securing our main Interest the Happiness of Eternity and when Time shall be at an End that is to every particular Person when Death shall put a Period to this Life then comes that Night in which no Man can work then the Opportunity shall be for ever at an End and according as Men have improv'd or wasted their Time in this World so shall their Eternity be happy or miserable in the next And therefore he is indeed very foolishly prodigal who without any Thought of hereafter wastes this precious Treasure this only Opportunity of making himself for ever happy in Vanity and Folly in pleasing and humouring his Body and neglects the Improvement of his Soul and instead of working out his Salvation with Fear and trembling secures to himself Eternal Misery And this does every wilful Sinner when with the Prodigal in the Parable he wastes this his Substance in Luxurious and Riotous Living and studies nothing but how to gratifie the lower Life looking no further than this present World for Happiness 'till his Opportunity be quite lost and he is surpriz'd into an unchangeably Miserable Condition because when 't was put into his Hand to make himself happy if he would he neglected it and chose the Track to Ruine Thirdly The Glorious Reversion of our Heavenly Inheritance is a Treasure likewise that can never be sufficiently valu'd for Eye hath not seen nor Ear heard neither can it enter into the Heart of Man to conceive the Felicities and Glories of it Now this we are assur'd by him that cannot lie and whose it is to bestow shall be the Reward of Vertue and sincere Religion all this is laid up for them that love God and keep his Commandments And therefore for a Man that knows all this to be so prodigally to throw away all Expectation of and Title to such a Reversion as this upon such low and profligate Accounts as the wallowing in the filthy Pleasures of a Goat or a Swine or the heaping up Treasures of Gold and Silver which are as unsatisfying as they are uncertain and perishing or for the Sake of a little empty Honour or the like This is the very Highth of profligate Extravagancy and such as one would think no sensible Man should ever be guilty of Upon these and many other nay indeed all Accounts 't is very true that a wicked Man is the greatest Prodigal in the World for he wastes and throws away what is of highest Value to a Man and that for what is no better than Vanity and Vexation of Spirit And thus much for the first thing expressed in this Parable viz. the great Extravagancy of ungodly Men when they give themselves up to the Guidance of their own Wills and Affections and grow weary of the Government of God their Heavenly Father Like the Prodigal Son they waste their most precious Substance in riotous and profligate living The second thing express'd in this Parable is the sad Condition such Men soon reduce themselves to by that their Extravagancy and loose self-will'd Course of Life or in other Words the Miserable Consequences of Debauchery and Riot and of following so Blind a Guide as Mens unruly Passions and Lusts For so in the Parable when the prodigal Young Man had spent all there arose a mighty Famine in that Land and he began to be in Want and went and joyn'd himself to a Citizen of that Country who sent him into his Fields to feed Swine And he would fain have fill'd his Belly with the Husks that the Swine did eat but no Man gave unto him The first ill Consequence then of this Prodigality or Lawless Extravagant Living is Spiritual Want or a Scarcity and Famine of the Divine Grace in the Soul which is by so much more to be dreaded than a Famine of Provisions for the Body as Eternal Misery and Death is more terrible than Temporal The Grace of God is questionless the Nourishment of the Divine Life and which if once withdrawn will leave the Soul dead in Trespasses and Sins Now an obstinate Course of Disobedience to the Divine Will drives out that Life-giving Power and makes the Soul uncapable of Vital Union with so pure a Spirit and as a Humane Soul is forc'd to leave a Body rotten and wasted and unapt any longer to entertain it so this Divine Spirit is thrust out from a corrupted sinful Soul And consequently there must be a famine in that Soul of that Heavenly Bread which is absolutely necessary to eternal Life and the Consequence of that is Eternal Death And certainly no Man that considers what a Dismal Condition that Soul is in which is reduced to such Extremity of Spiritual Want as this how full of Horrour and Despair as doom'd to endless Misery and seal'd up to Destruction which he sees dayly nearer and nearer approaching and no way to escape but like a Wretch immur'd between two Walls there to be starv'd to Death in continual Expectation of her sad End No Man that considers this with that Seriousness he ought but will be very careful not to waste what is so necessary to his Spiritual Subsistence i. e. by no means grieve or resist or quench that Life-giving Spirit by whom all true Religion lives and moves and hath its Being and which if neglected and oppos'd will be withdrawn and that perhaps for ever If like Esau we sell this inestimable Blessing for a Mess of Pottage forfeit the Food of our Souls that we may indulge our Sensual Appetites we may fear that a Spiritual Famine will be our Punishment and no Place left for Repentance no Blessing remaining for us though we seek it earnestly with Tears As the Prodigal in the Parable when after he had wasted his Substance in riotous Living and then wanted and was ready to perish with Hunger so that he would have been glad of the meanest and coarsest Fare would fain have sill'd his Belly with the Husks that the Swine did eat even that he could not obtain for no Man says the Parable gave unto him