mightie neuer so rich we haue no assurance of any long continuance in this world no not so much as for one yéere for héere we haue no abiding citie but we looke for one to come Hebr. 13.14 our yere that is our short course of life at last must haue an end and as we came naked into the world so must we returne naked out of the world as Iob speaketh of himselfe Iob 1.21 Let vs then my brethren with that wise king now in the time of plenty prouide against the future famine let vs now make vs friends of that vnrighteous mammon that when we want they may receiue vs into euerlasting habitations let vs now make vs bags that waxe not old a treasure that can neuer fail in heauē let vs now send away wealth in distributing to the poore Quod enim pauperi damus ante nos praemittimus saith S. Aug. hoc ibi inueniemus quod hic damus And we shall finde that in heauen which wée giue them héere on earth Let vs now play the wise merchants as they venture much vpon the waters so let vs vpon these waters Regnum coelorū venale est this day the kingdome of God is as it were set at sale vnto vs O let vs sell all that we haue to buy this pearle yet we néed not sell all for a small matter will buie it an ouer-worne garment will buie it a morsell of meat will buie it a loafe of bread will buie it a draught of drinke will buie it a cup of cold water will buie it a mite of siluer will buie it not in respect of the merit of so small a gift but in regard of the mercy of so great a God for the word of God must bée true when euery man shall bée a liar they that féed the poore when they are hungry and refresh them when they are thirstie and lodge them when they are wearie and cloath them when they are naked and visite them when they are sicke shall then be comforted with a Come yee blessed inherite an euerlasting kingdome Cōtrariwise they that haue hardned their hearts shut vp the bowels of compassion against them shall receaue that dolefull sentence Depart yée cursed into euerlasting fire prepared for the diuel his angels Matth. 25. Wherefore right Honorable c. to conclude all at the last as Moses said to the people of Israel I cal heauen and earth to record this day that I haue set before you life and death blessing and cursing therefore choose life that both thou and thy séed may liue Deut. 30.19 So our witnesses are both in heauen and earth that this day both life and death are set before vs the euerlasting reward which God hath prouided for the chearfull giuer and the heauy iudgement which he hath prepared forthe couetous worldling O then let vs follow the president of the one and hate the practise of the other that so wée may hope for comfort that so we may liue for euer let vs now admit the poore to our presence that then we may be admitted to the presence of God let vs now giue them our earthly mammon that then God may giue vs heauenly manna let vs now receaue them to our table that then we may be receaued to eate drinke in the kingdome of God let vs now make them our companions in earth that then we may be made cōpanions with angels archangels in heauen Let vs now helpe to sustaine their life in this pilgrimage of man that then we may liue for euer in the citie of God let vs now crowne them with our temporal blessings that then we may be crowned with the crown of glory let vs now cloath them with our apparel that then we may be clothed with the garment of immortalitie let vs now shew mercy vnto poore Iesus in them that then our Iesus the God of mercy may haue compassion vpon vs. Finally let vs now cast our bread vpon these many and troubled and salt and running waters in this world that then we may find bread and water the bread of life the water of life the riches of Gods treasurie the abundance of his house in the world to come Which the Lord of his infinite mercy grant vnto vs all to enioy after the miseries of this wofull and wretched life not for our owne merits and deserts but for the most glorious passion and ioyfull resurrection of Iesus Christ to whom with the Father and the blessed spirit be ascribed al honor and glory c. The Author to the Reader BEing ouer intreated at this time to publish this Sermon and hauing my selfe so manie necessarie imployments otherwise I was constrained to send vnto the Printer that one and only vnperfect copy which I had thereof wherin if by reason of mine owne absence there happen to be many faults the Christian and well disposed Reader I hope wil charitably censure them As for the carping companions of our time as I neuer desired to please them so doe I not now seeke to satisfie them
and then wrought crost Iudahs and Iosephs hopes so many waies and then granted why should we doubt but that the same God with whom the present and future tense is all one will in conuenient time reward them that reléeue his Why should we doubt but that if we thus lay out our money for the Lord the Lord at the last will restore it Why should we doubt but that if we thus lend vnto the Lord the Lord at the last will repay it Why should we doubt but that if we thus cast our bread vpon the waters the Lord at the last will reward it though we expect it manie daies And so from the time héere specified after manie daies I now come to the reward it selfe héere proposed in the last words thou shalt finde it whereof by your patience a word or two and so I will commit you to God Thou shalt finde it inuenies illum that is saith Bonauenture retributionem pro illo a recompence for it And what is this