thâ—…â—…nd 〈◊〉 or if they come near all they can do is to weep and waile true and certain comfort cometh only from above which a Charitable Man is sure of For Blessed is he that considereth the Poor the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble The LORD will preserve him kâ—…ep him alive and he shall be blessed upon the Earth and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness Psal. 41. 1. 2. 3. If saith the Prophet Isaiah thou draw out thy Soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted Soul then shall thy light rise in obscurity and thy Darkness be as noon day and the LORD shall guide thee continually and satisfy thy Soul in drought and make fat thy bones and thou shalt be like a wattered Garden and like a spring of Watters whose watters fail not Isa. 58. 10 Fifthly the profite of Charity 〈◊〉 â—…rther then Earth it reacheth to Heaven and gets us an interest there 'T is true Heaven is not merited by any deed of ours we must not entertain any such thought but certainly such good Deeds are followed with Heaven happiness of the other Life How much respect GOD will have to Acts of Charity and Mercy in bestowing Heaven we may see from Mat. 25. and therefore St. Paul would 〈◊〉 â—…he Rich to do Good to be rich in good works ready to distribut willing to communicate thereby 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 18. 19. Here is the greatest advantage of Charity and here we may see that the most profitable way of expending our Wealth is to lay it out upon Works of Charity For the profit of all other Works is limited to this life the good of them as to us expires with our Breath and 't is but seldom that it lasteth so long when a man dies he carries nothing away of all that he hath done otherwayes except perhaps a troubled Conscience for being imployed so much to so little purpose But the profit of good and Charitable Works accompanieth a man to the Grave nay followeth him to the othâ—… 〈◊〉 and purchaseth Friends there Friends 〈◊〉 never die and which receive and welcome him to their everlasting Habitations And seeing it is so what senselesness is it to neglect Charity How much do they sit in their own light who give not all diligence to abound in Good Works nill we will we we must remove hence here we cannot stay alwayes sometime or other we will be forced to pack to another World and should we not then before hand secure a Habitation and Endeavour that it may be well with us there if we were to be banished this Kingdom or saw any necessity of leaving it we Would take care to Transport our goods whither we intended to take up our residence or we would make money of them and carry bills thither that we may have wherewith to sustain and comfort our selves Now what madness is it not to be as provident for our Souls as for our Bodies why do we not distribute our Goods to the use of the Poor and needy that we may have Treasures in Heaven And that when this Earthly tabernacle is dissolved we may be lodged in glorious and Eternal mansions 'T is strange to see how fond Men are upon Possessions here below they will give all they are Worth nay contract for more though it Make their Life burdensome to get an Heritage upon Earth notwithstanding they are perswaded that they cannot abide with it Now a Purchase iu Heaven may be had easilier it needs not all nor half nor the Fourth part of our goods to this a Tenth part Devotely disposed will do the businesse And is it not Wisdom then to lay out money rather upon this which may be had so easily which is best in it self which is of Eternal Advantage A Charitable Person of all others is the Wisest and Happiest for he both enjoyeth the good things of this present life and also has the better things of the Life to Come reserved for him 6ly The profite of Charity is not confined to the Persons of the Charitable Man it descendeth to his children it entails a Blessing upon his Posterity and it goeth well with them for his sake His seed shall be mighty upon Earth the generation of the upright shall be blessed Wealth and Riches shall be in his house For such as be blessed of him shall inherite the Earth and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off All Parents that are noâ—… unnaturall wish their Children well and desire they may have wherewith to live honestly in the World after themselves are gone now the best course for this is to be Charitable for Charity secures to them the Favour of GOD and the Providence of the Almighty which is the Chiefest Treasure this makes GOD their Tutor and Curator who is best abâ—…e to manage their interest and without him others can do but little How many have left great Summes behind them and much riches whose Childrâ—…n have been Vagabounds running up and down Seeking Bread The Blessing of the LORD is the best Inheritance 'T is the best Portion Parents can leave their Children and Charitable Persons may bequeath it confidently The bountiful Man needs not be troubled that he hath Little to leave among his Children for GOD will Blesse that little and make it sufficient A little that a righteous man hath is better then the riches of many wicked Psal 37. 16. That is it goeth farther doth more good and is more profitable for the Owners And though he hath no means at all to bestow yet he has no Reason to vex himself upon that account For GOD will then surely â—…e their Provisor GOD will repay to his Children what he lent to the Poor I have been young saith the Psalmist and now aâ—… Old yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken Nor his Seed begging Bread Psalm 37. 25. I shall not say no instance to the contrary can be shewed but truely I believe very few let Men look abroad the World observe themselves and ask at others and they shall find it generally true that the Children of the Good and Merciful have mett with singular Providences do not therefore excuse thy self from Charitable Deeds because thou hast a numerous Family and many Children this is but to mock GOD and deceive thy self Thou should rather take Pity on the Poor that mercy and compassion may be shewed to thine that when Father and Mother forsake thy Children the LORD may take them up What would People say or do if they were in the Widow of Zareptha's Circumstance who had not a cake but an handful of Meal in a Barrel and a little Oile in a cruse and that too in the dayes of great Famine
fixed Staâ—…ion in this World but are either by their â—…hoice willingly or through necessity changing their Habitations and Imployments When we think our selves most secure and are building to our selves Houses and Tabernacles of Residence hoping that here we shall fix and settle behold presently some thing or other occurs which defeats our Design and alters our Purpose and constrains us to make Tryal of some State and Condition we little thought upon And thus all Men almost from their own Experience may say that their Life and Condition heâ—…e is like that of a Traveller and Pilgrime But however true it hold in a Literal sense it is alwayes Morally true that Man while upon Earth is but a Sojourner and Stranger whatever be his Lot and Portion For first GOD hath not intended us a Sure and Lasting Abode here he hath resolved not to suffer us to make any long or considerable stay on the Earth he designs only that we should take a short view of things take a turn or two and then remove hence Man's Life here is but of few dayes even those who attain to the greatest number of years their life if compared to Eternity is but a span-long and seeing that thus we have but so short and so uncertain Possession of this World our stay therein cannot be counted other then a Sojourning It cannot be said properly that we dwell here but only that we lodge For we are not true Inhabitants but only way-faring Men who take a Nights Lodging and afterwards are gone We can call no place here our Home we never go Home till we descend into the Grave and pass over into the other World that is our Home because there is no changing of it nor flitting from it Secondly As we are to account our selves Sojourners because our Life is short so Strangers because of the want of an agreeable Habitation All