Another ill Consequence of this Spiritual Prodigality and loose wicked Course of Life and to name no more amongst a numerous Train of them is that it extreamly degrades and debases a Man and engages him in the vilest Drudgery imaginable the serving Bestial Lusts and Devilish Passions This is express'd in the Parable by the Prodigal's being sent into the Feilds to feed Swine a thing the most abject in it self and the most detestable to the Jews to whom our Lord spake the Parable who were taught by their Law to esteem that Creature among the most unclean And as low or lower than this does he debase his Nature who neglecting the Noble Precepts of Religion makes his Sensual Appetite the Rule and Measure of his Actions For what more Beastly and Detestable than ungovern'd Lust The wretch himself that is guilty of it is asham'd publickly to commit it and takes Advantage of Holes and Corners and
alone could save them and took no Care of good Works How came you in hither How came you into this Society of Christians not having on the Wedding Garment What will they be able to say in their Excuse Will they not be like him in the Parable confounded and ashamed and utterly speechless What will they have to plead in Bar of that dire Sentence which will then be past upon them bind them Hand and Foot and take them away c. certainly nothing but with inexpressible Horror and Despair and Self-Condemnation must submit to their sad Punishment From all this there is in the last Place this general Observation drawn that many are call'd but few chosen The plain Meaning of which I suppose to be this That though the Gospel is preach'd to Myriads of People and all that hear of it are invited alike to embrace it and 't is God's good Pleasure that all should be sav'd and come to the Knowledg of the Truth Yet the most will make a very ill Use of their Liberty of Choice and many utterly reject this Invitation and more though they do embrace it yet become never the better for it by not leading their Lives agreeably to their holy Profession And by this means among the many that are call'd there will be but few that will approve themselves to God as elect or choice and right good Christians and but few consequently that will enter into the eternal Joy of their Lord according to what our Lord said in another Place strait is the Gate and narrow is the Way that leadeth unto Life and few there be that find it Wherefore to conclude this Parable As we have all of us been call'd and invited to a sincere Faith in and intire Obedience to the holy Jesus and do make open Profession of such Faith and Shew of such Obedience it concerns us as much as our Souls are worth and as we would avoid that outer Darkness where is eternal weeping and gnashing of Teeth to take all possible Care that our Faith be so sincere and lively as to produce good Works such as may make our Calling and Election sure Not to rest contented with the Form of Godliness or outward Profession of Christianity but to endeavour after the Power of it and lead our Lives according to our Belief to imitate our Lord's most blessed Example and obey all his holy Precepts and submit to the Disposals of his Providence chearfully and bear unspotted Love and Fidelity to him through the whole Course of our Lives And by this means shall we be reckon'd among his choice Jewels elect and precious and be receiv'd into the nearest and dearest and even an inseparable Relation to him and when this Life 's at an End be conducted by his Angels into his glorious Presence there to share in his Happiness to eternal Ages The PRAYER MOST blessed God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who in infinite Mercy and amazing Condescension hast invited me miserable Creature though poor and maim'd halt and blind and destitute of every thing that may recommend me to thee except it be my Wretchedness to the most intimate Union with thy glorious Son and as the Bride of that divine Bridegroom to enjoy his Love and be blessed with his tenderest Regard his Protection and Desence and to partake of his Honour and Glory and Happiness How can I enough praise and magnifie this thy wondrous Goodness And with what Transports of Joy should I embrace so inestimable a Favour But I alas stupid as I am and bewitch'd with the Cares and Business and Gain and Pleasures of this World have hitherto stood in the Way of my own Happiness and disregarded this gracious Offer and preferr'd every thing before this spiritual Marriage with the Son of God or at best have deferr'd it still till another Time provoking thereby most justly thy Wrath and Indignation against me and deserving to be for ever excluded thy blessed Presence as infinitely unworthy But now O Lord I do earnestly repent and am heartily sorry for so ungratefully sliting such infinite Mercy The Remembrance of this Vileness is grievous unto me the Burden of it is intollerable and with the utmost Earnestness of a troubled Spirit I beg thy heavenly Aid that now without the least Delay I may chearfully embrace the blessed Invitations of the Gospel and love and honour the Messengers which bring me those glad Tidings and since my Maker is my Husband be always mindful of my Duty to him and bear him unspotted Fidelity and Love be his intirely and for ever submit without Reserve to his heavenly Government reverence his Authority and glorifie him with my Body and my Spirit which are his And grant O merciful God I humbly intreat thee that the Spirit of Infidelity may never possess my Soul lest I totally reject this blessed Invitation or having embrac'd it and enter'd into so near a Relation to my Saviour again divorce my self from him by entertaining strange and forbidden Loves And since I am so highly honour'd by the