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A96106
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A plea for almes delivered in a sermon at the spital, before a solemn assembly of the city, on Tuesday in Easter week, April. 13. 1658. / By Thomas Watson Minister of Stephens Walbrook. Lond.
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Watson, Thomas, d. 1686.
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1658
(1658)
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Wing W1137; Thomason E2125_1; ESTC R230810
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21,949
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77
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8. It may be an hieroglyphical embleme of this truth Christians must not onely have the wings of faith to flie but hands under their wings to work the works of mercy This is a faithful saying and these things I will that you maintain constantly that they which have beleeved in God might be careful to maintain good workes Titus 1. 8. The Lampe of faith must be filled with the oile of Charity Faith alone justifies but justifying faith is not alone * You may as well separate weight from lead or heat from fire as works from faith Good workes though they are not the causes of salvation yet they are evidences * Though they are not the foundation yet they are the superstructure Faith must not be built upon works but works must be built upon faith Rom. 7. 4. Ye are married to another that ye should bring forth fruit unto God Faith is the Spouse which marries Christ and good works are the children which faith bears For the vindication of the Doctrine of our Church and in the honour of good works I shall lay down these four Aphorismes Aphor. 1 1. Works are distinct from faith 'T is vaine to imagine that works are included in faith as the Diamond is enclosed in the Ring No they are distinct as the sap in the Vine is different from the clusters that grow upon it Aphor. 2 2. Works are the touch-stoneof faith Shew me thy faith by thy works Jam. 2. 18. * Works are faiths letters of credence to shew If saith Saint Bernard thou seest a man in operibus strenuum full of good works then by the Rule of Charity thou art not to doubt of his faith We judge of the health of the body by the pulse where the blood stirres and operates O Christian judge of the health of thy faith by the pulse of Charity it is with faith as with a Deed in Law To make a Deed in Law valid there are three things requisite The Writing the Seal the Witnesses So for the Tryal and Confirmation of faith there must be these three things The Writing viz. the Word of God the Seal the Spirit of God the Witnesses good workes Bring your faith to this Scripturetouch-stone Faith doth justifie works Workes do testifie faith * Aphor. 3 3. Workes do honour faith as the fruit adornes the Tree Let the liberality of thy hand saith Clemens Alexandrinus be the Ornament of thy faith and wear it as an holy bracelet about thy wrists Job 29. 15 I was eyes to the blinde and feet was I to the lame I put on righteousness and it cloathed me my judgment was as a Robe and a Diadem While Job was pleading the cause of the poor this was the ensigne of his honour it cloathed him as a Robe and crowned him as a Diadem This is that takes off the odium and obloquy from Religion and makes others speak well of holinesse when they see good works as hand-maids waiting upon this Queen Aphor. 4 4. Good workes are in some sense more excellent than Faith In two respects 1. Because they are of a more noble diffusive nature Though faith be more needful for our selves yet works are more beneficial to others * Faith is a receptive grace it is all for self-interest it moves within its own sphere workes are for the good of others And it is a more blessed thing to give than to receive 2. Good works are more visible and conspicuous than faith Faith is a more occult grace It may lie hid in the heart and not be seen but when works are joyned with it now it shines forth in its native beautie Though a garden be never so deck'd with flowers yet they are not seen till the light come So the heart of a Christian may be enrich'd with Faith but it is like a flower in the night it is not seen till works come when this light shines before men then faith appears in its orient Colours Use 2 Vse 2. Reproofe If this be the effigies of a good man he is of a charitable disposition then it doth sharply reprove those that are far from this temper who are all for gathering but nothing for dispeirsing * They move onely within the Circle of their own interest but do not indulge the necessities of others They have a flourishing estate but like him in the Gospel they have a withered hand and cannot stretch it out to good uses They have all quoad {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} not quoad {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} These are like the churl Nabal 1 Sam. 25. 11. shall I take my bread and my water and give it unto men whom I know not whence they be 'T was said of the Emperour Pertinax he had * a large Empire but a narrow scanty heart There was a Temple at Athens which was called the Temple of mercy it was dedicated to charitable uses and it was the greatest reproach to upbraid one with this that he had never been in the Temple of mercy 'T is the greatest disgrace to a Christian to be unmercifull covetous men while they enrich themselves they debase themselves setting up a Monopoly and committing Idolatry with Mammon Thus making themselves lower than their Angels as God made them lower than his Angels In the time of Pestilence it is sad to have your houses shut up but it is worse to have your hearts shut up Covetous persons are like the Leviathan Job 41. 24. Their hearts are firm as a stone You may as well extract oyle out of a flint as the golden Oyle of Charity out of their flinty hearts The Philisopher saith that the coldnesse of the heart is a presage of death * when mens affections to works of mercy are frozen This coldnesse at heart is ominous and doth sadly portend that they are dead in sinne We read in the Law that the Shelfish was accounted unclean This might probably be one reason because the meat of it was enclosed in the shell and it was hard to come by They are to be reckoned among the unclean who enclose all their estate within the shell of their own Cabinet and will not let others be the better for it How many have lost their souls by being so saving There are some who perhaps will give the poore good words and that is all * Jam. 2. 15. If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of food and one of you say to them depart in peace be ye warmed and filled notwithstanding you give them not those things which are needfull what doth it profit Good words are but a cold kind of Charity * the poore cannot live as the Camelion upon this aire Let your words be as smooth as oyle they will not heale the wounded let them drop as the hony-comb they will not feed the hungry 1 Cor 13. 1. Though I speak with the tongue of Angels and have not charity