recompence It is saith one septuplum centuplum millecuplum seuenfold an hundred fold nay a thousand fold more than the morsell of bread we cast vpon the waters more than the measure of almes we giue vnto the poore it is merces temporalis in hoc seculo aeterna in futuro a temporall reward of things transitorie héere on earth a full fruition of things eternall there in heauen as the Caldie paraphrase and other interpreters doe expound it And here you sée my brethren what a large field I haue yet to walke in and what a sea of matter lies before me but my purpose is not to tread euery path nor to sound euerie Ocean I will passe ouer this point tanquam canis in Nilo lambens vel vt Ladas in puluere cursitans as the dogs vse to lap in Nilus and as Ladas trips it vpon the sands catching a little here and there and scarse leauing the print of my spéech any where commending the rest to your priuate meditations and to the effectuall operation of Gods holy spirit in your obedient hearts Thou shalt find it That is both a temporall eternall reward First thou shalt finde a temporall reward Honour the Lord saith Salomon by thy riches that is in distributing them vnto the poore So shall thy barnes be filled with abundance and thy presses shall burst with wine Pro. 3.9.10 For as a fountaine saith Clemens Alexandrinus the more it is drawne the more it is filled with fresh and for the most part swéeter water So the more we draw the fountaine of our bounty by casting vnto the poore the more is our store replenished with a new supplie of manie blessings And as when Iesus brake and distributed those fiue loaues to the fiue thousand mē the bread was miraculously multiplied to no lesse than twelue baskets full Iohn 6. So when be breake our bread vnto the néedie God doth as it were by a miracle multiplie the same that in our basket and in our store we may neuer want When the widow of Sarepta made the Prophet a little cake with all her prouision for this she was the richer for behold the barrell of meale wasted not and the oile in the cruse ceased not 1. reg 17. 16. when one Bonifacius gaue all his mothers corne vnto the poore for this shée was the richer for behold he praied and the Lord restored it in greater abundance than before Greg. li. 1. dialog ca 9. When Iohn the Patriarke of Alexandria gaue fiue crownes vnto the poore for this hée was the richer for behold a noble Ladie for these fiue gaue him fiftie crownes to the vse of his church as Surius writeth in his life Qui enim terrena subsidia largitur ditior dando caelesti remuneratione redditur saith S. Hierome on the Prouerbs Hée that is made poore by giuing his almes God makes him rich againe by rewarding his almes He that thus scattereth is the more increased Prou. 11.29 Would you then beloued learne the heauenly thrift loe héere it is bestow your treasure vpon the poore and it shall bring you more profit then gold Eccles 29.11 Would you know where to finde much treasure loe héere it is a mans almes is a purse with him and it shall pay euerie man his reward vpon his head as it is in the 13. verse of the same chap. Would you liue in plentie all the daies of your life lo héere it is he that giueth vnto the poore shall neuer lacke Prou. 28.27 Would you be assured of the reward of your charitie loe héere it is Cast your bread vpon the waters and after manie daies you shall finde it God is the same God still as able to requite and as ready to reward the déeds of mercy as euer he was And therfore if the bowels of thy charitie shall bée so farre inlarged that thou cast all vnto the poore and leaue nothing for thy selfe yet be thou comforted with that which Tiberius the Emperour sometimes comforted himselfe withall who hauing spent almost his whole treasury in the works of charitie and being blamed by some of his friends for the same returned them this answer Though my money be gone yet héere is my comfort Deus non deerit fisco nostro God will neuer be wanting in my exchequer which afterwards he found true for he did not so liberally giue to the poore as God did liberally reward him with temporall blessings for the same as Paulus Diaconus in his 3. libr. and 6. cap. of his Historie reporteth Hearken to this O all yée couetous vsurers and extortioners you that beate your braines and busie your heads how you may make the greatest gaine and commoditie of your gold and siluer shall I here teach you a new kind of vsury a more cōmodious course which I thinke you neuer yet heard of or hearing it I presume you neuer yet put in practise If I should say vnto you as our Sauiour did to the rich man in the Gospell Sell all that you haue and giue to the poore and you shall haue a great reward in heauen surely you would then saie Durus est hic sermo this is a hard saying and with that rich man you would not abide it But yet let mée tell you if you will purchase the greatest gaine by your riches if you will set out your money to vsurie for the best commoditie cast if not all yet the superfluities of your abundance vnto the néedie and I will assure you by this meanes your gold shal bring you greater increase than by all other kinds of vsury whatsoeuer for you know the world is deceitfull in setting your money to vsury sometimes you are deceaued by a cousening Lawyer and hée will teach your debtor a tricke to make your bond of none effect Sometime you are deceaued by a beggerly bankabrupt and where there is nothing as the old saying is not onely the subiect but euen the king must lose his right and suppose