Son of God O may I always be careful to preserve the Dignity of so high a Calling and not debase my self by low sunk brutish Actions but as befits the spiritual Spouse of Christ be cloath'd with the wedding Garment of sincere Purity and Holiness that so I may never be separated from my dearest Lord but ever enjoy the unconceivable Happiness of his heavenly Kingdom Which grant O merciful Father for the Sake of that blessed Jesus Amen Amen PARABLE VI. Of the Ten Virgins Matth. xxv 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13. Then shall the Kingdom of Heaven be likened unto Ten Virgins which took their Lamps and went forth to meet the Bridegroom And five of them were wise and five were foolish They that were foolish took their Lamps and took no Oil with them But the wise took Oil in their Vessels with their Lamps While the Bridegroom tarried they all slumbered and slept And at Midnight there was a Cry made Behold the Bridegroom cometh go ye out to meet him Then all those Virgins arose and trimmed their Lamps And the foolish said unto the wise Give us of your Oil for our Lamps are gone out But the wise answer'd saying not so lest there be not enough for us and you but go ye rather to them that sell and buy for your selves And while they went to buy the Bridegroom came and they that were ready went in with him to the Marriage and the Door was shut Afterwards came also the other Virgins saying Lord Lord open to us But he answer'd and said verily I say unto you I know you not Watch therefore for ye know neither the Day nor the Hour wherein the Son of Man cometh THough the first Intention of this Parable as may be probably collected from the foregoing Chapter which is a Description of the sad State that was e'er long to overtake Jerusalem for the Jews
or Christian Religion does 1. create the nearest Relation between Christ and Believers it makes us Members of his Body of his Flesh and of his Bones and as was before quoted from St. Paul Ephes 5.30 i. e. it makes us as near to him as the Members are to the Head the Flesh and Bones to the Body or as our Church expresses it it makes us one with Christ and Christ with us 't is so near a Relation that nothing can sufficiently express it but what expresses an Union It creates likewise 2. the dearest Relation for thus our Lord John 14.21 He that hath my Commandments and keepeth them he it is that loveth me and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father and I will love him and will manifest my self unto him and Vers 23. We will come unto him and make our Abode with him and Chap. 15.14 Ye are my Friends if ye do whatsoever I command you And Rev. 3.20 Behold says our Lord I stand at the Door and knock if any Man hear my Voice and open the Door i. e. by Faith and Obedience I will come in unto him and sup with him and he with me he will shew the greatest Expressions of Dearness and Affection to him And as the Gospel makes the nearest and dearest Relation between Christ and Believers so that Relation is 3. inseparable i. e. unless we willfully divorce our selves from him by Apostacy or Disobedience Thus a little before his Ascension he tells his Apostles and in them all faithful Believers that observe whatsoever he hath commanded that he will be with them always even to the End of the World And because he was to ascend to his Father and their Father to his God and their God therefore says he I will not leave you comfortless but will pray to the Father and he shall give you another Comforter that he may abide with you for ever John 14.16 and in the 2. and 3. Verses of that Chapter I go to prepare a Place for you and if I go and prepare a Place for you I will come again and receive you to my self that where I am there ye may be also And John 10.27 28. My Sheep hear my Voice and I know them and they follow me and I give unto them Eternal Life and they shall never perish neither shall any pluck them out of my Hand And St. Paul with great Assurance asks this Question Rom. 8.35 Who shall separate us from the Love of Christ and after enumerating what in the Esteem of the World was most likely to do it he concludes Vers the last that nothing shall be able to separate us from the Love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And he is likewise in a spiritual Manner always with us in the Reception of those Mysteries which he instituted in Remembrance of him The Gospel then effecting so near so dear and so inseparable a Relation between Christ and Believers that nothing can so fitly resemble it as the State of Marriage we may from hence collect in the next place what Privileges the Gospel intitles Believers to by reason of this their so intimate Relation to Christ As first it intitles to the peculiar Love and Tenderness of Christ such a Love as will incline him to promote the Happiness of Believers and to pity and compassionate their Infirmities Failures and Imperfections for Love covereth a Multitude of Faults Thus the Apostle Col. 3.19 Husbands love your Wives and be not bitter against them be not extreme to observe every little Defect and Failing in them but consider 'em as the weaker Vessel and bear with their Infirmities And accordingly the Author to the Hebrews says of our Lord he is not one that cannot be touch'd with a Sense of our Infirmities but knows and pities them having been in all Points tempted as we are though without Sin Heb. 4.15 And as for his Tenderness and Care of our Happiness 't is miraculously evident in that he gave himself for us sacrific'd his very Life for our reconciliation to his offended Father that he might sanctifie and cleanse us and present us to himself a glorious Church not having Spot or Wrinkle or any such thing but that we should be holy and