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spirit_n	good_a	grace_n	work_n	9,463	5	5.6123	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A67011	A disswasive from worldly-mindedness, in order to the due exercise of Christian charity A sermon preached in the chappel of Popler, on the 8th of Sept. 1698. Before the trustees for the charity of Captain William Curtis, deceased. Who, in the year 1669, bequeathed a rent-charge of sixty pounds per annum, for the release of poor prisoners, the relief of aged people, a weekly distribution of bread, and the placing out of poor children to trades: for the benefit of the poor in the hamlets of Popler, Mile-end, Limus, and Ratcliff, for ever. Published at the request of the trustees. By Josiah Woodward, minister of Popler.	Woodward, Josiah, 1660-1712.	1698 (1698)	Wing W3515; ESTC R221225	13,422	30

A Disswasive from Worldly-mindedness in order to the due Exercise of Christian Charity A SERMON Preached in the Chappel of Popler On the 8th of September 1698. Before the Trustees for the Charity of Captain William Curtis deceased A Disswasive from worldly-mindedness in order to the due Exercise of Christian Charity A SERMON Preached in the Chappel of Popler On the 8th of Sept. 1698. Before the Trustees for the Charity of Captain William Curtis deceased WHO In the Year 1669 bequeathed a Rent-charge of Sixty Pounds per Annum for the Release of Poor Prisoners The Relief of Aged People A Weekly Distribution of Bread and the Placing out of Poor Children to Trades For the Benefit of the Poor in the Hamlets of Popler Mile-end Limus and Ratcliff for ever Published at the Request of the Trustees By Josiah Woodward Minister of Popler LONDON Printed for Brabazon Aylmer at the Three Pigeons over against the Royal Exchange in Cornhil 1698. TO Sir Henry Johnson Kt. Hugh Squier Esq Capt. Joseph Stevens Trustees for the Charity of Captain William Curtis Gentlemen AS it is generally agreed that you have one of the most prudent and well-advised Charities under your hands so it must be granted that you have managed it with great Honour For as the Worthy Founder took all imaginable Care to have his Charity as lasting as the World it self so have you for many Tears past put your Accounts into such an exact Method as will not only justifie your own Faithfulness but make it difficult for any that succeed you to be Vnfaithful And perhaps it is in some Measure a Fruit of this Noble Charity that a most Commodious School * At South-Molton in Devon for 30 poor Children erected at the Cost of 700 l. and endowed with 50 l. per Ann. for ever by Mr. H. S. for the Education of Youth has been Erected and Endowed by one of you for the perpetual Benefit of Posterity With many other very * To the value of above 3000 l the whole considerable Deeds of Charity Had Plato seen such Pious Improvements of Wealth he might have struck out that uncharitable Reflection of his That it is impossible for any one to be very Rich and very Good Nor would Celsus had he well consider'd it have been so fond of that false Sentence of Plato's as to commend it even to Blasphemy May it please God therefore to stop the Mouths of the Adversaries of our Holy Religion by the exemplary Lives of all its Votaries May all Persons who are eminently Great be conspicuously Good and give such Demonstrations of the Mistake of that Philosopher as Abraham David and many others have done who though vastly Rich in Worldly Possessions were yet more so in Good Works And may it please Him who sometimes delighteth to choose Mean things to confound things that are Mighty to assist this Sermon with his Grace that it may somewhat retrieve us from that Selfish narrowness of Spirit which hath been our great Reproach and almost our utter Ruin And may it excite a publick and generous that is a truly Christian Spirit amongst us to the Glory of Almighty God the just Honour of our Divine Religion and to the Peace Safety and Renown of our Native Country Which is the earnest Desire of Gentlemen Your very respectful Servant Josiah Woodward Prov. 23. 5. Wilt thou set thine Eyes upon that which is not For Riches certainly make themselves Wings they flee away as an Eagle towards Heaven THE occasion of my speaking to you this day is to recommend the noble Vertues of Charity and Alms-giving of which the Founder of that great Charity which is yearly distributed in these Maritime Hamlets is a noble Precedent And therefore since the inordinate Love of earthly things is the general Hinderance of such-like Pious Gifts I have fixed my Thoughts and now come to fix yours on the words now read in your Ears to remove that Obstacle out of the way For I cannot but promise my self by the Blessing of God some degree of Success in perswading Men to Charitable Distributions when it shall be made appear unto them That this is the most advantageous Use that can be made of earthly Goods Much more of those Superfluities of them which are otherwise Useless and many times Pernicious to the Owners My Text therefore comes to be your kind Monitor this day For as sure as the Oracles of God are true your Riches will soon fall into the hands of other Masters either by their Departure or yours And if your Faith does not assure you of this the Examples of others may and your own Experience soon will And why then should we not make a Vertue of Necessity And commit our Goods to such hands as will restore them with infinite increase in Value though not in Kind in that other World upon which we shall so soon enter and where we must for ever abide This is to extract Pearls out of Bubbles and to gain infinite Advantages from things which are just slipping out of our Hands For Riches certainly make themselves Wings and slee away Solomon who made this Remark on the unstable State of Humane things in the Text was the greatest and wisest Prince of his Times He enjoy'd all the Delights that his Heart could suggest or the World supply him withall And after he had long swam in the most deep and calm Current of Prosperity that can be imagined upon Earth and had tasted Sensual Pleasures rather like a Critick than an Epicure to see as he tells us what Good there was for Man under the Sun Eccl. 2. 