given to Christs poor is hoarded up in heaven That is a blessed kinde of giving which though it makes the purse lighter it makes the Crown heavier Whatever Almes you distribute 1. You shall have good security Prov. 19. 17. He that gives to the poor lends to the Lord and that which he hath given will he pay him again * There is Gods counter-band to save you harmlesse which is better security than any publick faith yet here is our Unbelief and Atheisme we will not take Gods Bond we commonly put our deeds of mercy among our desperate debts 2. You shall be paid with over-plus For a wedge of gold which you have parted with you shall have a weight of glory For a Cup of cold water you shall have Rivers of pleasure which runne at Gods right hand for evermore The Interest comes to infinitely more than the Principal Pliny writes of a Countrey in Affrica where the people for every bushel of seed they sow receive an hundred and fifty fold encrease For every penny you drop into Christs Treasury you shall receive above a thousand fold encrease Your after-crop of glory will be so great that though you are still reaping you will never be able to inne the whole harvest Let this perswade rich men to honour the Lord with their substance Before I conclude let me lay down some rules briefly concerning your Charity that it may be the sacrifice of a sweet-smelling savour to God Rule 1 1. Your Charity must be free Deut. 15. 10. Thou shalt give and thy heart shall not be grieved c. that is thou shalt not be troubled at parting with thy money he that gives grievingly gives grudgingly Charity must flow like spring water * The heart must be the spring the hand the pipe the poor the cistern God loves a chearful giver be not like the Crab which hath all the verjuyce squeez'd and pressed out You must not give to the poor as if you were delivering your purse on the high-way Charity without Alacrity is rather a fine than an offering 't is rather doing of pennance than giving of Almes Charity must be like the myrrhe which drops from the Tree without cutting or forcing * Rule 2 2. We must give that which is our own Isaiah 58. 7. To deal thy bread to the hungry It must be de tuo pane The word for almes in the Syriack signifies justice to shew that Almes must be of that which is justly gotten The Scripture puts them together Micah 6. 8. To do justice to love mercy we must not make ex rapina holocaustum a sacrifice of sacriledge Isaiah 61. 8. For I the Lord love judgment I hate robbery for burnt-offering He that shall build an Hospital with goods ill-gotten displayes the Ensigne of his Pride and sets up the Monument of his shame Rule 3 3. Do all in Christ and for Christ 1. Do all in Christ Labour that your persons may be in Christ We are accepted in him Ephesians 1. 6. Origen Chrysostome and Peter Martyr affirme that the best workes not springing from a root of faith are lost The Pelagians thought to have posed Austin with that question whether it was sinne in the Heathen to clothe the naked Austin answered rightly the doing of good is not in it self simply evil but proceeding of infidelity it becomes evil * Titus 1. 15. To them that are unbelieving is nothing pure That fruit is most sweet and genine which is brought forth in the Vine John 15. 4. Out of Christ all our Almes-deeds are but the fruit of the Wild-Olive * They are not good workes but dead works 2. Do all for Christ viz. For his sake that you may testifie your love to him love mellowes and ripens our Almes-deeds it makes them a precious perfume to God * As Mary did out of love bring her oyntments and sweet spices to anoint Christs dead body so out of love to Christ bring your oyntments and anoint his living body his Saints and Members Rule 4 Works of mercy are to be done in humility Away with ostentation the Worme breeds in the fairest fruit the Moth in the finest Cloth Pride will be creepint into our best things beware of this dead fly in the Box of ointment When Moses face did shine he put a vaile over it so while your light shines before men and they see your good workes cover your selves with the vaile of humility As the silk-worme while she weaves her curious works hides her self within the silke and is not seen so we should hide our selves from Pride and Vain-glory 'T was the sinne of the Pharisees while they were distributing Almes * they did buccina canere blow the Trumpet Mat. 6. 2. They did not give their Almes but sell them for applause A proud man casts his bread upon the waters as the Fisherman casts his angle upon the waters he angles for vain glory I have read of one Cosmus Medices a Rich Citizen of Florence that he confessed to a near friend of his he built so many magnificent Structures and spent so muâ—h on Scholars and Libraries not for any love to Learning but to raise up to himselfe the Trophyes of Fame and Renown An humble soul denies himself yea even annihilates himself he thinks how little it is he can do for God * and if he could do more it were but a due debt therefore lookes upon all his workes as if he had done nothing * The Saints are brought in at the last day â—as disowning their workes of Charity Matthew 25. 37. Lord when saw we thee an hungred and fed thee or thirsty and gave thee drink A good Christian doth not onely empty his hand of Almes but empties his heart of pride while he raiseth the poore out of the dust he qaies himselfe in the dust * Workes of mercy must be like the Cassia which is a sweet spice but growes low Rule 5 5. Dispose your Almes prudentially * 'T is said of the merciful man he orders his affairs with discretion Psalme 112. 5. There is a great deale of wisdome in distinguishing between them that have sinned themselves into poverty and who by the hand of God are brought into poverty Discretion in the Distribution of Almes consists in two things 1. In finding out a fit object 2. In taking the fit season 1. In finding out a fit object and that comes under a double notion 1. Give to those who are in most need * Raise the hedge where it is lowest feed the Lamp which is going out 2. Give to those who may probably be most serviceable Though we bestow cost and dressing upon a weak plant yet not upon a dead plant Breed up such as may help to build the house of Israel Ruth 4. 11. That may be pillars in Church and State not Caterpillars making your Charity to blush 2. Discretion in giving Almes is in taking the