Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
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A67603
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The rule of charity: or, The liberal mans guide design'd, for the use of all good Christians. Being the pious result of a lay-man's ordinary meditations. By H.W. Gent. Licensed according to order.
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H. W. (Henry Waring)
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1690
(1690)
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Wing W858; ESTC R219405
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35,835
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107
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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
the Messiah to Defend the Poor Heal the Infirm and Succour the Afflicted Solomon his Son informs us Prov. 29. 7. A Righteous Man considereth the cause of the Poor adding in the 14. ver of the same Chapter The King that faithfully judgeth the Poor shall have his Throne Established And this is the Wisest of Monarchs You may read in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah The way to Divine and Eternal Honour is dealing thy Bread to the Hungry lodging Exiles covering the Naked and in a strange Phrase to draw out thy Soul to the Empty Then He continues Thy Light shall arise from Obscurity thy pristine Darkness shall become Light and resemble the Sun in its Glory This is the Evangelical Prophet We read in the 22. Chap. of Ezekiel GOD threatneth the Jews with many terrible Judgments for Oppressing the Stranger and Vexing the Fatherless and Widow This is the Priest of the Captives transferr'd with Jehoiachim Daniel maketh Alms the truest sign of sincere Repentance and will have Charity put into the definition of the Righteous This is the Man of Visions to whom all Changes which should concern the Jews from the Babylonian Captivity to the general Resurrection was Revealed These preceded the Messiah and their Writings make the biggest part of the Old Testament Let us now consult the Gospel To begin with the Baptist These Alms are the good Fruit He demands Fruit fit for Penitents to produce Our dear Master Preacheth the same Doctrine St. Luke II. Give Alms of such things as you have and behold all things are clean unto you As if C HRIST had told us Alms are instead of all Levitical Purifications and are accepted in Heaven sooner than the curious Prescription of Moses Love is a Flame that cleanseth better than the Legal Rites and a Fire that is consistent with Holy Water the small Sacrifices of Christian Love recommended in the New-Testament have Vertues Superior to the first Fruits and those greater ones of the Old-Testament They have power to Sanctifie our Whole Estate to make it Firm and Fertile and to propagate it with our Issue 'T is more Blessed to Give than to Receive that 's a Maxim of the Blessed JESVS which his Apostles and Disciples did approve and every true Christian will acknowledge St. Peter mightily presseth us to Christian Love and Hospitality 1. Ep. cap. 1. ver 22. Seeing you have purified your Souls in Obeying the Truth through the Spirit and to unfeigned love of the Brethren see that you love one another with pure Heart fervently This is the Prince of the Apostles St. John speaks of nothing so much as Love and Charity 1 Ep. St. John cap. 4 Let us Love one another for Love is of GOD c. This is the Beloved Disciple St. James extols good Works much and with some vehemence promotes Charity deriding the Solifidian Professors that have nothing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 besides a strong credulity with which Julian upbraided some early Believers that expected Salvation by Faith only This James was the first Christian Bishop of the Holy City Jerusalem St. Paul whose Writings too many wrested to their own Destruction which was one cause some other Apostles wrote so little and some wrote nothing He was careful and zealous to deal with the first Christians of Rome and those in Greece and Asia for a Collection as St. Peter St. James and St. John had charged him when he first Travelled to make Proselytes Gal. 2. And this is the great Doctor of the Gentiles Will you have another added to these Four great Apostles The Author of that Learned Epistle to the Hebrews writeth in this manner To do Good and to Communicate forget not for with such Sacrifices GOD is well pleased If you will contend that Epistle was Written by St. Paul I shall be content to Humor you seeing the Doctrine of good Works shall receive no disparagement by his Authority Thus far the Duty hath been ratify'd by Precepts But Examples are more forcible motives to Well-doing and are as numerous in the Bible pointing out to Christians as so many Mercuries the direct way to Felicity Abraham sitting at the door of his Tent looketh for some weary Traveller to whom he may give an Instance of his Charity who for his repeated Works of Mercy deserv'd the Reverend Title of the Father of the Faithful Lot standing at the Gate of his City doth expect some distressed Stranger to make experiment of his Kindness and Taste his Hospitality He gave the wandring Passenger a Meeting lest he should be prevented in his Courtesies This was an Oriental Prince and Prelate Patron of the Five Cities and Lord of Zoar. It was the custom of Job to entertain the Fatherless in his House and invite the Poor to his own Table This Man if you will have it so was High-Priest of Hierapolis and Prince in Arabia Solomon in such Practises was Exemplary shewing himself in Love as well as Empire a Successor to his Father David This Man after God's own Heart thought himself not degraded by particular Acts of Devotion and Charity He knew how to reconcile Love and Honor and reputed himself no less a King for distributing at certain Seasons a Loaf of Bread a Flaggon of Wine and a Portion of Flesh to every single Person of his decay'd Subjects Observe how the Jews when they were return'd from their Captivity celebrated their Festivals with remarkable Contributions Their Forms of Devotion ended they did enjoy themselves in a generous participation of Delicacies they drank freely to Chearfulness not to Excess and dispatcht away Provisions to the Poorest Families that they might be sharers in the Joy and the Feast which they were not able to furnish and be made Partakers in the Gratitude they paid to Heaven by shewing themselves pleas'd for National Blessings We read Gen. 21. 33. of the Patriarchs Grove which the Rabbins inform us was planted purposely for Charitable Entertainments which they gather because the Letters of the Name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Eshel a Grove signifie by Cabalism Meat Drink and Lodging viz. Achilah Sh 〈…〉 tyan Linah To pass from the Jews to the Christians How are the Churches of Achaia and Macedonia celebrated in St. Paul's Epistles for their generous Contributions The Prayers and Alms of Cornelius ascended to GOD shewing their Master the way to Heaven And tho' both are very laudable yet the Fathers ascribe to Alms the preheminence So to Live and practice Religion is to accomplish the Laws and comply with the Will of Solomon 'T is to do more than that comes to for Solomon was but a Type of Christ But to exercise Love is to follow the steps of Christ himself and to obey the Dictates of the Supream Master who having no Purse-bearer for Himself had always a Treasurer for the Distressed and daily wrought Miracles to satisfie their Wants in the Wilderness choosing rather to Fast Forty Days than to multiply Loaves for appeasing his own