without Blemish as the Apostle expresses it in the before cited Eph. 5.26 c. And he does continually nourish and cherish us by the Communications of his Grace in the blessed Sacrament that spiritual Body of his which whoso eateth of shall live for ever and by the Comforts and Assistances of his holy Spirit And to lye thus in the Bosome of the Son of God to have such great Degrees of his Love and Tenderness to us express'd in such amazing Instances to be thus pitied and commiserated and our Failures excus'd and past by by him that is to be our Judge and our Happiness in all Respects so carefully endeavoured by him who is the Fountain of it This is such a Privilege as can never be enough valu'd and is infinitely above the Reach of any Comparison Another Privilege the Gospel intitles Believers to upon their so near Relation to Christ is Christ's Protection of them from Dangers and Defence against Assaults of Enemies For as in Marriage the Husband is the Shield and Guardian of his Wife so Christ is the Protector and Defender of the faithful he covers them from the Rage and Malice of unreasonable Men and arms them against the Attacks of the Spirits of Darkness by the Supplies and Aids of his blessed Spirit who helps our Infirmities and strengthens us mightily in the inner Man so that the Gates of Hell all the infernal Powers shall not be able to prevail against us And accordingly says St. Paul I can do all things through Christ that strengthneth me Phil. 4.13 Rom. 8.37 In all these things Tribulation Distress Persecution Famine Nakedness Perilor Sword in all these things we are more than Conquerers By what means Why through Christ that loveth us And our Lord says expresly in the forecited John 10.27 my Sheep that hear my Voice shall never perish neither shall any pluck them out of my Hand And if the Almighty Son of God be for us and takes us into his own Protection and shields and guards us as a Husband does the Wise of his Bosome who then can be against us We shall be hid under his Wings and safe under his Feathers his Faithfulness and Truth shall be our Shield and Buckler And to dwell thus under the Defence of the most High and abide under the Shadow of the Allmighty is no doubt an inestimable Privilege Again as the Husband confers Honour upon his Wife intitles her to have a Share in that Honour that is due to him so Believers by their intimate Union with Christ are advanc'd to the highest Step of Honour that Mortals can arrive at For what more honourable than to be in so near a Relation to the most glorious Son of God! Accordingly the
Scripture exhorts us to walk worthy of our holy Profession Ephes 4.1 Phil. 1 2â— and to have our Conversation as becomes the Gospel of Christ And agreeably said our Lord to the Seventy Disciples whom he sent as Harbingers to the Places whither he himself intended to come he that despiseth you despiseth me and 't is in some Proportion true of all other sincere Believers Christianity is a most honourable Profession and what David said to Saul when he offered him his eldest Daughter to Wife for his great Services â— Sam. 18.18 who am I and what is my Life or my Fathers Family in Israel that I should be Son in-law to a King may with infinitely greater Reason be said by every true Christian who am I and what is my Life that I should be taken into the nearest Relation to the eternal Son of the Majesty of Heaven and Earth No Title comparable to this no Relation so much to be glori'd in nor any Care too great to live up to so august a Character But In the last place the Gospel intitles Believers as to a Participation in some Degree of the Honour of Christ so likewise of his Glory and Happiness And as a Husband is to provide for his Wife suitable to his own Quality and make her a Sharer in his Happiness and Prosperity so will Christ confer upon sincere Believers a plentiful Share of his Glories and Felicities in Heaven Thus John 14.2 3. a little before his Passion in my Father's House says he are many Mansions and I go to prepare a Place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you to my self that where I am there ye may be also And in that solemn Prayer to his heavenly Father John 17.22 The Glory says he which thou gavest me I have given them and Vers 24. Father I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am that they may behold thy Glory which thou hast given me i. e. may share in the Beatifick Vision which is the Summit of all Happiness And Rom. 8.17 St. Paul says we are joint Heirs with Christ and if we suffer with him i.e. still continue faithful Believers notwithstanding the Discouragements and Temptations of the World we shall be glorified together And 1 Cor. 14.23 Christ is call'd the first Fruits of a glorious Resurrection to immortal Bliss which supposes a general Harvest to follow Christ the first Fruits afterwards those that are Christ's at his coming For the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven with a Shout with the Voice of the Arch-Augel and with the Trump of God and the Dead in Christ shall be raised first then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the Clouds and so shall we ever be with the Lord 1 Thes 4.16.17 And if to all this we add that this intimate Union of Believers with Christ as of a Wife with her Husband and these immense Privileges that are consequent upon it will be everlasting that nothing can put a-sunder whom God has in infinite Mercy joyn'd thus close together but our wilful Unfaithfulness to this our divine Husband As it will make up the Account of the Wonders of God's Love to the Children of Men and should in Return make us all over Love and Gratitude to that good God who hath done such great things for us so it should make us