The Poore-mans Preacher A SERMON Preached at S. Maries Spittle in LONDON on Tuesday in Easter weeke being April 7. 1607. By RO. WAKEMAN Bachelar of Diuinitie and fellow of Ballioll College in Oxford Prou. 28.27 He that giueth vnto the poore shall neuer lacke Matt. 10.42 Whosoeuer giueth to one of these little ones to drinke a cup of cold water only shall not lose his reward LONDON Printed by A. Hatfield for Iohn Bill Ann. Dom. 1607. THE POORE MANS Preacher ECCLES 11.1 Cast thy bread vpon the waters for after many dayes thou shalt finde it WHen Salomon the mirrour of Wisedome and Knowledge right honorable c. had taken a full view of all earthly things hée found by his owne experience that there was nothing vnder the Sunne either woorthie of mans impetuous pursuit or able to effect mans true felicitie Hée made himselfe many great works he built many goodly houses he planted many pleasant vineyards orchards and gardens and trées therein of all fruit he had seruants and maidens béeues and shéepe siluer and gold aboue all that were before him in Ierusalem He prouided him his men-singers and his women-singers and all the delights of the sonnes of men Whatsoeuer his eies desired he with-held it not from them neither did he withdraw his heart from any ioy and yet sée his censure at the last of all these things Vanitas vanitatum vanitas vanitatum omnia vanitas Vanitie of vanities vanitie of vanities and al is vanitie which lesson whenas a good Preacher hée had abundantly taught the faithfull in the precedent chapters of this booke in this verse now read vnto you he sets vp another marke wherat they are to aime he shewes them another path that they must tread he chalkes out another race for them to run and he giues them another precept for them to practise Cast saith he thy bread vpon the waters for after many daies thou shalt finde it As if he had thus said vnto them O yée sonnes of Adam why doe you beat your braines and busie your heads in séeking after the vaine and transitorie things of this world why doe you place your chiefest happinesse and delight in strength or beautie or pleasure or wisedome or knowledge or honour or pompe or wealth Where is the strength that sicknesse hath not weakened where is the beauty that age hath not withered where is the pleasure that paine hath not pursued where is the wisedome that folly hath not tainted where is the knowledge that ignorance hath not blemished where is the honour that care hath not accompanied where is the pompe that time hath not ruinated where is all the wealth and glorie of this world that troubles haue not followed what is the fruit of all these things Possessa onerant amata inquinant amissa cruciant In possessing them they burden you in louing them they defile you in loosing them they torment you this is not a course to come to happinesse this is not the way to attaine heauen Cast away these trifles O man lest they cast thée away frō thy God rather be mercifull to thy poore brother that God may be mercifull vnto thée Giue him chéerefully of thy goods that God may liberally reward thée of his grace Let thine owne bread féed him thine owne house harbour him thine owne apparell cloath him and thine owne wealth minister to his want Doe this to him that cannot doe it to thée againe make choice of such as cannot returne the like cast thine almes vnto such poore as like water passe away and will neuer bring agayne what thou giuest yea loose thy money for thy neighbours sake This is a meanes to purchase Gods fauour this is a course to make thée blessed for howsoeuer thou doest not presently taste the fruit of this charitable deuotion yet a time shall come when thou shalt finde this reward if not of temporal things in this life yet of an euerlasting inheritance in the resurrection of the iust Cast thy bread vpon the waters for after many daies thou shalt finde it Few words I confesse beloued yet the subiect of much matter For as those waters in Ezechiel were first to the anckles next to the knées after to the loines lastly such a riuer as could not be passed ouer Ezech. 47. so the diuine riuers that flow from this heauenly fountaine to make glad the citie of God howsoeuer at the first view they may séeme but shallow to the shallow conceit of flesh and bloud yet vpon further search they are found to bée most profound and plentifull in the streames of holsome doctrine to satisfie the thirst of our sinfull soules and as hée said of that famous Historian Verborum numero sententiarum numerum comprehendit he spake as many sentences as he did words or as Hierome said to Paulinus concerning the catholicke examples of Peter Iames Iohn and Iude breues esse pariter longas breues in verbis longas in sententijs that they were short and yet they were long short in respect of the number of the words long in regard of the varietie of much matter in them contained So I may as truely say the same of this text that it is short and yet it is long short in the paucitie of words long in the plentie of matter euery word carrying his perfect waight and euery syllable his substantiall sense and almost euery letter his seuerall lesson Cast thy bread vpon the waters for after many daies thou shalt finde it For art thou rich and blessed with much wealth the first word is for thy instruction thou must not gather vnto thée but cast from thée Cast Wilt thou know what to cast thou must cast bread that is any thing necessary for the reliefe helpe of the