say unto them Depart in peace be you warmed and filled notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body what doth it profit Even so faith if it hath not works is dead being alone Jam. 2. 14 15 16 17. As if he had said Unless according to your capacity you are ready to do good and relieve those that are in want all your pretences to Religion are vain and hypocritical And this most important Truth which the Rich men of this World are so unwilling to believe is further confirmed by St. John The design of whose Epistles is to exhort us to the love of God and our Brother The latter of which as he largely shews us is the surest Mark and Evidence of the former If a man say I love God and hateth his Brother he is a liar For he that loveth not his Brother whom he hath seen how can he love God whom he hath not seen 1 Joh. 4. 20. No man hath seen God at any time God is a Spirit and invisible and we do not converse with God as we do with one another How then can we pretend to this love of God or assure our selves that we have this Divine Grace Now St. John takes care to satisfy us in this matter v. 21. He who loveth God let him love his Brother also i. e. He who pretends to love God let him prove his love to God by the love of his Brother But how shall we evidence this love of God by our love to our Brother Of this the Apostle gives us a plain and convincing Proof cap. 3. v. 17. Whoso hath this Worlds good and seeth his Brother have need and shutteth up his Bowels of compassion from him how dwelleth the love of God in him i. e. He who relieveth not his poor Brother when it is in his power he neither loveth God nor his Brother And he that loveth not his Brother abideth in death v. 14. And because this may be censured as a very harsh and uncharitable Sentence the Apostle thus confirms it in the following verse v. 15. Whosoever hateth his brother is a Murderer and ye know that no Murderer hath eternal life abiding in him With such powerful Motives as these the Apostles of our Lord did recommend this most necessary Duty of Charity And as this was the Doctrine of the Apostles so also of our Blessed Lord himself Give Alms of such things as you have and behold all things are clean unto you Luk. 11. 41. Sell that ye have and give Alms provide your selves bags which wax not old a treasure in the heavens that faileth not where no thief approacheth neither moth corrupteth Luk. 12. 33. And I say unto you Make to your selves friends of the Mammon of unrighteousness that when ye fail they may receive you into everlasting habitations Luk. 16. 9. Love ye your Enemies and do good and lend hoping for nothing again and your reward shall be great and ye shall be the Children of the Highest for he is kind to the unthankful and to the evil Be ye therefore merciful as your Father also is merciful Luk. 6. 35 36. But in no part of the Gospel is this Duty of Charity so effectually recommended as in Matth. 25. v. 31. c. The words contain the Process of the Great and Final Judgment punctually described by our Saviour and our Judge They are of infinite concernment to us all And therefore I shall transcribe them at large And the rather because in its proper Place I shall make some Remarks and Observations upon them When the Son of man shall come in his Glory and all the holy Angels with him then shall he sit upon the throne of his Glory And before him shall be gathered all nations and he shall separate them one from another as a Shepherd divideth his Sheep from the Goats And he shall set the Sheep on his right hand but the Goats on the left Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world For I was an hungred 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 I was sick and ye visited me I was in prison and ye came unto me Then shall the righteous answer him saying Lord when saw we thee an hungred and fed thee or thirsty and gave thee drink When saw we thee a stranger and took thee in or naked and cloathed thee Or when saw we thee sick or in Prison and came unto thee And the King shall answer and say unto them Verily I say unto you In as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my Brethren ye have done it unto me Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels For I was an hungred and ye gave me no meat I was thirsty and ye gave me no drink I was a stranger and ye took me not in naked and ye cloathed me not sick and in prison and ye visited me not Then shall they also answer him saying Lord when saw we thee an hungred or athirst or a stranger or naked or sick or in Prison and did not Minister unto thee Then shall he answer them saying Verily I say unto you In as much as ye did it not to one of the least of these ye did it not to me And these shall go into everlasting Punishment But the Righteous into life eternal From these words of our B. Saviour 't is pertinent to observe That though as appears from other Places of Scripture we must be judged for what we have done in the Body i. e. for all the good or evil that we have done in this World yet our Saviour in describing the Process of the Last Judgment makes no mention of any thing but Acts of Charity From whence you may be admonished how necessary it is to do all the good you can whilst you live and to improve all those Talents with which you are intrusted particularly your wealth to the highest advantage And as a further Confirmation of this necessary Duty I must not omit to observe That Charity to the Poor is not only commanded in the Gospel but also in the Law and the Prophets If thy Brother be waxen poor and fallen in decay with thee then thou shalt relieve him yea though he be a stranger or a sojourner that he may live with thee Lev. 25. 35. If there be among you a poor man of one of thy Brethren within any of thy Gates in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee thou shalt not harden thy heart nor shut thy hand from thy poor Brother Thou shalt surely give him and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him because that for this thing