exceeding careful upon no Considerations whatever to divorce our selves from this our glorious Husband but for ever pay all possible Love and dutiful Obedience to him Which brings me in the next Place to shew that as the Gospel effects the same Relation between Christ and Believers as Marriage does between a Man and his Wife and intitles to the like Privileges so it obliges likewise to the like Duties And first As a Wife is bound to bear unspotted Love and Fidelity to her Husband so is every Believer bound to demean himself towards Christ That is to love him above all things and to be intirely his not to suffer his Affections to wander after strange Loves such as the World and the Vanities of it not to be debauch'd by the Devil and his Temptations and share his Heart between Christ and Belial But since his Maker is his Husband Isa 54.5 as the Prophet Isaiah expresses it to be intirely faithful to him and admit no Creature to that Dearness of Affection which he alone should have For this is that Crime which the Scripture calls spiritual Fornication and Adultery and which St. Paul told the Corinthians he began to fear they were guilty of I am jealous over you says he with a Godly Jealousie for I have espous'd you to one Husband that I may present you as a chaste Virgin unto Christ But I fear lest by any means as the Serpent beguiled Eve through his Subtilty so your Minds should be corrupted from the Simplicity or Purity and Integrity that is towards Christ 2 Cor. 11.1 2. This is that Fornication for which Christ will give us a Bill of Divorcement and for ever put us away from him depart from me ye cursed c. Mat. 25.41 This is in a spiritual Sense to take the Members of Christ and make them the Members of an Harlot and these spiritual as well as carnal Whoremongers and Adulterers God will judge And therefore as much as it concerns us to continue in this near and dearest Relation to Christ which is attended with such inestimable Privileges so much it concerns us to bear an intire and unspotted Love to him for he hath hought us with a Price therefore we should glorifie him in our Bodies and our Spirits which are his Secondly As a Wife is bound to submit her self to her Husband to comply with his Government and reverence his Person and Authority so and much more is every Believer bound to do to Christ That is to be satisfied with the Disposals of his Providence to submit to his Guidance and Conduct to reverence all the Expresses of his good Pleasure to be in Subjection to his holy Discipline to have one Will with him the same Likes and Dislikes and in no Case to oppose or resist his Sovereign Authority This is no more than what the Apostles command from a Woman to her Husband as every one that has read their Writings knows very well and that though they are both alike frail sinful Mortals much more then ought we to be subject and bear the profoundest Reverence to Christ our Saviour who is the King of Glory the Son of God who upholds all things by the Word of his Power and sits on the right Hand of the Majesty on high whom all the Angels of God worship and who besides is most tender and affectionate to us and his Government directed by infinite Wisdom Thirdly As a Wife ought not only to be subject to the Disposals of her Husband and
in Time of Sickness the whole Man is dejected and the Spirit which should bear up his Infirmity is then it self for the most part wounded through the near Prospect of the other World and the bold Accusations of Conscience which then unless quite sear'd is loud and clamorous Then the Man is least of all able to help himself and the Charge of Sickness is great and he that was poor in Health when sick is doubly poor and indeed there is no greater Object of Pity and Compassion than a poor sick Man And as all Charity must be universal without excepting even Enemies so in this case our Enemies should be the Objects of our Charity to choose For upon a sick-Bed 't is most likely that they will be reconcil'd and 't is highly necessary than then they should be for Sickness often ends in Death and no Man can tell but that Sickness which his Enemy then lies under may be his last And 't is a miserable thing to die in Enmity And therefore before it be too late whoever is at variance with a sick Man should go to him and endeavour a Reconcilement if he hath injur'd the sick in any respect he should ask his Pardon and make him Satisfaction and Restitution and if the sick Man has injur'd him he should go to him to let him know that he freely forgives him and desires that all Ill-Will may be at at End for the future And at that Time when the Spirit is usually more softned and compliant than in Health and the Soul more awaken'd and sensible of her Duty 't is very probable he will hearken and the Man will gain his Brother And 't is a great Charity indeed to ease a sick Man's Mind of the devilish and tormenting Passions of Malice and Revenge it provides for Peace and Amity for the future should he recover and should he dye it makes his Account much easier at the Day of Judgment 3. As for Charity to such as are depriv'd of their Liberty the Manner of it consists in visiting and discoursing comfortably to them and in endeavouring by the best Methods we can to procure their Enlargement and in the mean time in helping them to Necessaries and perswading their Keepers to be kind to them and use them tenderly And if they are imprison'd for Grimes 't is to endeavour to make them sensible of the Guilt of them before God and that unless they sincerely repent of them an eternal Bondage in Chains of Darkness and in the lowest Hell shall come in the Place of the Dungeon their Iron Shackles and temporary Confinement And the Objects of this Piece of