Creatures have a proper Element whither also their Natural Propensitie inclines them that is the Proper and Natural Element of any Beeing which is suitable to its Nature and Quality and where it finds Rest and Ease but on the contrary that is Improper and Unnatural which agrees not with its Disposition and where it lives with Difficultie and in much pain Thus the Air is an improper Element for Fishes as the Water for Fowls and Terrestrial Creatures and consequently this World is not the proper place and habitation of Spirits and Rational Beings And therefore also not of Men seeing we are of this Order by our better part The Creatures to be met with here below are not capable of Converse with us and all the Delights and Enjoyments here can only gratifie the Body and be profitable for chearing those frail Tabernacles we carry about with us But 't is little service they can do the Soul and therefore however proper these lower Regions may be for Bodies yet certainly our Souls soar higher and aspire after a Happiness beyond what is to be found here Wherefore whiles we are upon Earth we may be truely called Exiles and said to suffer Banishment for Heaven only is our Native Sâ—…yle it is in yonder Regions above that we can only expect to find a sutable Habitation and abode The very Heathens had this Sentiment they accounted their Stay here a perfect banishment and esteemed the Body the Prison which detained the Soul from its Native Countrey So Anexagoras being asked whither he had any Care or Concernments for his Countrey because he troubled not himself with the Publick Affairs and Transactions His answer was GOD forbid that it should be otherwise indeed my mind is greatly towards my Countrey pointing with his finger to Heaven That is a Man's Home where his Friends and Relations live where his Wealth and Estate and the Possessions wherein his Happiness lyes are reserved where his Heart and Affections are placed And so Heaven is and should be only our Home Thither should we aim for our Souls are descended thence there GOD our Father liveth and IESUS CHRIST our elder Brother and Angels and Seraphims and the Spirits of just Men made perfect our Friends and Companions and Fellow-Citizens and there be the Treasures of our Happiness That Good which our Souls crave and seek after is shut up there and no where else This World affords no perfect Contentment or true solid Happiness All we can expect here is some little Refreshing to keep us from Fainting and Languishing This World is an Inne too narrow and scanty for to give Satisfactorie ease and fulness this is only to be looked for when we come to our Fathers house where there are many Mansions and all Richly and well Furnished In his Presence there is fulness of joy and at his Right Hand there are Rivers of Pleasures for evermore Psal. 16. 11. This Earthly Canaan which was here promised to Iacob was a type of Heaven and given as a Pledge thereof It is not to be doubted but that the Patriarch had a prospect beyond the Land wherein he was though it was the pleasantest upon Earth he had already tasted these Delights which Canaan upon Earth afforded and albeit they were good enough of their kind yet he could not but be sensible that they were far short of of satisfying the Appetite of the Soul And that therefore there was something to be desired more then what is to be found even in the best Countrey here Iacob had certainly the best and most vertuous Education of any in the World he was preserved from Vice and Immorality which render Men brutish and so enfeeble their Minds that they can Dream of nothing but what savours of the Flesh he was early taught all Natural Wisdom and Knowledge and Instructed also in things which Natural light could not reach to And therefore he certainly knew and was persawded that there was something within him besides Flesh and Bones even a Divine Soul capable of and designed for a more noble kind of Life then what Man enjoyes at present Because the Promises made to the Patriarchs expressed in Scripture are Temporal we must not from thence conclude that they had no other Spiritual Eternal Blessings were Vailed under these and might perhaps also be Promised a part though they be not particularly mentioned No doubt more was Revealed to them then what we have an account of but what is written was only necessarie to be known to us for the pointing out of the Messias It is very unreasonable to think that they who were so Dearly Beloved of GOD Honoured with many Particular Revelations and whose Wisdom and Vertue was more then Ordinary I say it is unreasonable to think that they were left ignorant of a future state Such a thought is injurious to the Love of GOD and also inconsistent with that Character they deserve as questionless they had a Curiosity to know whither there was another better life hereafter So GOD would not refuse to satisfie the same it being very Laudable and
a filial fear such a fear as a Son carrieth to his Father whom he loveth dearly a fear which breedeth love and delight which makes a Man to rejoyce in God and glad that he is whereas the other fear makes one wish there were no God and is inconsistent with love and doth fill one with dread and horrour Of which kind of Fear it is that the Apostle speaketh when he saith There is no fear in love but perfect love casteth out fear because fear hath torment he that feareth is not made perfect in love 1 John 4 18. This true Fear of GOD is founded upon his Nature and doth proceed from the right Knowledge of GOD and a deep Sense of his Glorious Attributes and Perfections Some say Ignorance is the Mother of Devotion But it is quite contrarie for the more one knows of GOD and the greater apprehensions he hath of these infinite excellencies which are in him the more he both Fears and Loves Him and therefore it is we find that those to whom God revealed himself most did ever Fear him most Abraham and Moses seemed to have had GOD in greater reverence then all other Men because they were most intimate with Him and certainlie the Angels in Heaven do yet Fear him more then any the most eminent Saint upon Earth because they see him more clearlie and know him more fully For it is certain the more ones worth and perfection is known it is alwayes the more valued and esteemed and as there is no Love nor Desire of a good unknown so it is a small regard which any can have to the Worth and Perfections which they are Ignorant off Wherefore that we may be possessed with the true fear of God it is necessary that we get the right knowledge of Him we must learn what he is and how great he is we must furnish our minds with true and proper nations of his Almighty Power his unsearchable wisdom his infinite goodness his unspotted holiness his admirable greatness his unspeakable glory his strict and severe justice and his Soveraign Dominion over all things which made David to say my flesh trembleth for fear of thee and I am afraid of thy judgements Psal 119. 