distressed Cast bread Wilt thou heare whose bread thou must cast not an others for that is iniustice but thine owne for that is true charitie cast thy bread wilt thou vnderstand vpon whom to cast thy bread vpon thy poore brethren vpon whom whatsoeuer thou bestowest thou must no more expect from them againe then thou lookest for that which thou castest away into the sea Cast thy bread vpon the waters Wilt thou sée a reason of all this the reason brings with it a reward the time when this reward shall be receaued post dies multos after manie daies for after many daies the reward it selfe implied in the last words thou shalt finde it for after many daies thou shalt finde it So that you sée héere are many parts and circumstances to be considered wheron if I should particularly insist each of them might require a longer time then is allotted mée for the handling of the whole but for breuitie sake the summe and effect of all may be drawne into these two heads and diuided into these two branches Whereof the first is a precept of a dutie to be performed in these words cast thy bread vpon the waters The second is a reason grounded vpon the
promise of a reward to bée receaued in the next words for after many daies thou shalt finde it the precept is giuen by way of exhortation to Christian charitie cast thy bread vpon the waters the promise is made by way of remuneration of Christian pietie for after many daies thou shalt finde it Cast thy bread vpon the waters therein mans dutie is expressed for after many daies thou shalt find it therin Gods mercy is declared Cast thy bread vpon the waters behold our distribution to men of things temporall commanded for after many daies thou shalt finde it behold our retribution from God in things temporall and eternall promised the one is the exercise of our good works héere on earth cast thy bread vpon the waters the other is the crowne of our good works there in heauen for after many daies thou shalt finde it The first we must practise for the time cast thy bread vpon the waters the latter we must expect in time to come for after many daies thou shalt finde it These are the bounds and limits of my intended meditations vpon these words God grant I may speake of them directed by the same spirit they were indighted and that all this great and honorable assembly may heare and receaue them to their owne instruction and consolation in Christ Iesus And so by your Christian patience I now come to the handling of the parts as they lie in order Prima pars CAst thy bread vpon the waters By the first word mitte or proijce cast Salomon implies that our charitie must not onely be extended to such as are néere at hand but also to those that are farre of as Hugo Cardinalis doth expound it and that we must giue our almes libenter liberaliter non per extorsionem quasi coacti willingly and liberally not constrained therunto by extorsion and compulsion as Bonauenture will haue it both of them aiming at Dauids admonition If riches increase set not your harts vpon them Psal 62.10 we must not set our hearts vpon our wealth but as readily cast them vpon others as wée haue gréedily gathered them vnto our selues knowing that a righteous man by the Psalmist and out of him by S. Paul is described to be not a griping and gréedy gatherer vnto himselfe but a most chéerefull and friendly caster vnto others dispersit dedit pauperibus he dispersed and scattered abroad that is he gaue his almes vnto the poore Psal 112.9 2. Cor. 9.9 cast thy bread Thy bread I am not héere of Melancthons and others opinion who diuing after too spirituall a meaning do by bread vnderstand Panem vitae the bread of life the word of God which they would haue the Preacher thereof to distribute vnto the people for howsoeuer this interpretation may be sound and agréeable to the analogie of faith yet certaine I am and it is the iudgement of our best writers ancient and moderne that it is not for naturall and sutable to the circumstances of this text I rather by bread vnderstand with Carthusian Corporalem refectionem corporall refection with Lauater eleemosynam almes with Olympiodorus omnem eleemosynam euery almes with Hugo Cardinalis omne beneficium euery good turne with Pellican omnem eleemosynam omne beneficium both together with Vatablus and Illyricus quicquid ad vitam est necessarium whatsoeuer is necessarie to mans life for so bread in many places of holy Scripture and one for all in the Lords praier by a synecdoche doth signifie all things necessarie for the preseruation and sustentation of the life of man Cast thy bread Panem tuum thy bread tuum non alienum thine owne and not anothers for God will not haue vs robbe one thereby to relieue another nor to take away from this man to giue vnto that he likes not such almes déedes Siquidem hoc rapina est for this is no better then rapine saith S. Chrysost conc 2. de Lazaro satius est non dare quam alterum spoliare and better it were not to giue at all then to maintaine our charitie by vniust meanes saith that good father de verbis Apostoli serm 21. but he that will be truely charitable must remember S. Pauls rule not to giue away an other mans goods but to labour and worke with his owne hands that hée may haue to giue of his owne to him that néedeth Eph. 4.28 and as Marie wiped the féet of Iesus with her owne haire so must euery faithfull Christian couer the féete of Iesus I meane relieue his poore members at the least with the superfluities of his owne wealth honora