Charity are as before all Enemies as well as Friends Strangers and Foreigners as well as Neighbours and Acquaintance Under this Head of the Manner of expressing our Charity to the Necessitous it is proper to enquire what Preference may be made of one Object of Charity before another if more should offer themselves than one Man can relieve at least at the same time For our Direction in this matter St. Paul has left us two general Rules the one Gal. 6.10 where he says as we have Opportunity let us do good unto all Men but especially to those that are of the Houshold of Faith in which we are taught to prefer Christians before Heathens and Infidels when there is no Help but one must be preferr'd and among Christians to prefer in like Circumstances the pious and sincerely good before such as live not agreeably to their holy Profession for such only as have the Power of Godliness are properly of the Houshold of Faith The other Rule is in 1 Tim. 5.8 in these Words If any provide not for his own especially those of his own House or Kindred he has denyed the Faith c. and here we are directed if a Preference must be made to make it in Favour of our Friends and Relatives before such as are Strangers to us But these Rules must be thus explained As first where 't is impossible for us to comply with all Opportunities of doing good there this Preference is to be made but when we can we must do good to all And secondly When the Necessities of pious Christians and our Friends and Relations are equally great and urgent with those of the impious and Strangers to us there likewise our Charity should begin at Home But thirdly when the Distress of an Ill Man or a Stranger is greater and more urgent than that of a good Man or my Friend and Relative so that the former will be in danger of perishing unless immediately reliev'd and the latter will not but may safely tarry longer Then there must be no Respect of Persons but the greatest Necessity where-ever it be found must be first reliev'd I shall add but one thing more relating to the Manner of expressing our Charity and that is what St. Peter advises 1 Pet. 4.9 that it be done without grudging The Word in the Original is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies murmuring or an unwillingness in doing any thing as if 't were torn and forc'd from one rather than proceeded from a free Inclination And this hateful churlish way of Alms-giving St. Paul likewise expresly forbids and says our Charity must not be shewn grudgingly 2 Cor. 9.7 or as of Necessity and Rom. 12.8 He that sheweth Mercy let him do it with Chearfulness according to the Example which God himself hath set us Who giveth to every Man liberally Jam. 1.5 and upbraideth not And here I can't but admire and adore the infinite Goodness of God who has not only oblig'd us to the Substance of this Duty but has so order'd the very Circumstantials of it that the necessitous may be reliev'd with as much Decency and Ease to themselves as can be and the Alms of others look rather like their own Propriety as the Payment of a Debt or restoring of a Pledge or bestowing a Reward and that their Souls might not be griev'd by Frowns and Taunts and unkind Language when they receive Supply for the Needs of their Body For Man as well as God loves a chearful Giver and a Benefit that comes hardly and with Shews of Unwillingness is much lessened in its Value and a Man of a generous Spirit would prefer a Mite given with a free Heart and Words of Kindness before the Largess of an Emperour if he must suffer Upbraidings for it and opprobrious Treatment Super Omnia Vultus accessere Boni says Horace All the Delicates at his Friends Entertainment would have relish'd but very indifferently had not a chearful Countenance assur'd him of his Welcome And if a free Charity be given in secret too Mat. 6.4 as our Lord himself directs the poor Man will not be so much as put to the Blush for what he receives and will come short of the rich in nothing that is necessary and be free from the Vexations that attend an opulent Condition and the Advantage
what Instruction he hath met with in the School of Righteousness what plenty of Religious Discourses and Exhortations he has enjoy'd and how frequently he has felt Motions from within to a still more and more holy and exemplary Life He that hath experienc'd all this in a great degree that hath had his pregnant natural Capacity well cultivated by an early and excellent Instruction and had the whole of Religion plainly laid before him in all the Doctrines Duties Rewards and Punishments of it and been often and affectionately exhorted to live accordingly in all holy Conversation and Godliness and has frequently felt secret internal Motions and Perswasions to it this Man has received much more than One Talent at the hands of God and God will expect from him a proportionable Improvement and he must abound in every good Word and Work For unto whomsoever much is given of him shall be much requir'd and to whom Men have committed much of him they will ask the more But because all Men are not of equal Abilities naturally neither have the same Opportunities of Instruction and Improvement nor the same immediate Impulses of the Blessed Spirit where there is any defect in these Respects God will abate proportionably in his Expectations and he that received the One Talent had he gained but One other with it would have been call'd a good and faithful Servant and been receiv'd into the Joy of his Lord. Let us all therefore endeavour to grow in Grace according to the measure of this unspeakable Gift to perform our Duties each in his Station and according to his Ability faithfully and industriously that when our Lord comes to make Enquiry into each ones