3. and after that he had try'd them all by the Touchstone of his inspired Wisdom He comes at last to such a Sense of the Emptiness of all Sublunary things that though a Prince he becomes a Preacher and gives the World a warm Sermon against Sensuality and Worldly-mindedness as we read in his whole Book of Ecclesiastes And the Thesis he chose and on which he largely descants was this grand Maxim All is Vanity Whereupon he proceeds to shew that the whole Globe of earthly things upon which Men dote so much is but a glittering Bubble It is Vanity it self says he yea the Vanity of Vanity as if he Eccl. 1. 2. would term it the Air of Froth or the Shadow of a Vapour It is upon this Subject that this Royal Preacher expostulates with Worldly Minds in the Text. He found that a bare Admonition would not bring Men off from those things to which their Hearts were glew'd And therefore he proceeds to reason the Case with them in an elegant Expostulation in the Text. Wilt thou set thine Eyes upon that which is not Is it becoming the Wisdom of Man to spend his Strength and Time in chasing a Shadow Or in endeavouring to catch the pleasing Colours of the Rain-bow Are not earthly Riches of an unsatisfactory Nature and a very uncertain Tenure Do they not often flee away

for ever Now since Riches certainly have Wings and will be gone How much better is it to direct their Flight upwards by Charity Hospitality and Piety to our eternal Ornament and Entertainment than to send them downwards by Luxury Pride or any Abuse of them there to eat our Flesh like Fire as St. James assures us they will James 5. 3. Rev. 14. 13. The Good Works of Charitable People follow them into the unseen World and attend them even before the Tribunal of God like so many Carriages of Furniture and Provisions And though they Merit nothing there at the Hand of God who gave us both the Alms we bestow and a Will to do it yet they are such a Fruit of our Faith as God has promised to reward with infinite Returns Of this our Judge himself assures us Matt. 25 34 c. Come ye Blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the World For I was an hungered and ye gave me Meat I was thirsty and ye gave me Drink I was a Stranger and ye took me in Naked and ye cloathed me Sick and ye visited me I was in Prison and ye came unto me This was not done indeed to the Person of Christ but to Christians who when they are indeed what their Name speaks them to be they are the Members of Christ's Mystical Body And whatever Kindness or Unkindness is done to them is vertually done to Christ himself and is so construed by him Ver. 40. In as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my Brethren ye have done it unto me As if our Blessed Lord should say at the last day I know thy Works O my Faithful Servant I saw thee giving such and such an Alms in secret which the World never knew I beheld thee making thy Charitable Doles to the Hungry Thirsty Naked and Destitute Mine Eye went with thee to such and such a Poor Family to such an Hospital and such a Prison whither thy Charity led thee to consider and relieve their Wants Thou hast done these things in secret and I will reward thee openly Enter thou into the Joy of thy Matt. 25. 23. Lord. Thou Sowedst plentifully and shalt Reap 2 Cor. 9. 6. plentifully Thy Prayers and thine Alms are come Acts 10. 4. up before me and as thou hast Sowed to the Spirit imploying thy self and Goods for Spiritual Ends thou shalt of the Spirit reap eternal Life I am Gal. 6. 8. Heb. 2. 11. not ashamed to call thee Brother since thou partakest of my Charitable and Divine Temper Come my dear Brother my welcome Co-heir of that Rom. 8. 17. Kingdom which is prepared for such Faithful Stewards as thou hast been O! Who would not make such a Friend with the Mammon of Vnrighteousness What a glorious End is here of our Ministring to the Servants of Christ upon Earth O Sirs We do not circumvent you when we exhort you to Alms-deeds and Good Works We do not come to rob you of your Treasures when we earnestly press your Charity But we give you the Opportunities of doing good to your selves and to become Rich in Good Works which is the 1 Tim. 6. 18. noblest and most valuable Riches in the whole World Wherefore with-hold not Good from such to whom by the Law of Charity it is due whilst it is in the Power of thine Hand to do it Prov. 3. 27. Deferr not all your Charity to your last Will and Testament Your Wealth may slip out of your Hand before that hour or however methinks it is not then so properly in your Possession when within a Minute or two it will be another's But better late than never though the sooner we do it the surer will the Distribution be the more Heroick the Vertue the more Eminent our Faith and the more Weighty our Reward Do we indeed believe that an Omniscient Righteous God governs the World And do we own the Holy Scriptures as his Word And doth God say Blessed are the Merciful for they shall obtain Mercy Matt. 5. 