dominum de tua substantia honour the Lord of thine owne riches saith the wise man Prou. 3.9 and the bountifull man is pronounced blessed and why because hée giueth of his owne bread vnto the poore Prou. 22.9 Cast thy bread Cast thy bread vpon the waters Vpon the waters By waters are héere ment the poore and néedie But this may séeme to some a strange thing that Salomon will haue vs cast our bread vpon the waters for whatsoeuer is cast therein is vtterly lost as the common prouerbe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Aristophanes doe sufficiently declare and will Salomon haue vs there to bestow our almes where there will no benefit come either to them or vs by the same Surely beloued in our Lord and Sauiour Salomon would haue vs giue not looking for any thing againe and I confesse there are manie masterlesse rogues and sturdie beggers in the world to whom whatsoeuer is giuen it is but indéed cast into the waters for being themselues euill beasts and slow bellies they wastfully and wantonly and wickedly spend the charitable deuotion of the well disposed and are nothing bettered in their estates but those are not the onely waters whereon Salomon would haue vs cast our bread although I grant euen those also as they are men and Christians their maners being corrected and their persons respected are not altogether to be excluded from our beneuolence But who then are these waters whereon we must cast our bread I answer still the poore and néedie who may be called waters in diuers respects 1. Respectu multitudinis in respect of multitude for as the Angell in the Reuelation told S. Iohn that the waters which he saw were people and multitudes and nations and toongs Reuel 17.19 so Salomon would vs know that the waters which he héere describeth are multitudes of nations and people in number many in condition poore on whom we must cast the eies of compassion Liberalitas hinc in multos commendatur saith Illyricus liberalitie to many is hence commended vnto vs Cast thy bread vpon these manie waters 2. Respectu agitationis the poore are called waters in respect of continuall agitation and tossing for as the waters are seldome at rest but tossed hither and thither with winde and weather so the poore and distressed are neuer at quiet but alwaies vexed with
that the poore of the people might eate Exod. 23.11 and it was the expresse will of almightie God that in the time of haruest they should leaue the gleanings of their corne and after their Vintage the remainder of their grapes for the poore Leuit. 19.9.10 Nay the precept of the Lord was generall Si fuerit apud te egens quispiam de fratribus tuis If anie of thy brethren be poore within the land thou shalt not harden thine heart nor shut thine hand from him but thou shalt open thy hand vnto him and lend him that which is sufficient for his néed thou shalt giue him and let it not grieue thine heart to giue him Deut. 15.7.8 10. And for this purpose in the same chapter the Lord said there should euer be some poore in the land because they might euer haue occasion to exercise their charitie and beneuolence This was that doctrine which Esay laid downe vnto the Iewes frange esurienti panem tuum deale thy bread vnto the hungrie bring the poore that wander into thy house when thou séest the naked couer him hide not thy selfe from thine owne flesh Es 58. O what a forcible argument is this to euerie Christian to stretch out his hands vnto the néedie considering that he who asketh our almes be he neuer so base is not a stranger vnto vs but flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone a poore member with vs of that mystical body wherof Christ Iesus is the head hide not then thy face from thine owne flesh This was the duty which Ezechiel taught his hearers for describing a iust man he speaks not of his strength and power his dignitie and honour his wealth and riches but of giuing his bread vnto the hungrie and couering the naked with his garment Ezek. 18.7 and he taxeth it as a capitall sinne in Sodome in that shée did not strengthen the hands of the poore and néedie Ezech. 16.49 This was that which Iohn Baptist preached vnto the people 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he that hath two coats let him part to him that hath none and he that hath meate let him doe likewise Luc. 3.11 This was that which our Sauiour so often pressed Giue almes of those things which are within Luc. 11.41 and Sell that you haue and giue to the poore Matth. 19.21 all which places are parallel to this of Salomon in my text Cast thy bread vpon the waters What shall I say more but as Iob speaketh Aske the beasts and they shall tell thée aske the fowles and they shall teach thée speake to the earth and it shall shew thée and to the fishes of the sea and they shall declare this vnto thée Naie looke O man vpon the heauens aboue and on thy selfe below and tell me whether all the creatures of God doe not after a sort preach this doctrine of casting and distributing vnto thée the heauens cast thée their swéet influence the Sunne his light the Moone her light and the starres their light the clouds cast thée their fatnesse the aire her swéetnesse the fire his warmnesse the sea casts thee his water to wash thée his fish to féed thée and many rare things to delight thée the earth casts thée her herbes the herbes cast thée their flowers the flowers cast thée their séedes and the séedes cast thée their increase euerie thing casteth something vnto man to teach