and too many bad Debts are forc'd into Sanctuary Widows and Orphans that are left Friendless and Desolate Sick or Maimed Laborours Hungry Travellers and weeping Penitent Strangers and all that are destitute of Friends and Comfort that with dejected Countenances implore your Pity The World affords us such variety of sad Objects that the Writer might turn his Catalogue into a Volum Some want Advice some Law some Religion some Friends some Medicines yes and so numerous are Human wants and imperfections that I want room and leisure to express the number of such as are Commissioned by Heaven to receive your Charity yet all come here under the name and notion of Waters Is it not pity to see the lean and naked Cripple that hath a Stomach to desire Bread but wanteth Hands to receive it or that Blind Lazar deprived of Eyes wherewith he might behold his own Nakedness or the Man that is rob'd of his Taste and Feeling by Icy distempers or grievous Casualties Have you never beheld the treacherous Limbs of some people Roting away before their Faces Some have their Spirits so darkned they guide themselves while Reason hath lost the right use of her Organs others sadly want common Sense to distinguish the Food that is safe from that which is unwholesome shewing us where Nature will leave us when we are forsaken by Heaven There remains yet another Querae raised from these words of Solomon Cast thy Bread upon the Waters Whether the Royal Preacher did intend them for a Precept or a Councel The One doth absolutely oblige the Other recommends a matter of Practice If a Precept the words must be included in the Moral Law and universally Bind all persons of Ability Were it no more than found Advice some Men only should observe it in some Cases but take it as it is for a part of that Eternal Law of Nature which ought to influence all Mankind I might have said all Creatures What living thing is there in the World that doth not communicate some benefit to its fellows and by consequence sheweth it self loving and serviceable to the other parts of the Creation And shall Man alone degenerate Shall be that is Master of Reason shew himself a Beast to his Companions whilst the most Irrational part of the Universe teacheth him the way to be Charitable Let him not know how to prove unkind to his Fellows that cannot but know how much he hath received from our good Master You may prove Solomon's words a part of the Law of Nature by those indelible Characters of the Soul that exert their Powers in the practise of Pagans We find among those people that are yet in the shadow positive Rules of doing Good both to their own and to Strangers which not deriving themselves from the Edicts of Divine Revelation must be ascribed to the provident Dictates of Nature But we may better prove Alms a Duty from the express Reason of Holy Scripture wherein Uncharitableness
is considered as a grievous Sin because it is inconsistent with the Love of God and directly contradicts the meaning of Divine Precepts That most eminent Seer puts the Question 1 Job 3.17 He that seeth his Brother in want and shutteth up his Bowels of Compassion from him how dwelleth the love of God in him The Querae there as in several other places in the Bible is put for a vehement Negative and imports that in obdurate hearts the Love of God cannot be Resident The Prayers of Uncharitable people are not answered for God giveth us because he percieves us free to give and forgive others He that stoppeth his ears at the cries of the Poor shall cry himself and not be heard was a Proverb in Jury and continues a great Truth all the World over Prov. 21. 13. for so God delights to retalliate with his Creatures Want of Love in us occasions our Wants and bespeaks Unhappiness for us in this Life and in the next everlasting Perdition There is not another Sin charg'd upon Damn'd Dives besides his want of Charity and those Wretches that are mentioned in St. Math. 25. were condemned only for their unkindness to the Brethren and their gross defects in the visible part of this Duty You would ask In what part of the Decalogue the Rule of Charity is contain'd Bellarmine following Aquinas refers it to the Fifth Commandment which includes all Rights appertaining to Superiors Equals and Inferiors and of this last sort the Poor are Principals And of all Duties belonging to the Poor Alms is most considerable and there is scarce any thing that we are oblig'd to do for them but comes within the Precincts of Charity Other Authors derive this Duty from the Eighth Commandment and will have Robbery to be but one and the same thing with Uncharitableness affirming That he that is able to Give and withholds his Alms from those that Want and call for his Relief Robs his poor Neighbour of his just Comfort and God of his Honour Therefore the Phraise is changed St. Luk. 16. 