120. I say we should labour to know these things and should let them have a deep impression on our Spirits and should ever bear the Sense of them about with us or else we can never truely fear God And as this is the way to come to the true fear of God so it expresseth it self alwayes in two things viz. 1. in reverence towards his Name and Person 2ly in a care not to offend him First if we truly fear God we will highly honour and reverence Him and that both inwardly and outwardly Inwardly by having him in a high Esteem and thinking upon him alwayes with a holy regard and Humble Deference When ever God comes into our mind or that we present our selves before him our Spirit should be struck into fear and â—…w we should lay aside all Vanity and Lightness and become Grave Serious and Composed as is sutable to so High and Holy a presence The serious Thoughts of God should make us stoop and humble our selves and be very submissive when we consider God and his Greatness we should strip our selves of all Pride and Self-conceit and look upon our selves and all things else as little and inconsiderable yea as very nothing for what else are we or any Creature nay all Creatures together when compared to God Behold saith the Prophet the Nations are as the drop of a bucket and are counted as the small dust of the Ballance behold he taketh up the Isles as a very little thing All Nations before him are as nothing and they are counted to him less then nothing and vanity he sitteth upon the circle of the Earth and the inhabitants thereof are as Grashoppers Isai 40 15 17 22. They who are proud of themselves or big with conceit of any other thing do either not know God or they doe little reflect upon him for as the lesser Stars disappear when the Sun ariseth and as the Diamond doth obscure with its brightness the Peeble and counterfeit Stones when it is set beside them so certainly when God is seriously considered and thought upon he will make all things appear small and inconsiderable the sense of his Greatness and Glory will cast a shadow upon the Beautie Lustre Excellencie even of the best of other things The Right fear of GOD will not suffer him who hath it to be proud but doth alwayes fill him with low and mean thoughts of himself and with a high esteem of God and greater reverence for him yea also it maketh a Man to admire the least Act of Favour and Condescension which cometh from GOD. Thus we find Abraham humbled himself when he talked with GOD and shewed what a high esteem he had of him behold saith he Now I have taken upon me to speak unto the LORD which am but dust and ashes Gen 18 27. Iob likewise when he had a clear Sight of GOD he was base in his own eyes behold I am vain saith he what shall I answer thee I will lay my hand upon my mouth And again I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear but now mine eyes seeth thee wherefore I abhorre my self and repent in dust and ashes Iob 40 4 42 5. And when David had considered the Heavens the works of God's Fingers the Moon and the Stars and was drawn by them to the consideration of of the greatness of the Maker he presently looks down with contempt and disdain upon himself and all Mankind and admires GOD'S Goodness unto them Lord saith he what is Man that thou art mindfull of him and the Son of man that thou visitest him Psal. 8 4. Thus it appears that the fear of God doth alwayes make us to reverence and esteem him highly in our minds and thoughts and also to contemn and undervalue our selves and all other things out of respect unto him But as we must thus reverence God Inwardly by studying to have great worthy thoughts of him mean low thoughts of our selves all things besides for his cause so we ought to shew reverence towards him Outwardly by a Grave and Humble deportment of the Outward man before him All reverence of the Divine Majestie must not be confined within us it must sometimes appear without also and certainly if there be much Within there will something of it Kyth Outwardly The Inward Thoughts Sentiments and Inclinations of the Soul are always to be discerned by the Outward behaviour and therefore if we Inwardly fear GOD and reverence him we will discover it both by speaking alwayes of him with great Respect and Deference and also by such Acts and Gestures of the Body when we set about his Worship or present our selves before Him as are proper to express and speak out the sense of that Infinite
and his Wisdom did appoint and find out all those Favourable Circumstances which have been the occasion of they Prosperity and success and it is his Providence alone which hath prevented those many Casualities which might have devested thee of all so that if it had not been for Him thou mightest long agoe been stript naked and reduced to a piece of Bread How many have gone to Bed rich and wealthy and have awakned poor and Miserable have we not seen persons turned out of their possessions and rob'd of all their Wealth and who have not been so dealt with must ascribe it to the Goodness and Care of GOD toward them Certainly what ever Wealth or Riches Honour or Advantages any man enjoyeth is still to be considered as the Gift and Gratuity of Almightie GOD as Iacob doth here For he saith not all that I have or shall have but all that thou shalt give me Acknowledging thereby that whatsoever should accrew to him by whatsoever means would be nevertheless GOD'S doings But when I say by whatsoever means it is still to be understood of lawfull means for what cometh by unlawfull wayes as by fraud and violence c. Is not from GOD but from him who promised to our Saviour All the Kingdoms of the World if he would fall down and Worship him And though a man should give all this to the Poor and in Charitable uses it would not be accepted it would be but an abomination But to return if all be owing to the Divine bountie it is just and reasonable and our bound Duty to allot and consecrate a part to his Glory We are unworthy receivers of his Benefits if we do not thanfully acknowledge his Goodness in bestowing them and without such an acknowledgement we cannot pretend to a right or sanctified use of them For the Apostle tells us every Creature of GOD is good if it be received with thanksgiving and not otherwayes which thankfull acknowledgment must be made not only verbally by Speeches and Expressions but by real works deeds viz. by devoting a certain part of what we enjoy to such pious uses as he hath appointed As Tenements own their Land-Lords by paying their yearly rent and Subjects their Soveraigne by yeelding tribute so it is no leâ—…s our Duty to Honour GOD with our substance as Solomon enjoyneth Prov. 3. 9. It was thus to honour GOD by acknowledging him to be the LORD and Giver of all that David with the Princes and Captains of Israel made these great offerings for building the Temple of the LORD and the service of the Sanctuary which we find 1. Chron. 29. for verse 11. David saith thine O LORD is the greatness and the Power and the Glory and the Victory and the Majestie for all that is in the Heaven and Earth is thine thine is the Kingdom O LORD and thou art exalted as Head above all both Riches and Honour come of thee and thou Reignest over all and in thy hand is power and might and in thy Hand it is to make great and to give strength unto all now therefore our GOD we thank thee and praise thy Glorious Name and of thine own have we given thee Now as Reason teacheth it to be just thus to honour and acknowledge GOD by consecrating a part of our Substance to his Glory and for his use so there never was a time wherein GOD did not particularly require it In the State of Innocency there was not occasion for almes or other such pious uses as now but the tree of knowledge in the midst of the Garden was reserv'd to GOD as holy in token that he was Lord of the Garden and therefore was man cast out of Paradise and had the earth cursed for his sake because he had violated the sign of his Fealtie unto the LORD of Heaven and Earth After the fall untill the Law of Moses we do not indeed find any expresse particular precept for making such offering out of our substance to GOD but yet all holy men did it Iacob you see here vowed it and Abraham gave the tenth of his Spoil to Melchisedeck the high Priest of GOD. And though reason and the meer light of nature might teach them that something was due and proper to be given yet we cannot conjecture how they could come to condescend so generally upon such a Particular Portion without learning it by Divine revelation In the law of Moses the Tithes of all things are expresly Commanded to be payed as an acknowledgment of GOD'S being the Proprietar of the whole Earth and that men hold their possessions only by his bounty and good will therefore Deut 26. As there is a Command for paying Tithes and bringing the First Fruits as an offering unto the house of the LORD so there is set down the particular confession to be made at these Offerings in which is shewed the reason for requiring them viz That even GOD ' S Tittle to the whole land might be acknowledged and that he might thereby be moved to bless the possession thereof to them seing that they thus own him to be their LORD and GOD. Now as for the Gospel this Precept is not renewed in it and the Ceremonies of Bringing up to the house of GOD the first Fruits of our encrease and what is due out of our Substance doth not much concern us But though the Ceremonial part of this Precept be not now obligatorie yet the Moral thereof is for CHRIST hath not taken away our Obligation to these moral observances which the Honour of GOD calls for think not saith he that I am come to destroy the Law or the Prophets I am not come to destroy but to fulfil Matth. 