one man to cast somewhat vnto an other and if all this doth not mooue thée then looke O man into thy selfe the little world doth not thy hand cast meat into thy mouth doth not thy mouth conuey it vnto thy stomacke and is it not from thy stomacke distributed indifferently to the other parts and all for the preseruation of the whole haue not all the members in the body néed one of another can the mouth say vnto the eie I haue no néed of thée or the eie to the hand I haue no néed of thee or the hand to the eares I haue no néed of thée or the eares to the féete I haue no néede of thée or the whole bodie to the heart I haue no néede of thée nay doe not each of these members affoord their best helpe and furtherance vnto the rest to teach vs who are all members of the same bodie by giuing our charitable almes to supplie the seuerall wants and necessities one of an other and whereas as one obserueth omnia animantia manus habentia illis terram attingunt praeter hominem nature or rather the God of nature hath so framed fashioned all other creatures that with their hands or forelegs which are instéed of hands they touch the ground man onely carrieth his hands lifted from the earth to shew that he should not imploie them in earthly affaires but rather in distributing of his goods and diuiding of his substance and giuing of his riches vnto the poore and casting of his bread vpon the waters Such a caster was holy Iob If I haue restrained saith he the poore of their desire or caused the eies of the widdow to faile if I haue eaten my morsels alone and the fatherlesse haue not eaten thereof if I haue séene any perish for want of clothing or any poore without couering then let mine arme fall from my shoulder and mine arme be broken from the bone Iob. 31. Such a caster was good Zacheus he was no doubt a very rich man and yet he gaue no lesse then the one halfe of his goods vnto the poore Luc. 19.8 Such a caster was faithfull Cornelius who is registred by the spirit of God to all posteritie for a deuout man and one that gaue much almes vnto the people Act. 10.2 such casters were those two renowned women the one in the old Testament the other in the new the one was the widow of Sarepta who relieued the prophet of the Lord with all the substance she had euen a little meale in a barrell and a little oile in a cruse 1. Reg. 17.12 the other was that charitable Dorcas in the Acts of the Apostles who was rich in good works and almes which shée did Act. 9.36 Finally such casters were those woorthie instruments of Gods glorie men and women of famous memorie whom the Lord hath raised vp in this citie as especiall founders and benefactors in many woorthy works Héere report was made according to the custome of the place of the number of poore children and souldiers and other impotent people that this last yéere were maintained cured by some meanes relieued within the Honorable citie of London in the Hospitals of Christ S. Bartholmew S. Thomas and Bridewell which amounted in all to 4258. These are excellent things beloued brethren so that as S. Paul said of Rome in the time of her ancient puritie that her faith was published thorow the whole world Rom. 1.8 so we may pronounce of London for these her singular déedes of charitie that her faith and the fruit of her faith her many good works
further iudgement lose both mine eares for the second my toong for the third my necke as in our Acts and Monuments it is reported of him Thus you sée right Honorable c. the Babel of selfe iustifying merits whereby our aduersaries perswade thēselues they ascend vp into the highest heauens is at the last fallen downe because it is built vpon the sands of mans inuention and not on the true rocke Christ Iesus Vbi enim Christus non est fundamentum nullum est boni operis aedificium saith Gregorie Where Christ is not laid as the corner stone for a good foundation there will bée no place to erect the building of good works I speake not this nor any thing in this argument to withdraw men from doing good or to discourage them in their charitable deuotions as our aduersaries in their bookes most falsly accuse vs most vncharitablie slander vs and most iniuriously traduce vs. For wée both allow of good works and preach good works daily call vpon our hearers as true professors to manifest their faith by these fruits as this place this day and many other places in this citie almost euery day can sufficiently witnesse Nay we confesse a necessarie vse of good works by them we set foorth Gods glory Matt. 5.16 by them our faith is made knowen for the good example of others Iac. 2.18 by them our consciences are quieted and our election daily made sure vnto vs 2. Pet. 1.10 Yea wée attribute so much vnto them that some of our Church haue published whole Treatises that good works are necessarie vnto saluation What can they say more than we doe in the behalfe of good works vnlesse they will forsake the trueth And yet sée the malice of these men notwithstanding we thus speake and we thus write they are not ashamed to say that our Gospell is a Gospell of libertie epicurisme and sensualitie that we haue slacked mens charitie and quenched their deuotion that we condemne good works as vncleane sinfull and hypocriticall that we plucke them vp as wéedes by the roots and cast them foorth of the doores as children of the bond woman not woorthie to inherite with the frée borne that we preach nothing but sola fides sola fides and wheras their bona opera haue built many