7. If so we cannot but be ready to distribute and glad to communicate Glad 1. Tim. 6. 18. of the happy Opportunity of exchanging Temporals for Eternals We know who says That he that giveth to the Poor lendeth to the Lord and what he giveth shall be repaid him again Prov. 19. 17. And it will be repaid with ample yea infinite Increase The Judge himself tells you in what manner Luke 6. 38. Give and it shall be given unto you good measure pressed down and shaken together and running over into your Bosom Let me then freely speak to you whose Cup of Plenty overflows who perhaps scarce know how to bestow your Goods the Hand of God having Luke 12. 17. been very liberal to you Why Here are safe Repositories for your Grain the best Bags for your Money Bags that wax not old Here is a Luke 12. 33. Royal Bank which will never fail Luke 12. 33. Let your Faith then freely cast your Bread upon Eccl. 11. 1. the Waters and it will be securely transported to the other World and will there be safely laid up for your Use and if your Sins do not obstruct it you will reap the Comfort of it ten thousand Years hence See then here are Bills of Exchange ready God hath subscribed it with his own Hand that he will repay in the other World what you piously and charitably bestow in this if the rest of our Life be agreeable herewith Dare you Credit him upon whom the Bills are drawn Yea dare you scruple his Sufficiency or Integrity Leontius who lived at Cyrene and was a most Faithful and Religious Person hath Recorded it for a certain Truth * Dying and dead Mens Say ings p. 118. says an Author of our own That Evagrius a Philosopher turning Christian and bestowing 300 l. on the Poor by the Perswasion of the Pious Bishop Synesius for the Repayment of which by Christ in the things of another World the said Bishop had given him a Note under his Hand 'T is said that the same Evagrius appeared to Synesius a little after his Death and bad him open his Coffin and there he should find a Receipt written by his own Hand in token that he had received in the World above the Rewards promised to Charity in this And this Receipt saith Leontius was carefully kept in the Church at Cyrene in his time and was shewn to any one that desired it This passage is quoted by many Divines as an authentick Relation but if any think there may be Falsehood in it I am sure there is none in that sure word of Prophesie Mark 10. 21. Give to the Poor and thou shalt have Treasure in Heaven And though the Pharisees who were covetous derided Luke 16. 14. these Doctrines of Christ Far be it Far be it from all that have the Honour to bear the Name of Christ thus to contradict and Blaspheme For true Religion and undefiled before God is to visit the Fatherless and the Widows in their Affliction and to keep our selves unspotted by the World James 1. 27. This this is that which renders the Name of Captain William Curtis venerable to this day He has left us such an abiding Charity as is not like to sink or be diminished to the end of the World So that by the Hands of his deputed Trustees the Prison-doors are opened every other Year and a little Jubilee celebrated The hungry Bowels are refreshed every Week the mournful Widows Heart is made to sing and what is no less a Charity the youthful Hands are taught to work and put in a way to be useful to their Country And that his Trustees might not be meer Conduit-pipes of his Bounty to transmit all to others without tasting a Drop themselves there is a prudent Allotment of a suitable Portion for a Frugal Collation at their Annual Meeting to make the appointed Distributions These were the Effects of a charitable bountiful and friendly Soul The Advantages of which to the truly charitable Donors are as certain and more great than the Benefits done to those who partake of such Bounty here upon Earth Let us then according to our Ability follow so good a Precedent in a Point of such unquestionable Advantage A part of our Estate bless'd by God is much better than the whole unbless'd by Him And a Greek Poet wittily calls this A way to make a Part greater than the Whole * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let us then offer up the First-Fruits to God that the whole Crop may be bless'd by him and Sanctified to us When Manna it self was hoarded up from a Principle of Covetousness and Distrust it bred Worms and stank but when the same was laid Exod. 16. 20 up from a Principle of Piety it was preserved to the Comfort of the Owners Exod. 16. 24. To close up all then You see how greatly it concerns us to fix our Minds on the permanent Substance of good things above and not on the fading Shadows of them beneath In order to which let us beg of God that he would vouchsafe to breathe a Spiritual Warmth towards Divine things in all our Breasts by his Holy Spirit that so when earthly Riches take their wing our Comfort and Peace may not flee away with them That we may not say with Micah They have taken away my Gold and Judges 18. 24. Silver and what have I more But with St. Paul we know that we have in Heaven a far better and more Heb. 10. 34. induring Substance Which I pray God grant unto us all through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen FINIS