9. and Solomons Precept become an Evangelical Law where it is not left at our choice to do good but we are charged to make us Friends with the Mammon of Unrighteousness 'T is called Unrighteous Mammon saith S. Austin not only when it is unjustly acquir'd but also while it is Uncharitably detain'd from those that are Necessitated Is it commendable that I live in superfluous manner while my poor Brother wanteth to suffice Nature Sure it is a wrong to withhold from the Poor what I can easily spare in their Affliction and Extremity Superflua diviti necessaria sunt Pauperi aliena retinet qui ista tenet Augustine saith The Rich mans Exceedings are the Poor mans Portion so as he unjustly seems to Defraud others that reserves to himself more than is sufficient St. Ambrose in a rougher Dialect affirms It is no less Criminal for Rich persons to deny Necessitated people Relief than to take from them that they have and use violence to the Laws of Property Yes and some proceed further reducing these words of Solomon to the Sixth Commandment making Uncharitable Men no better than Thieves and Murderers agreeable to that of Eccles 34. 21. The Bread of the Needy is their Life he that defraudeth them thereof is a Man of Blood So that we see to detain necessary Provision from them that Want is to shorten the lives of Poor men and as much as in us lies to deprive him of Succession it is to Famish our afflicted Neighbour the sharpest of all Deaths and in him to seek to Murther his Posterity You hear how this Edict of Alms has been referred to Three of the Ten Commandments yet more properly belongs to the Second Table referring to the general Law of our Neighbour which Law as St. John expounds it cap. 3. 18. Consists not in words alone but in Truth and real Testimonies of Affection Who shall believe we Love indeed without apparent works of Love and Charity The Scripture teacheth us a Method of doing Mercy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not talking of it only for then are acts of Charity best perform'd when fewest words are made of the Benevolence Giving of Alms is at one and the same time to Love God and honour Him in his Image to make a Friend and to relieve a Neighbour Our Blessed Saviour calleth it An evil Generation who demanded a sign of their Redemption And we cannot Repute it a better that ask Where is the Mandate for well doing A small excuse Men are willing to make use of to save their Estates and where the Commandment is Positive they seek for their own sakes more than their Neighbours to dwindle the Precept into a Councel Yet is this more than a meer matter of Advice for it is a Breviate of what our dear Master left us in Charge at his Ascension viz. That we Love one another which Love admits of no proof inferior to that of Almsgiving Holy Writ and all the Tomes of the Fathers abounds with Exhortation to this Duty But this is added to poor Mens miseries they now live in a cold Age of the World and here in a very chill Climate 'T is a wonder to hear Men every where boast of Faith without Mercy and when they shew no fruits of a living Faith still do boast of Godliness For Charitate ipsa nihil Charius Love and its Effects are some of our greatest Rarities When we speak of Christians none can be mistaken where we find Charity but the Giver and he not easily but admitting he may loose part of his Reward by valuing his Gift at too great a Rate or by wronging himself by the manner of Giving we have a great assurance that he that pretends to Faith without Works deceives himself and the whole World and offers to put a Cheat upon his Master for he doth undervalue at one and the same time his Afflicted Brethren and the Truth of Divine Promises Some tells of three sorts of Commandmandments that occur in Scripture Affirmative Negative and Mixt The Decalogue consists of such as are mostly Negative though some of them are Affirmative As Keep holy the Sabbath Honour thy Parents c. And more of that sort we have in the Bible as Mourn for thy Sins Shew Mercy Do Penance c. There are also Commandments of a Mixt nature as of Restoration and Forgiveness c. A Negative Commandment doth oblige all Persons at all Times every where and Eternally Affirmative Precepts are binding for ever but not in all Times nor in all Places Mixt Commandments oblige us at all Times and in all Places but not always I shall not determine to which of these Sorts the Words of Solomon may best be reduc'd but am certain they oblige all persons of Ability to Confer Benefits and pay good Offices according to their power to all persons without Excuse or Exemption that entreat their Assistance Cast thy Bread upon the
Waters We read it Cast in our Common English-Bibles intimating That if we are oblig'd to cast or scatter our Charity we ought not to be very curious in Examining every Circumstance concerning our Gift and the Conditon of the Receiver but we should give frequently and liberally without an excessive Care to whom or to what purpose our Donative is bestow'd It is enough that we know our own Intentions to be Warrantable without searching too strickly into the Meaning or Appetite of the Petitioner Let us not be too scrupulous in seeking a very fit Object to make the best use of what we bestow lest such a severe Examination should obstruct our Charity 'T is lawful to enquire but not with too much Curiosity how the Receiver became Poor but if he have fail'd in Diligence to Live let us not fail in his Support for to supply his present Want which is the way to Encourage him to be Diligent for the future Never let the Despicable Circumstances of any person in Despair or any manner of Affliction divert thy Bounty It is a Niceness God cannot approve who dispenceth many Mercies to thee where few are deserved But if we take it according to that other Reading and Translate for the word Cast or Scatter Send or Sow it implies Caution and