5. 17. There is not indeed in the New Testament such frequent and particular mention of making these offerings by way of Tribute unto GOD because there we are not considered as in a Servile State by the Gospel GOD hath exalted us to the Nobler State of Friends and Children and deals with us as such which yet doth not take away our obligation from paying necessary Duties whereof the thing we are now speaking about is one And though as we have said the Devoting some portion of our Goods be not now called so by way of Tribute as from Servants or Subjects yet the thing it self is very often injoyned and inculcated viz. of Almes giving Beneficencie and Works of Charity Mercie though the phrase of giveing Almes be generally used yet it is so spoken of as to let us understand that it is a debt due unto GOD which we are unjust if we do not pay for it is usually Styled Iustice or Righteousness as Mat. 25. We must not think that GOD hath now under the Gospel quit his Right and Tittle to our Goods and Possessions or that he doth not require any acknowledgment of them from us we are much mistaken if we think so He requires this now as much as ever and therefore to this end it
Pleasure and more Satisfaction than Excess and Abundance What is superfluous and redundant commonly turns to our Hurt and Dammage breeds Surfeitings and Loathings Pains and Diseases and doth Violence even to our Natural Complexions and so tendeth to the shortning of our dayes But farther a State of Mediocrity or Competency proportioned unto our Necessities is far more desirable than Great or Superfluous Abundance because this condition is more safe and secure and less subject to changes and alterations A man in this State as is well expressed by the Excellent Lord Justice Hales will not be so readily disquieted through the malice and envy of others as he who is in an Estate of External Grandeur Wealth and Power For he who is in the former State hath nothing that others do covet or desire but the latter hath gotten the Golden Ball that the generality of mankind are fond to have and restless till they have gotten it which makes the Man's estate unquiet and unsafe because he hath many competitours for what he enjoys which are continually endeavouring to trip up his Heels Just as we see when a Bird hath gotten a booty or prey all other birds of prey are following and catching after it and ever molesting him that hath it He that enjoys much either of Honour or Wealth or Power is the object of the envy of other men which is a busie restless pernicious Humor and ever picking Quarrels and finding Faults and studying and endeavouring the ruine of its object Whereas a State of Mediocrity is a state of Quietness and free frâ—…m the Assaults and Shafts of this Pestilent Companion The great Difference of these two states may be well â—…een in Iacob the Person in the Text for whilst he had nothing but his Staff his Bread to eat and his Raiment to put on the necessary supplies of Nature he was in great Quiet and Safety but so soon as Wealth encreased upon him his Uncle and his Sons first envied him and then plâ—…tted against him so that he saw no other Security but to fly for it And how many such instances may we collect from the present Age and even too within this Isle Hâ—…w many lived Happily and Contentedly until they were raised unto places of Dignity and Advantageous Emolument How hath this engaged them into a life of Strife and Debate they have been so far from Augmenting even their temporal happiness that many have losed it altogether their Enemies not being content to take away what was so much envyed by their ambition and covetousness unless they also reduced them to circumstances worse than their former that they might not be in a capacity of revenging themselves Besides all this such a competent Condition as we are speaking of is of it self by far perferrable to any other because there is less care and trouble attending it and it affords a man time and leasure for acquiring knowledge vertue and for minding and waiting upon the Great Concerns of another World He that either wants what he stands in need of or hath much more both of them are often necessitat to be a drudge to this life all their thoughts cares are for the most part about the World and the things of the World which debaseth a man very much and is a stouping of him far below the designe of his Creation he was created for the enjoyment of GOD for converse with his Maker and the Exercise of Divine vertues which both a state of want and a state of superfluity and abundance doth very much hinder and divert him from This made Agur pray against both give me saith he neither poverty nor riches not Riches left I be full and deny thee and say who is the LORD Nor yet poverty left I put forth my hand and steal and take the Name of my GOD in vain There be a great many Temptations in both States but more in a state of plenty and fulness than in want They that will be rich saith S. Paul fall into a temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtfull Lusts which drown men in Destruction and Perdition 1 Tim 6. 9. This Crates that Pagan Philosopher had some sense of when he threw his money into the Sea declaring that he would drown it lest it should drown him he might indeed have found many better and more Vertues Wayes of disposing it for preventing the mischief thereof But however this shews that even Natural Wisdom teacheth that there be more inconveniency in Having then in Wanting riches Of all Conditions in the World saith that excellent Personage formerly mentioned a redundant and over plentifull condition is most subject to the most Dangerous and Pernicious Temptations in the World As namely forgetfulness of GOD Self-Dependence Pride Insolence Oppression Injustice Unquietness of Mind Excess Luxury Intemperance contempt of others I have very often saith he known these persons that have carried themselves steddily and commendably in a Condition of Mediocrity nay have been able to bear with Victory the shocks of these Temptations that arise from want and Poverty yet when in the late times being advanced to Wealth Power and Command they were lost and could not bear the Temptations that attended Grandeur Wealth and Power So that the sun of wealth and Prosperity quickly disrobed them of that mantle of Innocence Piety and vertue that they keept about them against the Stormes of Wants and necessities And perhaps there be few but from our experience we may learn and observe the like Though Men little regard it yet certainly it merits our consideration seeing it was spoken by our Saviour Verily verily I say unto you that a rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven and again I say unto you it is easier for a Camel to go through the eye of a needle then for a rich Man to enter into the Kingdom of GOD Mat. 19. Thus you see what Reason and Wisdom there is in this Request of Iacob's and how much it doth really concern us to bound measure our Desires thereto Food and Raiment we may and ought to seek because without this we cannot live conveniently and comfortably but to ask more as it is Insolent and Immodest in regard of GOD so it is Vain and Unreasonable in it self unsafe in respect of others and very Dangerous for our selves Quod nimium est fugito parvo gaudere memento Tuta mage est puppis modico quae flumine fertur Despice divitias si vis animo esse beatus Quas qui suspiciunt mendicant semper avari Fly what 's too great be with small things content That Ship 's most safe to which small gales are sent Wouldst happy be For wealth do not much care Who it affect Beggars and greedy are Wherefore let every one in the first place sit down and wisely consider what is their competency their convenient Food as Agur terms it for it is certain that this varies according