goodlie Colledges and Schooles and Hospitals our sola fides hath pluckt them downe againe Beloued in our Lord and Sauiour to remooue this false imputation what our opinion of good works is you haue already heard what our practise in good works is let the world iudge Indéed in the time of Poperie the séely people were taught that if they would doe such a good worke they should thereby merit heauen and God were vniust if he did not giue it them And if they would doe such a good worke they should receaue pardon not onely for their owne sinnes but also for the sinnes of their posteritie to many generations No maruell then being thus deluded by iugling friers if in those daies they did plentifully cast their bread vpon the waters if they did abound in distributing to the poore For what will not a man giue to purchase heauen and to saue his owne soule and I confesse that we liue in the dotage of the world wherein our Sauiour hath told vs Charitie shall waxe cold and the hearts of many shall be hardned from doing good Yet for all this I dare vndertake that for this last age and in the remembrance of some yet liuing since the cléere sunshine of the Gospel hath enlightned the Hemisphere of our Church there haue bene more Colledges founded more Hospitals erected more Schooles builded more poore Schollers maintained more Orphanes and impotent reléeued more charitable déedes exercised generally in our land particularly in this famous citie euer renowned for her good works I dare be bold to say than in any I thinke I may truely say than in many ages vnder poperie and superstition Yet God forbid we should thinke that they who haue most excelled in those holy duties did héereby merit heauen For eternall life is the gift of God Rom. 6.23 and yée are iustified freely by grace Rom. 3.24 Gratis per Gratiam gratia autem nullo modo est gratia nisi omni modo sit gratuita As hée speaketh And by grace yée are saued through faith not of your selues it is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast Ephes 2.8.9 I confesse héere in my text is a reward proposed to our almes déedes that if we cast our bread vpon the waters after manie daies we shall be sure to finde it but reward is as well of fauour as of debt Rom 4.4 and if God in promising this reward be a debter vnto vs it is but in that sense as S. Aug vpon the 83. Psal speaketh Debitorem ipse se dominus fecit non accipiendo sed promittendo non ei dicitur redde quod accepisti sed redde quod promisisti God hath made himselfe a debtor vnto vs by promising not by receauing any thing at our hands to deserue the same Quicquid autem promisit indignis promisit vt non quasi operibus merces promitteretur sed gratia gratis daretur as the same Father speaketh And whatsoeuer God hath promised hée promised vnto those that were vnworthy that it should not be promised as a reward vnto works but as grace fréely giuen Wherefore to conclude this point séeing the Lord hath promised euerlastingly to reward all them that cast their bread vpon the waters not for the merit of their worke but for his owne frée fauour and mercie discamus de nostris diffidere meritis Let vs hencefoorth learne to distrust our owne merits quaerant alij meritum nos gratiam inuenire studeamus Let others such as all popish fauorits are séeke after heauen by these meanes but let vs labor to finde grace saying with S. Bernard Meritum meum miseratio domini my merit is the Lords mercie and with S. Augustine Si misericordiae domini multae multus ego in meritis If God be rich in mercy I shall surely abound in merits Thus if wée conceaue humbly of our selues God will estéeme highly of vs if with a lowly mind we do good to others for Gods sake God will with a liberall hand doe good vnto vs for his mercies sake and if we will cast our bread vpon the waters not thinking of any merit in so small a worke God will cast euerlasting ioies vpon our soules not respecting our many wants And so passing from this controuersie I come at last to the particulars of the rewards here proposed For after many daies thou shalt finde it Wherin two things offer themselues to our consideration first the time when this reward shall be receaued in these words for after many daies Secondly the reward it selfe in the last words thou shalt find it For after many daies Some read the words in multitudine dierum in the multitude of daies thou shalt finde
the best that both your debtor and his bond stand good yet the most that you get by this meanes is some ten in the hundred or I will suppose twentie and that peraduenture with such a perplexed conscience as if all the furies in hell were already tormenting of you But in this vsury which I propose behold euery thing safe and certaine Qui dat pauperi foeneratur domino he that giueth vnto the poore sets out his money to vsurie to God and he will recompence that which he hath giuen Pro. 19.17 Here beloued your debtor is a sure pay-master almightie God the bond or obligation wherewith he tieth himselfe vnto you is his word the least iot and tittle whereof shall neuer passe the vse which he giueth is not ten in the hundred but more than ten times beyond the principall manie temporall blessings in this world which if it be too little behold a greater reward which now commeth to be toucht in the last place euerlasting happinesse in the world to come he that casteth his bread vpon the waters shall be sure to find it Thou shalt find it That is thou shalt also finde this eternall reward To cast