themselves so for others Yea the very work of Charity doth bespeak a blessing from God As the blood of Abel is said to cry to the Lord for a curse or vengeance upon Cain so every act of Charity cryeth to God for a blessing upon the Charitable Our very acts of Charity in relieving the wants of the poor and refreshing their bowels do pray and cry to God for his blessing upon us and ours Reas. VI. Your Charity to them will be hereafter rewarded with everlasting glory and happiness in the Kingdom of Heaven This reason our Saviour himselfe giveth in these words He that recieveth a Prophet in the name of a Prophet shall receive a Prophets reward whereby is meant that surpassing and excellent weight of glory which cannot be expressed by the tongue of men or Angels Yea by the reward of a Prophet seemeth to be implyed the highest degree of heavenly glory For Daniel 12 3. It is said That they that be wise that is the righteous who are endowed with true spiritual wisdom being lightned by the Spirit of God shall shine as the brightness of the Firmament but they that turn many to righteousness which is the work of Prophets shall shine as the Stars for ever and ever Now by your bounty to the Prophets of God you may come to partake of their reward So that it is your own concernment to contribute liberally towards their relief Not that your Charity to them doth merit that glorious reward but in regard of the promise of God made to all those who do exercisethe same towards his Ministers it shall be truly given unto them For a word of Application Oh how should the consideration of these things stir up the hearts of all especially such as have a blessing in their hand an estate to give to draw forth their souls and reach forth their hands to the supply of these wanting servants of God Surely this is a time wherein Christ is trying your love to him by your Charity to them Are you not concerned to make proof of your love to Christ Have you not an opportunity before you and a loud call from Heaven to prove it in this way Can you not hear him that said once to Peter John 21. 16. Lovest thou me Feed my Sheep Can you not hear the same voice calling to you Lovest thou me Feed my Shepheards Sure thou art very deaf to the voice of the Providences of this day if thou do not hear this Call And will you prove that you have no love to Christ What do you else if you suffer his to starve when you have wherewith to feed them Beloved it is through God's free grace and rich bounty that you enjoy such plenty of outward good things when many of his Ministers are in great want What you have you have recieved from him Is it not then most just and reasonable that you should return back some part of your estates unto God by relieving his Ministers in testimony of your love and thankfulness unto him for what you have Hath God given you hundreds and thousands and will not you part with a few pounds or shillings when he calls aloud unto you for the same as now he doth in these dayes Though the earth be his and the fulness thereof yet in a sense he hath sometimes need of your estates Matth. 25. 35. Christ telleth you of his wants and sheweth you how and when he is relieved If you have any spiritual wisdom to discern times and seasons you may know that now Christ stands in need of your helping hand now that so many of his Ministers are in want for the testimony of a good conscience And should you now deny him in his Ministers I do verily believe that if Christ were now upon earth as when he first took our nature upon him and in his own person should crave your relief you would turn a deaf ear unto him Though for the present you enjoy manifold blessings yet how easily can he pluck them out of your mouths and if you will not perform your duty thrust you down from among the givers to take your place among the receivers Certainly the communicating a part is your best way to secure the remainder and to season and sanctifie it to your more comfortable use Luke 11. 41. Saith our Saviour Give alms of such things as you have and behold all things are clean unto you that is lawful to be used The metaphor is taken from the Law whereby many things were counted unclean and so unlawful for use they might not be touched or meddled with Yea by the inference of the Apostle Give alms of such things as you have and behold all things are clean unto you He seemeth to allude to another Rite of the Law about First-fruits Tithes and Free offerings by giving which to the Lord all the rest which they had were secured sanctified and made clean So that charitable men are they who may with the more freedom quietness and comfort use what they have Who that hath any desire to be accepted and appoved of God would not have his person and the actions which he doth and things which he possesseth to be clean Whatsoever is unclean is odious and abominable in God's sight unclean persons might not approach to God's Sanctuary nor meddle with sacred matters If they were not cleansed they were to be cut off from God's People Numb 19 20. Levit. 7. 20. and every unclean thing was an abomination This thereforé must needs be a strong perswasive to put in practise the counsel of our Saviour in Giving alms of such things as we have that so all things may be clean and sanctified unto us What 's clean you may use with God's good leave and allowance clean things might be eaten and where you have God's good leave you may expect his blessing It 's sin to eat where God's portion is among it The truth is it is the great mistake of many to think that all their goods are their own and that they are absolute Lords and Owners of all which they possess Whereas indeed they are rather Stewards than Lords and Owners of this worlds goods all is the Lords God of his infinite wisdom hath committed to some a greater portion of them than to others yet not to be impropriated to themselves but they must give him his special part to which his have as good a right as themselves unto the rest saving only that they may not lay hands on it themselves until you put it into their hands But as they may not take it out of yours so you may not keep it out of their hands Therefore Solomon speaking of the right which the poor have to a part of rich mens estates saith Prov. 3. 27. Withold not good from them to whom it is due when it is in the power of thy hand to do it So that relieving the poor is not only an act of Mercy left to our choice