we suppose they were not convinced of the necessity of this Restitution till they lay upon their Death-Bed let them then consider that this Restitution is the most effectual Method to secure that which is left by continuing God's Blessing upon it For there is a strange unaccountable Canker through the just Judgment of God commonly attending all Goods Estates or parts of Estates dishonestly gotten 'T is better therefore even for their sakes to leave a man's Relations honestly Poor than dishonestly Rich. Whatever therefore you Bequeath to your Children and to your Friends be it more or be it less be sure it be honestly gotten This is what I intend when I admonish you to make a Just Will V. Make a Charitable Will 'T is the Direction of the Church of England in the Order for the Visitation of the Sick That the Minister should not omit earnestly to move such Sick Persons as are of Ability to be liberal to the Poor Whence observe 1. That it is the Duty of the Clergy to move Sick and Dying Persons to Remember the Poor 2. If such Sick and Bequeathing Persons are of Ability they are then to move them to be liberal in their Gifts and Legacies to the Poor 3. They are not only to move them but earnestly and with importunity to move them If therefore the Covetous Misers of this world who value their Bags more than their Souls shall be offended at this freedom as if this part of our Office were a Pragmatical Encroachment as if herein we did transgress the limits of our Calling and were as Busy-bodies in other mens matters I shall for the Conviction of such Persons and the just Vindication of my Profession suggest the Reasons of such Charitable Distributions And from thence shall shew them why we of the Clergy do think our selves obliged with such repeated plainness to remind them of this Duty The Clergy by their Office and Calling are the Ambassadors of Christ Or if that may seem a Title of too much State they are the Stewards of his Houshold who are to distribute to the Family their several Portions Now St. Paul who was not only a faithful Pastor of the Flock but also a Governor of the Pastors themselves hath left this Apostolical Injunction to his Son Timothy and in him to all other Pastors and Ministers of God's Word Charge them that are rich in this world that they be not high-minded nor trust in uncertain riches but in the living God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy That they do good that they be rich in good works ready to distribute willing to communicate laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come that they may lay hold on eternal life 1 Tim. 6. 17 18 19. It appears from this Injunction of St. Paul that Rich men as well as others are to be admonished of their Duty Charge them that are rich in this world And if their Loftiness shall think scorn to be thus Tutor'd by the Clergy they are then advised that they be not high minded not to be proud and insolent not to slight and despise their meaner Brethren And the more effectually to abate their Confidence they are further to be admonish'd that their Riches are uncertain and therefore 't is the highest folly to trust in uncertain riches Solomon's Observation That riches make themselves wings and flee away as an eagle towards heaven Prov. 23. 5. i. e. they are gone with a swift and imperceptible motion is fully confirmed by daily experience Fire Robbery Suretyship the Falseness of a Friend a Sinking Ship a Treasonable Word the Tragical Excesses of Wine and Passion with many other such like Accidents have sunk and ruined the Greatest in a Moment Now these possible Events which may happen to the Richest and level them with the Poorest do seasonably admonish the Rich men of this world not to be high-minded nor to trust in uncertain Riches And therefore since Riches are such uncertain Possessions and may and will so unexpectedly leave them 't is Charity to direct these Rich men where to put their Trust even in the living God Who is not only a sure and certain Comfort for he is a living God and a living Comfort but all other Comforts do slow from him Who giveth us richly all things to enjoy And why is it that he giveth us richly all things to enjoy Why have these rich men so large a share of this world 'T is for this reason viz. That they may do good be rich in good works ready to distribute willing to communicate And for their encouragement the Apostle assures them that by thus doing good c. they lay up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come that they may lay hold on eternal life From these Grounds and Reasons which shall be more distinctly enforced in their proper place St. Paul doth direct the Clergy not only to admonish but even to charge and command Rich men to charge them Authoritatively and upon their Peril for so the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 denotes to be Charitable to the Poor And what St. Paul commanded Timothy and in him the rest of the Clergy he first practised himself He admonisheth his Romans to distribute to the necessities of the saints Rom. 12. 13. He exhorts his Galatians to do good to all men Gal. 6. 10. He reminds his Hebrews To do good and to communicate forget not for with such sacrifices God is well pleased Heb. 13. 16. And in his Epistle to the Ephesians he hath thus Cautioned and Commanded Poor Labouring men Let him that stole steal no more but rather let him labour working with his hands the thing which is good that he may have to give to him that needeth Eph. 4. 28. Poor people must not pretend to excuse their stealing because they are in want But they must work for their living in some honest Calling And that not only to maintain themselves but also though they sweat to provide for their own Families they must even out of their daily Labour contribute to relieve their poor helpless disabled Neighbours Thus St. Paul did teach and admonish And the rest of the Apostles as occasion was offered did deliver the same Doctrine with their beloved Brother Paul St. James hath given us this System of Religion Pure and undefiled religion before God and the father is this To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction i. e. to comfort and relieve all distressed and helpless persons and to keep himself unspotted from the world James 1. 27. And because there were great Pretences to Faith in his days as well as ours the same Apostle instructs us how to judge whether our Faith be sincere or no What doth it profit my brethren though a man say he hath faith and have not works can faith save him If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food and one of you