man hath seen nor can see He being infinite and we finite we are not capable of such an exact full knowledge of him Wherefore it will not follow that One is ignorant of the True God because his knowledge of him is imperfect for the knowledge which the best have or can have is no other Nay farther it is not reasonable to infer that men are mistaken about the true God because they err about these things which are deduceable from the right consideration of some of his Attributes or because they have not right or true apprehensions of some of the effects of his wisdom power or goodness Every one is not capable of drawing proper consequences from truths and the consequences are not alwayes so clear as the truth it self it would be too severe to charge one with the denial of a truth because he does not close with what may follow upon it Unless the one be as clear and evident as the other when two things are not a like evident neither their connexion very palpable though in themselves they may be really inseparable Men may err very innocently and excusably about them and cannot be said to reject what is evident because they do not hold the other which is not so As to the present case that God is Almighty Wise. Iust Holy Good is clear and demonstrable so that they are altogether inexcusable who do not believe it But the most proper methods and manner of exercing his Power Wisdom and Iustice c. Are not so discernable by us and therefore if men differ about them it is no great wonder and it savours somewhat of arrogancie to offer to determine them too particularly If silly Country-clowns were to speak of State Policie and Regal Grandeur 't is not to be doubted but that they would err grosly because they have not true or exact notions thereof But it is less to be doubted that it is more beyond the wisest man's reach to tell exactly what is sutable to the glory of God and agreable to infinite wisdom power and justice What boldness were it tosay peremptorly God should have done or not have done this that if he had or not had done so so he would have acted unworthily What of the divine actions are plainly revealed we see clearly are agreeable to the most perfect conceptions of a Deity and what is kept secret we ought rather to admire in silence then to sit down and curiously resolve And if men will needs attempt the resolution of the hidden mysteries of GOD's Councill and prescribe Rules for that end they should rather be check'd for their bold and too curious medling then unbraided with a false god because their sentiments cannot be so exactly adjusted to the more common notions of justice and equity which men have Wherefore the deriding the God of the Calvinists * as one of late hath done deserves a severe censure and chastisement For whither these Calvinistical tenets concerning Gods Decrees be true or false the believing or not believing them will not infer a denial or not owning of the true God and seing the Calvinists acknowledge all the essential Attributes of a Deity and believe in him only who is declared the true God therefore they cannot be said to worship any other and he who mocks at the God whom they worship mocks at the true God himself and how great a sin this is I leave it to any to judge But to return whence we degressed it is requisite that every one study to get the highest and most worthy thoughts of GOD and it is absolutly necessary that they acknowledge what is expresly contain'd in the very Idea of God as that he is Almighty most Wise most Iust Good above all things and the cause of all things For God is only a short term used to expresse these perfections by and therefore who takes any of them away destroys the very nature of God and who worships what he doth not ascribe these properties to worships not God but some other thing Even as he is altogether ignorant of a circle or triangle who does not consider the one as a figure made up of three lines with three distinct angles and the other of one round line whose parts are all equally distant from the center who knows not this is quite destitute of the notion of these figures But if one knows this much he cannot but be said to have the right notion of a circle and triangle though he do not understand all which knowing and skilfull Mathematicians demonstrate about them But it is not enough for preserving our selves from Idolatry that we get and maintain some right true and proper notions of a Deity Men may have these and yet be Idolaters in that they fix these notions where they ought not and ascribe them to that which in it self is not God Thus the Heathens were guilty of Idolatry for many of them were not so much mistaken in their conceptions of God as in the application of their general conceptions to the particular objects of their worship when they spake of God at least the wise understanding persons among them they shewed that they believed him a Supreme Beeing of great Wisdom Power and Goodness and therefore they term'd him alwayes the Summum Numen Deus ter optimus maximus So that their sentiments concerning the Nature and Attributes of GOD could not be so much found fault with as their gross absurdity in misapplying these properties of the Divine Nature For some affixed the Numen or Deity to the Sun others to the Moon or to some other of the Celestiall Bodies as the Author of the book of wisdom speaks they deemed either Fire or Wind or the swift Air or the circle of the Stars or the violent water or the lights of Heaven to be the Gods which govern the World Wis. 13. 2. And though this was a sotish errour yet not so detestable as theirs who worshiped four footed beasts and creeping things and roots and herbs as we read the Egyptians did They may have been misled into these abominations through the infirmity of their Minds which could not fix steedily on a thing so Spiritual and so wholly abstracted from Sense as GOD is without the help of Sensible representations which might affect their imaginations Wherefore the better to bring GOD to their Minds that they might keep him the more easily in their Thoughts thy have have devised such Bodily figures and gross representations Or not attending to the True Nature of GOD they have imagined that he was confin'd to some peculiar place and seeing none more Glorious then the Sun or other Celestiall Bodies therefore have at first only fancied these to be the Seat of Divine Majesty But in Processe of time have degenerate into the grosser belief of their being Gods Being delighted with there beauty saith the foresaid Authour they took them to be Gods And as to that Astonishing as well
Ioshua 24. Some perhaps will say that these Passages of Scripture do only strike against plurality of gods or the Worshipping of false gods with a neglect or contempt of the True or the Substituting any in his Room but not at all against the Worshipping of Subordinate Beeings while one Supreme LORD and GOD the Creator of all things is owned and worshipped But to this it is answered that certainly all is to be included in the Prohibition which derogates from the Glory of the True GOD and is inconsistent with the Worship and Service due to Him and therefore among other things this of paying Divine Worship to any besides For who doth this does not Glorify GOD as GOD nor acknowledge that Infinit distance which is betwixt him and all other Beeings They are guilty of Lese Majesty and commit Treason against the Person of GOD who either level Him with others or exalt others to a parity with him and yet this is done when GOD is not Honoured above others and that Creatures are honoured with all the Acts of Worship and Testimonies of respect proper to the Creator In the Scripture a Covetous man is called an Idolater not that he sets up his Money as an Idol falls down before it makes Prayers and counts it his Creator but because it enhanceth his Affections is the Ground of his Confidence and that he cannot be more earnest to Please GOD then he is to get Money and keep it Now is he not much more an Idolater who designedly and of set purpose payes all that homage and Worship to others which he owes only to GOD is not this to return to the Idolatry of the Gentiles for their Crime was that they did service unto them which by nature are no Gods as St Paul tells us Gal. 4. 