our bread vpon the waters To giue our almes vnto the poore saith S. Chrysost ad pop Antioch is ars omnium quaestuosissima the most gainfull arte of all other for that is true of this kind of piety which S. Paul speaketh of godlinesse in generall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is profitable vnto all things hauing the promise of this life and of that which is to come 1. Tim. 4.8 It is Viaticum in mundo thesaurus in coelo instéed of our iourneying prouision while we are wandring in this pilgrimage of our mortalitie a neuer failing treasure reserued in heauen for vs Of the first you haue already heard of the second how should you heare any thing séeing flesh and bloud is able to speake therof little or nothing it is too déepe a mysterie to be sounded too intricate a point to be searched too great a matter to be apprehended by the shallow conceit of a mortall man had the Cherubin sanctified my lips as he did the Prophet Es 6.7 had I the toong of men and angels I were not able to expresse it Let vs suppose all the pleasures and delights in this world composed in one all the glorious shewes the eie hath séene all the heauenly sounds the eare hath heard all the pleasant odors the nose hath smelt al the variety of swéet and mellifluous sauors the toong hath tasted all the delightfull obiects the hands haue touched Adde héereunto not onely what nature but whatsoeuer arte in her déepest knowledge can inuent and al shall be nothing but as a shadow in respect of that substance as drosse in respect of that gold as a cottage in respect of that pallace as toies and trifles in respect of that heauenly reward which these Amners of the Almightie God shall receaue in that daie Then they that haue fedde the hungrie and clothed the naked in this life shall be made to sit downe at a table and Christ himselfe shall come foorth and serue them their meat shall be of the trée of life in the midst of the paradise of God their drinke shall be of the water of life euer flowing and neuer wasting their apparell shall be white arraie their light shall be Christ himselfe their companions shal be angels and archangels their continual exercise shall be singing and saying Holy holy holy Lord God of hosts which was which is and which is to come Héere is that euerlasting reward of the louers of the poore thus shall it be done to them in heauen who haue pitied the néedy here on earth O what a forcible argument should this be to euery one of vs now with a liberall hand to cast our bread vpon these waters séeing at the last we shall be so respected séeing at the last we shall be so honored séeing at the last wée shall finde so great and so glorious a reward O what a cooling card will this be to thée O thou hard hearted worldling when thou shalt sée the liberall giuer rewarded with heauen and thy selfe thrust downe to hell for how wilt thou answer the Lord one for a thousand when thou canst not giue account to the Lord of one part in a thousand that thou hast giuen vnto the poore How wilt thou answer him when it shall be told thée that thou wast but Gods steward of all that thou didst possesse and therfore thou must make an account vnto him how thou hast laid out all thy wealth and substance What a miserable taking wilt thou be in when thou canst not but confesse that thou hast spent thus much money on thy belly in daintie fare and thus much money on thy backe in gaie apparell and thus much money in vanitie and thus much money in villanie and thus much money in the sinne of wantonnesse and thus much money in other wickednesse and peraduenture scarce one pennie in the works of mercy Nay what a miserable taking wilt thou bée in when thou canst not but confesse that thou hadst so many thousand pounds abroad at vsurie and so many thousand pounds at home rusting in thy treasurie and yet in thy life didst neuer bestow one pound in the déedes of charitie Let such rich and wretched men howle and wéepe for the miseries that shal come vpon them their riches are corrupt their garments are moth-eaten their gold and siluer is cankred and the rust thereof shall bée a witnesse against them at the last day Easier shall it bée for a camell to goe thorow the eie of a néedle then for such to enter into the kingdome of heauen And therefore let all such bunchbackt camels know if they will be saued they must cast away their burdens that hinder their course to this goale they must pare away their bunches that hinder their passage through this strait and narrow gate they must distribute their goods that otherwise will for euer barre them from their God But to leaue them and the torments vnlesse they repent that shall neuer leaue them and to conclude with our selues Many of the ancient autors in their writings doe make report of a certaine countrey whose fashion was yéerely to choose their king who had for that yéere absolute authoritie to doe what he list but the yéere being ended hée was deposed from his place and thrust naked into a remote Iland there to end his life in hunger and cold and much want Whereof one being aduertised thought aforehand to preuent this inconuenience and in that short time of his raigne he sent ouer his wealth and treasure into that Iland whereinto himselfe at the yéeres end being thrust naked and without meanes he was relieued by that which carefully aforehand he had there prouided Beloued in our Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ were we all kings and princes neuer so noble neuer so