addeth an Act of Prudence to that of Charity Then it will import a Care and Art in Giving as well as in Enjoyment Where Solomon directs us to send our Charity he does intend we should give Alms with Discretion and to be Cautious in dispencing our Bounty Alms is a sort of Merchandize that we Barter with Heaven and which we ought to send with Circumspection that they may not miscarry 'T is no Wise-man's way to be Careless of what he sendeth but he commits it to the surest Hands that it may be safely conveyed to the Owner A small Token a Ring or a Letter is not trusted with every idle Fellow that is of small Trust or no good Reputation but we make it our Business to know from whence the Messenger cometh and whither he designs to Travel that taketh charge of our meanest Presents The Wife-man here adviseth us to the same Method so to send our Alms in the safest Bottoms and by God's usual Messengers that they may be safely deliver'd not suffering our Contributions to Perish or strengthen the Hand of the Evil-Doer We must not Give with a Design to promote evil Councels ill Practises or bad Company least of all must we give to further Lascivious Courses or multiply Places of Debauchery To do this is not giving Alms but a joyning of Forces against Heaven to augment the Revenues of the Riotous whose great Work is to maintain Brothels or repair Houses of Licentious Entertainment where Christ hath no Habitation such Benevolence is prejudicial to the Rule and to the Reward of Charity Send thy Bread Sending implies a Communication of the Good Things that are in our Power to such as live at a Distance as well as to the Neigbourhood Let us do good abroad for that argueth true Devotion at home not to give only so far as our Hand can extend but as far as our Gift can be transported by the Hands of Others The Houshold of Faith is first to be consider'd and reliev'd and what remains is the Portion of distressed Strangers and Unbelievers I wish I could truly say England had not as much need of this Doctrine as any Nation I think we have been so far from approving our selves Charitable to Strangers that we scarce afford them Civil usage Let us no more pretend to Science and Reformation until we cease to be Barbarous and have learn'd Humanity What if they be remote what if they be Jews what if they be Turks what if they be Pagans we must not excuse our selves by pleading Ignorance of their Lineage their Principles or their Country 't is enough that we know their unfortunate Condition Send is an Imperative word that leaveth not the Thing Indifferent or at our Election but chargeth us to give Alms and to do good according to our Ability without making abatement for want of Merit in the Receiver or for the sake of the strong Aversion we bear to his Person or to his Religion The word Send declares it a Duty incumbant expresly commanding us to shew Mercy without Excuses and without Delay If you neglect to bestow what you can well Spare 't is at worst an Act of Injustice at best a Detinue Send your Charity where you cannot go for fear of Corporal Danger or Defamation it is infamous for some personally to give to some people there you must send your Charity where your going to carry it would bring upon you a Scandal Shorten not your Hand of Succour from the poor Prisoner that 's almost pin'd and smoother'd in a noysom Dungeon Send your Bounty to the Sick that are going to their Graves with some Infectious Disease You may safely send it when you cannot go with safety Yes and there are some Cases wherein the good Christian must hazard Reputation and Life to perform good Offices that is where God or Nature his Religion or Country are most nearly Concern'd Here it is he must Advance against all Dangers struggle with all Adversities encounter with evil Beasts as S. Paul did at Ephesus We must fight upon such great Occasions an whole Army of Scandals there we must not matter Obloquy but oppose our selves to the Tyranies of State and stand the unwholesome Censures of the Insolent and ungrateful Multitude There are Evangelical Counsels that have the same Influence over good Men as if they carried with them the Nature and Force of a Commandment But these words of Solomon are a positive Law which not only Invites us to but Prescribes us Obedience The Neglect or Omission to observe those Counsels we read in the Gospel as single Life voluntary Poverty c. are but Imperfections in our Nature whereas the Breach of this Law of Charity is a plain Sin a complicated Sin and of that sort that renders the Sinner odious in the highest Degree because there is more comprehended in this Law of Love than in all other Laws Divine and Humane for Love is the Life and End of Laws and this one is the Accomplishment of the Ten Commandments There is nothing enjoyn'd by the Church for Defects in Alms-giving because there it is that God reserveth the Sentence to Himself and punisheth the failure in that Duty with more than the Church is willing to Declare Only God hath been pleas'd to Reveal how far good Works are acceptable to him and what Happiness they will procure for us hereafter that He may see how far we are willing to proceed in our Charity for the sake of Divine Love and for an Eternal Reward Send your Alms therefore as far as Paul or Silas Camels or Ships will carry them from Rome to Macedon or Antioch or from the place of your