Improvement of his Talent and call for every ones particular Account we may all from the least to the greatest chearfully give it up and receive the immense Reward of a sincere Diligence For In the third Place There will most certainly be a Time when our Great Lord will come to take Account of every Man's Improvement of the Grace that was given him and reward every Man according to his Deserving That there will certainly be a Day of Judgment both of Quick and Dead when every Man shall be rewarded according to that he hath done in the Body whether it be good or evil is a Truth so evident from Scripture that those who have read and do believe those Writings can make no doubt of it And the Proof of this from Reason has been so convincingly manag'd by several Learned Pens particularly of late by Dr. Sherlock in his Excellent Discourse upon Judgment that I think nothing can be added to it I shall only therefore Collect such a Description of that Great Day and the Proceedings in it out of the Revelations where it is the most movingly represented as may incline us all with the greatest Diligence and immediately by self-Examination and Amendment of every evil Way to prepare for that great Audit that we may give up our Accounts with joy and not with grief In the 20th Chapter of the Revelations ver 12. after the divine Apostle had given a Description of the Appearing of the great Judge upon his Throne I saw a great White Throne says he and him that sat on it from whose face the Earth and the Heaven fled away and there was found no place for them He proceeds I saw the dead small and great stand before God and the Books were opened And another Book was opened which is the Book of Life and the dead were judged out of those Things that were written in the Books according to their Works and the Sea gave up the dead that were in it and Death and the Grave deliver'd up the dead which were in them and they were judged every man according to their Works And whosoever was not written in the Book of Life was cast into the Lake of Fire That is The Records shall then be laid open wherein every Man's Receipt of Grace is enter'd and those whose Works shall be found proportionably good according to the Assistance they have receiv'd from Above or in the Stile of the Parable that have made an answerable Improvement to the Number of Talents committed to them their Names shall be written in the Book of Life and they received into the eternal Joy of their Lord. But those who can then give no good Account of their Talents shew no suitable Improvement in Holiness according to the measure of Grace they have received shall never see Life but be cast into the Lake of Fire which is the second Death And because so very few will be so wise as to make due Preparation for this great Day of Account by improving the Grace God has given them to the great Ends for which it was design'd therefore as 't is describ'd Rev. 3.15 The Kings of the Earth and the great Men and the rich Men and the chief Captains and the mighty Men and every Bond-man and every Freeman many of all Qualities and Conditions from the highest to the lowest shall hide themselves in Dens in Rocks and Mountains and say to the Rocks and Mountains fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the Throne and from the Wrath of the Lamb for the great Day of his Wrath is come and who shall be able to stand May these Terrors of the Lord perswade us to provide in this our day for the Things that belong to our Peace before they be hid from our eyes looking for by frequent Meditation and hastning unto by a diligent Improvement of our Talents the coming of this dreadful day of God and being above all things careful That we be found of him in Peace without spot and blameless for God will bring every secret Thing into Judgment whether it be good or evil and exactly adapt every Man's Recompense to his Work Which brings me to the next Thing I am to consider in this Parable namely Fourthly That at that great Day of Account when every Man's Work is fully known and his Improvement compar'd with what he has receiv'd the Diligent shall not only in general be receiv'd into the Joy of their Lord and the unprofitable cast into outer Darkness but the most Diligent those that have made the greatest Improvement shall receive the greatest share of Happiness And those that have been most careless and Unprofitable shall be doom'd to the greatest misery That is in short there will be degrees of Happiness or Misery respectively awarded to Men according to the degrees of their Holiness or Impiety I know this has been much question'd by some and wholly deny'd by others and their main Reason against it I conceive to be this That since the Happiness of the Just in Heaven consists in the Vision of God or the Excellencies and Beauties of the Divine Nature which will fill a holy Soul with eternal and inexpressible Delight for so St. John expresses the Bliss of Heaven by seeing God as