8. And in that he saith they did it when they knew not GOD it clearly implies that they who know him aright as the Gospel manifests him ought not to do it otherwise they walk contrary to the Gospel and dishonour GOD. To guard men against this crime God hath in Scripture declar'd himself a Iealous God like a Iealous Husband who cannot suffer with patience the least appearance of dishonesty in his wife or any the least inclination to strange embraces And indeed as a Woman would be guiltie of Adulterie though she did not quite abandon her husband if she did but prostitute her self to another and entertain him with the affection and kindness due to her own husband So they are guilty of Spiritual whorrdom and adulterie who honour with divine worship any besides the true God though they do not cast him off As the Husband is not content unless he have his wife's whole heart and intire affection so neither is God unless those who pretend to worship him do it without reserving any homage or service for another And as she comes at last to have her heart wholly enstranged from her husband who hath been too familiar with another So they who allow themselves to perform Divine Homage and service to creatures are at last altogether alienated from the Creator when men are drawn to worship any other then God they prove wholly forgetfull of him they let those whom they intended at first only to be Co-partners to turn absolut Proprietors of their hearts and service Wherefore who would take the Lord to be their God must resolve to devote themselves intirely to him and to have none other beside him Lastly who would worship the true GOD and have their service find acceptance with him as they must not dishonour God by giving him Co-partners so they must not make their adress to him by the means of Images or such sensible or external objects but must direct their worship immediatly to God himself without application to any other thing for the conveyance of their worship for this he hath expresly forbidden and that worship which he hath forbidden and declared his displeasure with can never be said to terminate in him That He hath forbidden it is evident from the second Commandement where all sort of similitude and resemblances are discharged And that there is forbidden not only Images and similitudes design'd for honour of false Gods but even also such as might be intended for the honour of the true GOD appears clearly from Deut 4. 15. where Moses saith take ye good heed unto your selves for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day the Lord spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire least ye corrupt your selves and make you a graven image the similitude of any figure the likeness of Male or Female the likeness of any beast that is on the Earth the likeness of any winged foul that flieth in the Air the likeness of any thing that creepeth on the Ground the likeness of any Fish that is in the Waters beneath the earth and least thou lift thine eyes up to Heaven and when thou seest the Sun and the Moon and the Stars even all the Host of Heaven should be driven to worship and serve them In this passage not only particular Resemblances but all kinde of similitude whatsoever with a design to worship it is absolutely forbidden So that there is not the least shadow of pretence for the thinking any lawfull to be made use of And that God not only prohibits the use and worship of Images themselves and for themselves that is to say when the worship is made to terminat in the Image or materiall object it self but also when the same is used as a means of honouring and worshipping God is clear both from the due consideration of what hath been already said and likewise from the instances of the Golden Calf which Aaron made and the two Calves in Dan and Bethel which Ieroboam set up For they who worshipped these Calves were not so gross as to terminate their worship in the Calves themselves but used only the Calves to stir up their remembrance of the true God and their devotion for him as appears by their saying these be thy Gods O Israel which brought thee up out of land of Egypt Exod. 32. 4. 1 Kings 12 28. The reason why God discharg'd the worshipping of him by Images and external Resemblances or any kind of visible objects and which makes this still unlawfull is because it is a very improper and disagreable thing in it self and that which begets dishonourable thoughts of God and which seldom or never faileth to make men guilty of the grossest Idolatrie What an improper and unsutable thing is it to studie to make him visible who by nature cannot be seen and by materiall and corruptible things to represent him who is Spirituall and Incorruptible nothing which we can make or fancie bears any proportion to God neither hath any resemblance of him the glory of the best and chiefest creatures is far below the glory of God and therefore it would be but a dishonouring of him to Resemble him to them
145. 10. c Thus it appears that the observing of GOD'S wayes and works makes a great part of his Worship and that hereby we do truely acknowledge him to be what he is not only of great Majesty but also a GOD of Infinite Wisdom and Power Because by so doing we declare that He does nothing in Vain nothing that is not infinitly Worthy of our most Serious Consideration and that our thoughts can never be better imployed them in the Contemplation of what he hath done and dayly doth in the World Let us therefore frequently betake our selves to the Contemplation of GOD ' S Works both of Nature and Providence Let us sit down and seriously and devoutly consider them and Admire and Adore that Wisdom Power and Goodnesse which appears in them It will become us to take notice how manifold the works of the LORD are and in what Wisdom he hath made them all How he hath reared up this vast fabrick of the World out of nothing and Wonderfully beautified adorned it How he hath stretched out the Heavens like a curtain and in them hath set a Tabernacle for the Sun which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber and rejoyceth as a strong man to run a race whose going forth is from the end of the Heaven and his circuit to the ends of it and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof What a wise and admirable contrivance is the Scituation and Motion of the Sun whereby all the parts of the world are equally enlightned For what any part wants at one time it hath at another those places which are longest without the Sun have him also longest with them so that his Presence alwayes equals his Absence And the dispensing his presence thus differently is much more usefull and convenient then if it had been otherwise it is visibly better that the Sun moves now betwixt the two Tropicks not in a straight or direct Line then if it had rolled regularly upon the Equator for then those under the Line or near it would have had all the Advantage and his influence upon the rest of the World would have been very faint like to that in March and September which is not sufficient to produce and ripen the various fruits of the Earth which are usefull both for our Support and Pleasure But when we have our eyes lifted up to the Heavens the Sun is not all which is worthy to be observed there we ought likewise to consider the Moon which GOD hath appointed for the Distinguishing Seasons and hath placed as a Lamp to give light in the night that those whose necessities call to travell then may be derected and see their way We ought to view the Stars also these admirable Embellishments of the Heavenly Frame which we have reason to think vastly bigg beyond their appearance else how would they be seen at such a distance And seeing Reason teacheth them to be so great in quantity and that our eyes shew them to be many in number and Art yet farr more we 〈◊〉 well conclude that the work of GODS Creation is great magnificent above the reach of our Apprehensions And therefore it may fill us with wonder and astonishment that GOD should take such notice of Man who bears so small a proportion to the rest of the Creation When I consider the Heavens saith David the work of thy Fingers the Moon and the Stars which thou hast ordained Lord what is man that thou art mindfull of him Or the Son of Man that thou visitest him Psalm 8. 