methodical to enquire What kind of Entertainment are you then to expect What Preparations have you made for your Reception there In your Progress or Journey you give notice of your approach to such or such a place and send your Harbingers before to make Provision for you that so you may be received with Decency and according to your Quality Let us now examine Whether you are as wise for the Life to come as you are for this We are all Strangers in this World and have here no continuing City But as Pilgrims and Sojourners are Travelling to a better Countrey Now those who Travel into Foreign Parts do either send some Effects before them or else do carry along with them Bills of Credit which they take up in the Coin or Commodities of those Countries as they have occasion Indeed in this World Money answereth all things But there is something else which answereth all things in the next viz. Alms and Charitable Distributions These are our Exchange for the other World and the Bills and Effects we are to send before us These in the Traders Language are such Bills as will certainly be accepted Or in Scripture Phrase shall be recompensed at the Resurrection of the Just By thus giving Alms you provide your selves Bags which wax not old a treasure in the heavens that faileth not where no Thief approacheth neither moth corrupteth Luk. 12. 33. By this faithful usage of the Mammon of unrighteousness you make your selves friends that when ye fail when you Die and leave your Earthly Wealth will receive you will cause you to be received into everlasting Habitations For when the Dead shall be raised to express my self in the moving Rhetorick of a Learned Prelate and all the inumerable Myriads that ever were born shall stand before the dreadful Tribunal then shall those that have been relieved by the merciful man appear as so many Intercessors for him As if they should say Lord this is the Man that refreshed our Bowels when we were pinched with Hunger that came in seasonably to support us when we were ready to perish that delivered us from the hand of our cruel Oppressor that had pity on our Children and gave them good Education when they were left poor distressed fatherless Infants V. Bishop Chichester 's Profitable Charity p. 20. O! what reviving Raptures will it then raise to hear their Saviour and their Judge to make this Reply In as much as ye did it to the least of these my Brethren ye have done it unto me Come therefore ye Blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world This is the Blessed Reward of a well Regulated Charity And God grant that by doing Good by being rich in good Works by being ready to distribute and willing to Communicate to the necessities of Others you may lay up in store for your selves a good foundation against the time to come and may lay hold on Eternal Life I much hope that you are now fully convinced of the necessity of this Duty The Precepts of Charity are so plain and so often repeated in the H. Scriptures so pressingly inforced by such just and reasonable Considerations that the most tenacious Wretch must needs be convinced in his Judgment that it is both his Interest and his Duty To be Charitable and do Good But notwithstanding all this or whatever else can be said on this Subject if either the Suggestions of Satan who envies the happiness of Mankind or the clamours of disatisfied Relations who like Vultures wait for their Prey I say if either of these can divert the Covetous Miser from doing Good they will not fail to furnish him with such Pleas and Excuses as these PLEA I. This pressing of Charity is a Popish Trick How many brave Estates have been ruined by the wheedling Arts of these Canting Priests What stately Lordships have been bequeathed to the Superstitious uses of Obits and Masses for the Dead And being rid of this Trumpery must the Clergy of the Reformation be still practising upon us Shall not our Friends Dispose of their Estates and make their Wills as they please but these Men in Black must pretend to Direct and bring in their Items for the Poor and the Church ANSWER To the great Honour of the Reformation we can boldly declare that Charity is no Popish Trick for if a just Account of such Endowments were published to the World as 't is hoped in due time it may it would undeniably appear That as to the best parts of Publick Charity viz. founding Schools and Hospitals c. more hath been done by Protestants since the Days of Edw. 6. than by Papists from the Conquest to the Reformation But why must Charity be branded as Popish Indeed formerly Popish was a frightful Word and of large extent in these Nations The Reformed Service of our Church hath been condemned as Popish Bishops and their Lands have been Voted Popish for whilst Naboth hath a Vineyard he shall not be innocent and whatever else hath displeased hath been nicknamed Popish But the Cheat is long since detected and the Generality of our People are now better instructed for they plainly understand That what Papists formerly did out of a mistaken Zeal and Superstitious Principles Protestants may now perform in a due and regular manner and so the Objection is vanished and the Protestant Clergy may still do their Duty in pressing Charity without the harsh and unjust Censure of being Popishly affected PLEA II. The Laws of the Land have taken care of the Poor and if duly executed would competently provide for them To what purpose therefore do you Exhort us to be Charitable to the Poor when we are forced upon Complaint to relieve them whether we will or no ANSWER 1. If these Laws are not Executed as many times they are not the Poor will still want relief and may starve with the Law on their side 2. There are many Cases of Charity for which the Laws have not provided Men of generous Spirits will even sink in their misery and endure the utmost extremity before they will make known their Wants to their insulting Neighbours or be relieved by a Parish These are proper Objects for the Charity of Wealthy Men who besides the Payment of their Parish Rates should be constantly doing Good in such instances as these For true Christian Charity is of a large extent beyond the Obligation of humane Laws and therefore when at the great and dreadful Day it shall be demanded of those Rich and Wealthy Men Whether they have fed the hungry and cloathed the naked c. it will be a very imperfect and uncomfortable Answer only to Reply That they paid their Rates to the Poor PLEA III. My Estate as yet is but small when I am as rich as other Men I may then think of Distributing and being Charitable to the Poor ANSWER How small is your Estate Perhaps you are not worth Fifty Thousand