it and as I am in Charity bound by Severity when the Man is able to bear it to provide for the Safety of his Soul so by a timely Relief likewise when there is urgent Need of it to support his Body So that upon the Whole all that want are to be releiv'd but 't is after a different Manner and the Charity must be adapted to the Necessity to the Widow and the Fatherless the Naked the Hungry the Sick and the Helpless must be ministred Comfort and Support but to sturdy lazy Travellers as they call themselves the Lash and Labour and rough Treatment and this however harshly it may sound is the greater Charity of the Two And thus much in general for the first Enquiry occasion'd by this Parable viz. who are the proper Objects of this Kind of Charity according to the Intent of our holy Religion or in the Words of the Lawyer to our Saviour who is our Neighbour in this Respect I proceed to the Second Enquiry How we are oblig'd to express this Charity to the proper Objects of it in what Manner and in what Measure And in general as to the Manner of relieving it must be adapted to the Necessity to be relieved and as to the Measure it must likewise be suitable to the Degree of the Necessity and to the Ability of the Person that relieves it But to do Justice to this Enquiry we must be more particular and shall therefore reduce the Necessities of the Objects of our Charity to these three Heads Poverty Sickness and Loss of Liberty and shew the Manner and Measure of relieving each As for Poverty it may be of several Kinds and may consist either in Want of Meat and Drink or of Cloaths or of a Habitation or in a forlorn Widow-hood and Loss of Parents i. e. in such an urgent Want of Necessaries for Life as the Persons are utterly unable at least for the present to supply themselves withal and such a Loss of Husband or Parent as leaves destitute of such Necessaries and of Means to procure them Now in case of such Poverty the Relief must be suited to the most urgent Necessity he that is hungry must be supplied with Meat and the thirsty with Drink the naked with Cloathing sufficient to keep out the Injuries of the Weather Strangers and distress'd Travellers with Lodging and Widows and such as have been House keepers but are fall'n to Decay with convenient Habitations and a competent Subsistence and the Fatherless with good Education and a Paternal Care in disposing of them to Trades and Employments whereby they shall be enabled to provide for themselves And if any should be so destitute of all Comfort as to want most or all of these Necessaries they must be supply'd with all beginning with that of which there is the most need or else with a competent Piece of Mony Eccles 10.19 which as the wise Man says answers all things But this last must be understood only with respect to a poor Man that is in such Circumstances as that he can without any great Inconvenience shift for himself and with the Mony given him provide what is necessary But when a Man is in such present urgent necessity whether of Food or Drink or Rayment or Lodging or the like that he will be in great Danger of perishing if his Wants be not quickly supply'd and the Distance from publick Places of Entertainment great and the Season extreme in these and the like Circumstances 't would be but a mock piece of Charity to give Mony and take no farther Care of him there must be particular Provision made for such a Man 's particular Wants and that immediately and without Delays Thus for Instance suppose a poor Man should come to any one's House in a sharp Winter and dark Night approaching cold and faint and hungry and weary and beg for Admittance and that Pity might be had of his sad Condition and some Releif afforded him and suppose the Master of the House should refuse to take him in or let him refresh himself with him but withal give him a Piece of Mony and tell him that two or three Miles off there is a Town where for that Mony he may have Supply of his Wants and so send him away and suppose this poor Wretch should either faint by the Way or miss of it and in the weak Condition he is in be forced to lie abroad and by the Morning be found quite overcome by the rigorous Season and starv'd to Death In this Case what will the Man's dry Charity avail him Or rather shall he not answer for the Death of that distress'd Creature when he could have prevented it but would not The Manner of the good Samaritan's relieving and succouring the unfortunate Jew in the Parable though by his different Way of Religion quite estrang'd from the Jews is a remarkable Example of a thorough Charity When he came near and saw what a sad Condition the Thieves had lest the poor Man in despoil'd of his Mony and his Cloaths and wounded and left half-dead he first applies himself to the Relief of the greatest Necessity and binds up his Wounds pouring in Oyl and Wine And then not thinking that a sufficient Charity to a Man in his Condition he set him on his own Beast and brought him to an Inn and took farther Care of his Refreshment and stay'd there with him till the morrow to see that he had what was convenient for him and because his perfect Recovery would be a thing of Time he leaves Mony with the Host and a Charge to look well after him and promises that whatever was spent more upon that poor Man's Account when he came again he would repay This was indeed a compleat Relief and manag'd with as much Discretion as Compassion and our Lord's Application is Go and do thou likewise In all Cases of this Nature the Circumstances of the poor must be consider'd and the Relief suited accordingly 2. As to the Manner of expressing our Charity to the sick 't is in short to make frequent Visits of Comfort to them to refresh their Spirits by Pious Discourses of the Power and Goodness and Wisdom of that God who sends the Affliction who can remove it if he thinks fit and whose chastning is an Argument of his Love and that if he still continues it his Wisdom sees it will be for the best at last that so they may be inclin'd to hope and trust in God and patiently submit to his good Pleasure And 't is to supply likewise what is necessary for their Attendance and Recovery The poorer sort should express their Charity in this Instance by personal Attendance and Service and the more wealthy by providing things necessary and overlooking and directing to what is convenient And this is a most noble Piece of Charity and provides for the Health of the Soul as well as the Body and nothing can be more seasonable and well-tim'd For