3. 4. The Earth is to the rest of the World as a point to a great glob or a grain of sand to a high mountain and yet it affords many instances both of the Wisdom and Power of GOD. It hangs upon nothing as Iob speaks and yet as the Psalmist hath observed he hath so laid the Foundations thereof that it cannot be removed for ever the Earth is ordained a Temporary abode for Man and it is made most usefull and convenient for it affords not only Necessaries but Comforts it yelds not only Food to sustain our Life but also pleasures to affect our fenses there are proper objects to every appetite and things sutable to all the ends and purposes of our Present Condition Every place gives the necessaries of Life and what is else desireable is wisely 〈◊〉 so that they who live in the severall parts of the world may be engaged to entertain mutual Commerce together Though the State of things be not now as 't was at the beginning because sin hath altered the order and beauty of them by reason thereof every creature groaneth and travelleth with pain yet we may easily discern that GOD designed us all content and satisfaction even here below For with what variety of delights hath he replenished this world What a multitude of living Creatures of diverse kinds hath he put therein for our use and service And how wisely are they all disposed The Cattel go upon the mountains the wild beasts-lodge in Forests Fowls nest in Trees the high hills are a refuge for Goats and the rocks for the Coneys And though our sins do provock GOD to turn the earth into a barren Wilderness yet he still visits and watereth it and greatly enricheth it he Watereth the ridges thereof abundantly and setteth the furrows thereof he maketh it soft with showers blesseth the springing thereof He crowns the Year with his Goodness and his paths drop Fatness they Drop upon the Pastures of the Wilderness and the little hills rejoyce on every side the Pastures are cloathed with flocks and the valleys also are covered with Corn. He causeth grasse to grow for the Cattel and Herb for the service of Man that he may bring forth food out of the Earth and and Wine that maketh glad the heart of Man and Oyl to make his face to shine and bread which strengthneâ—…h Mans heart The earth is full of the Riches of the LORD so is the great and wide Sea wherein are things creeping innumerable both small and great Beasts who herd together in Companies as well as those upon the Land at their appointed Moneths and Seasons they ascend from the bottom of the Deep and walk upon the Surface of the Waters that they may be catcht by the Children of Men to serve for Food and other necessaries There goe the Ships there is that Leviathan whom GOD hath made to play therein By his neesings a light doth shine and his eyes are like the eye lids of the Morning out of his mouth go burning lamps and sparks of fire leap out out of his nostrils go smoke as out of a seething Pot or Cauldron He maketh the deep to boyle like a Pot and the Sea to be as a Pot of Oyntment he maketh a path to shine after him so that one would think the Deep to be hoarâ—… Upon the Earth there is not his like so that one may be cast down at
Text more pertinent to some of the Hearers then if the Minister had kept more close to his Subject because they were thereby struck home and hit upon some Particulars of their Condition which concerned them to understand and to be rightly inform'd of If then Men would but lay aside their prejudices put themselves in a Sutable Disposition and listen attentively they might and without doubt should be Edified and Bettered by coming to Church The apprehended weakness of him who is to Officiat ought to be no discouragement for GOD often useth weak and mean things to effectuat great Matters by what we account the foolishnesse of preaching he doth save those that believe Though there were no Sermon 't would be our Duty nevertheless to come up to Church that thereby we may testify our homage to GOD and acknowledgment of him but however for our Encouragement if we be sincerely desirous to hear what GOD the LORD will speak he will speak good one way or other In the last place when we come up to the House of GOD we ought to be carefull to lay aside every thing which may offend and be unbecoming so Divine and holy a Presence while we are there we should behave our selves decently and reverently for if the presence of Kings over-awe us how much more should the presence of GOD and Angels If it be improper and most unseemly to appear any ways light frothy impertinent before Kings especially when they are sitting in Majesty and State it is sure much more unworthy to be guilty of Indiscretion in the House of GOD which is the Place where God is alwayes present and that in Majesty and State too by the attendance of Angels and Ministring Spirits It were far better not to approach the House of GOD then not to be reverent when we are in it he who stayes away is but guilty of neglect which though it be a great sin yet 't is not so great as insolency a downright affronting of GOD which he is guilty of who laugheth Sporteth talketh idlely or any ways playeth the Fool within the Church or sleepeth and snorteth away the time therein to the Scandal and disturbance of others or who abstracts his mind from the Service of GOD and imployes his thoughts in Worldly Matters Such behaviour and irreverent Carriage cannot but highly provock God and obstruct our own Good and Benefite If we do not meet with GOD when we come to Church if he do not blesse us if we find our selves no whit bettered the reason must be our Irreverent and unseemly Behaviour or some indisposition in our selves for GOD is alwayes ready and willing to manifest Himself Wherefore if we would see the Beauty of the Lord in his Temple or if we would taste the goodness of his house we must guard against those things which may provock him to withdraw himself from us And must labour so to please him by a Humble Devout and Reverent Behaviour as that he may condescend to come and manifest himself to our souls for our edification and comfort And to what purpose is it to come if you be not resolved to do Reverence to GOD by coming what a dishonour is done to the House of GOD When you only come up unto it because you know not otherwise how to spend the Time or when you make it only a place for meeting with your neighbours where you talke about Newes and other Worldly Affairs and where you may be informed what Garb and Dresse is most in Fashion or where you may Sleep and take your rest or where without Disturbance you may ruminate on your Business and projects as St. Paul said to the Corinthians have ye not houses to eat and drink in so I say have ye not other places to do these things in Or do ye indeed despise the Church of GOD Consider I pray you that the Church as St. Chrisostome saith is no Barbers or Drug-sellers Shop nor any other Crafts-mans or Merchants Work-house in the Market place but the place of Angels the place of Arch-Angels the Palace of GOD Heaven it self think near whom thou standest with whom thou invocatest GOD namely with Cherubims and Seraphims and all the powers of Heaven Consider but what companions thou hast let it be sufficient to perswade thee to Sobriety when thou remembrest that thou who art compounded of Flesh and Blood art admitted with the incorporeal Powers to celebrate the common Lord of all when thou goest into a King's Palace thou composest thy self to Comeliness in thy Habite in thy lookes in thy gate and in all thy whole guise but here is indeed the Palaâ—…e of a King and the like attendance to that in Heaven and dost thou laugh c. I know well enough thou seest it not but hear thou me and know that Angels are every where and that chiefly in the House of God they attend upon their King where all is filled with these incorporeal powers SECT II. Of Prayer HAving had occasion to treat of Churches or Sacred places I judge it necessary to subjoine some short discourse on Prayer seing that this is the very use end of these For upon this account the Church in Scripture is called the House of Prayer The very design of consecrate houses or Places is that Men may have in them conveniency for Prayer thither men were wont to come not only to joyne in the publick Worship but also for the performance of their private Devotions But because our Lord perceived that the resorting to such publick Places so often as we need to pray might Minister to pride and vanity which spoile the odour of our Prayers and hinder their acceptance with GOD therefore he hath advised us Mat. 6. to choose out the most secret and retired Places for our Private Prayers and addresses to GOD and though the place we pray in have not the Honour to be appropriate to GOD yet our Prayers shall find acceptance if they be sincere and rightly qualified Prayer doth in some sense sanctify the place but the place can add no weight or worth to our Prayers It may be more convenient for us to pray in one place more then another but our Prayers will not be more acceptable to GOD upon the account of the place they are said in GOD is every where and we may freely addresse our selves to him any where and where ever Men lift up holy hands in Prayer without wrath or doubting they shall be heard If Churches be imployed to any other use then prayer and religious services they are profaned See Mark 11. 15. but it is not necessary nor expedient to goe to Church each time we pray to GOD. The Church should be reserved for Publick Worship chiefly but as for what we do apart by our selves we ought to seek out Places of the greatest privacy to do it in and as I said in the former section if our State would suffer it 't would be
to follow the same unless we were in the same circumstances But leaving what is extraordinary we will speak to that which men are oblidg'd to even when there is no such great or universal Calamity As in times of Dearth and Famine all must be given if it be necessary so even at other times we must be carefull to devote somthing to God and the use of his poor Servants That proportion which Iacob vowed here was the practice of all the Patriarchs and Servants of God before the Law When the Law was given by Moses God required the first fruits of all things and one Tithe for the use of the Priests and Levites he commanded also another Tithe every third year for the use of the poor Deut. 14. 28. The first Tithe was Debitum fundi the tribute upon the Land and may be called GOD'S ground rent or Few duty which the very Land owed to him The other Tithe was Debitum Personae which every one owed out of his own property thereby to make an acknowledgment of God's Favour and kindness to him in allowing him Possessions while others wanted But besides this Trienial Tithe they were ordained every year to leave the corners of their field at Harvest were forbiden either to reap the rest of their field clean or to gather all the fruit of their Vine yards but to leave in them for the poor Lev. 19. 9. And moreover every seventh year the poor and Stranger had the whole profite of all the land see Exod. 23. 11. All which reckoned together the Iews besides the Tithes to the Priests other Publick Dues will be found to have payed more then the tenth of their yearly incomes for the use of the poor only Which proportion though it be not exacted by any expresse positive Law repeated in the Gospel yet all Good and Holy Persons have ever look'd upon themselves as oblidg'd to it in strict Justice seing the Iews were tyed to it Some offered to prove Tithes due to GOD from the Law of Nature but I could never see any forcible argument why either the tenth of our Estate or the seventh of our time should be allotted and condescended on if we abstract from Divine Revelation and the expresse Command of GOD certainly a one concerning the proportion of our time so the other which measures the quantity of our Goods and Estate hath been fallen upon by the particular direction of GOD himself And therefore seing the Worshippers of GOD under the Old Testament were oblidg'd to give the tenth of all they possessed I cannot understand how any can be satisfyed with giving lesse under the New Testament Our Righteousness must not come short of those under the Law I say unto you saith CHRIST that except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisâ—…es ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Mat. 5. 10. â—…f therefore they gave the tenth sure we can do no less This is no part of the Ceremoniâ—… Law abrogated by the Gospel for as the Devoting something is clear by Natural Light so this quotum we see was enjoyned before the Law and there is so little reason for mincing it now that there is much Reason rather to Augment it for we live under a clearer light have received greater manifestations of GOD'S Love and better promises that is Promises wherein a future happy Life is more plainly exprest We pay 6 of the hundred for the use of Money and sometimes more for the exchange of it now the tenth is but four more and shall we grudge to give this â—… GOD for the property when we are oblidged to give the other to men for the simple loan and use Sure none will refuse this or think it too much after they have seriously considered the matter but such as are too much oblidg'd to the World and are but too little sensible of their obligations to Love and Honour GOD. How small a matter is an 100 Merks to him whom GOD hath Blessed with a 1000 free of yearly Rent He who hath much over and above the Payment of Publick and Particular Burdens may very well let one go to the poor in Testimony of his Thankfulness to GOD who giveth all Liberally But would to GOD That Men in his Degenerate Age could be prevailed on to give the fifteenth or sixteenth part of their yearly gain and incomes which is but the proportion of the Ordinary annual-rent of Money in this Countrey unless they be resolved to baulke this Duty of Charity altogether I cannot understand how they can satisfy their Consciences with lesse then this comes to if they will not be convinc'd of their Obligation to pay the tenth yet I hope at least they will acknowledge themselves bound to be as Thankful to GOD as to Man and to return him as much for the Property as they give to and exact of others for the Loan and use If one were borrowing a 1000 Merks he would give Fourty Pounds in the year for it now he who hath a Thousand merks per annum free I think should be ashamed to offer less then fourty pounds to God or indeed to give so little I suppose my Reader before this time is convinc'd of the necessity of Obeying and Honouring GOD and that the Communicating a part of our goods for the use of the Poor c. Is one instance of our Obedience and one necessary way of Honouring him Now he who is thus convinc'd may be easily perswaded of his Obligations not to reckon with God too narrowly or particularly but that he ought to be as free and Liberal in the Expressions of his Thankfulness as GOD is to him in the effects of his Bounty Every one hath more then he deserves and the rich have more then they can lawfully ask for Daylie Bread is all we are allowed to Pray for and considering what Sinners we are t' is more then we are worthy of and therefore when GOD hears our Lawful Desires yea gives beyond them I think common Equity should teach us to deall with him in like manner and to give back more at least as much as he seeks from us that is I think we should not hesitate at the Tenth but give even over and above if our Circumstances will allow it If we think the quantity of our Charity be wholly left to our own Discretion then should not the Rules of Discretion teach us to give rather more then what would be sought Now the tenth was required before the Law and under the Law and there can be no Reason pretended why it should be abated under the Gospel Let me therefore entreat all who would keep a Conscience void of offence in this particular to consider how GOD hath Blessed them what is their yearly Rent Gain or Income to give GOD His due out of the same freely and Chearfully And whatsoever they purpose in their Heart to give I would advise them to set it a