abundantly sufficent to evidence the truth in hand and to encourage and provoke us in imitation of those Worthies to a more ready and conscientious practice of this great duty so essential to Christianity so well pleasing to God so creditable to our profession so beneficial not only in order to our eternal happiness but our present gain comfort and prosperity here on earth The Point being thus proved by Scriptures and Examples Come we now to the Reasons for the further confirmation thereof 1. Reason May be taken from the goodness and bounty of God which is such that he will not suffer any work of Charity shewed to any of his Ministers or Children to pass away unrewarded without a full recompence Whereupon saith David Psal. 62. 12. Vnto thee O Lord belongeth mercy for thou rendrest to every man according his work Though God doth not render a reward to any man for his work done yet doth he render to every man according to his work Yea God doth alwaies exceed in his remunerations to give evidence of his grace and bounty God will not be in any mans debt long but what he hath dis-bursed upon his account he will speedily return into his bosome with advantage 2. Reason 2. May be taken from the faithfulness and righteousness of God who having in his word graciously promised abundantly to recompence and reward our beneficence his faithfulness and righteousness ingageth him to make good what he hath promised So that he cannot but be as good as his word Men may be forward in promising but slow in performing but with God who is the true and faithful one dictum et factum saying and doing are both alike All his promises are Yea and Amen in Christ Iesus Heb. 6. 10. saith the Apostle God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love which ye have shewed towards his name in that ye have Ministred to the Saints and do Minister Here the Apostle argueth a certainty of reward to those who minister any thing to the Saints from the righteousness of God even because he is righteous and therefore will not fail to do what he hath promised He is not unrighteous to FORGET that is he will righteously remember and Gods remembring signifies the same as recompencing as he will remember sinners by recompencing their evil ways upon their own heads so he will remember his Saints by returning the good that they have done into their own bosomes The more to assure us of such kind of remembrance from God the holy Ghost mentioneth certain books or roles of remembrance written before God wherein the merciful deeds of his servants are recorded So that it is no more possible that such as are charitably benign and helpful to the poor Ministers and people of God should lose their reward than that God himself should cease to be righteous or be forgetful of his word 3. Reason May be taken from several metaphorical expressions used in Scripture by which Alms-giving is represented to us all which imply not onely a certain return but that with increase as SOWING and LENDING and that upon Usury 1. We find it set forth in Scripture by SOWING 2 Cor 9. 6. He which soweth sparingly shall reap sparingly and he which soweth bountifully shall reap bountifully This proverbiall speech the Apostle applyeth to the dispersing of almes Now as Husbandmen who sow their corn with a liberal hand do usually reap a crop answerably thereunto In like manner such Christians as shall sow their feed of charity with an open plentifull hand shall reap accordingly a plentiful crop they shall find their seed sowen come up with increase yielding thirty if not sixty or an hundred fold here besides eternal life hereafter It may be thou mayst not presently reap the fruit of thy seed and what wonder Who is there that sowes who expects to reap the same day The Husbandman waiteth for his harvest wait thou on the Lord and doubt not but an harvest will come that will pay thee both for thy sowing and thy waiting 2. The second Metaphor whereby alms-giving is set-forth in Scripture is LENDING and that upon use Pro. 19. 17. He that hath pitty on the poor lendeth unto the Lord and that which he hath given will he pay him again Men that lend to men receive their own with increase what they lay up lies dead and possibly the Thief may break in and steal it away but what they lend if to sure hands comes in with advantage How rich do some Usurers grow by this trade of lending And though it be a Paradox that GIVING is a richer trade than Lending even upon use yet 't is a certain truth for this giving is lending and he that lends to the Lord will find a greater income at the years end then he that lends to the best of men Therefore as one well saith Eleemosyna non est divitiarum dispendium sed dite scendi potius compendium quaestusque omnium uberrimus Giving to the poor is not the way to wast our wealth but the art of thriving and the most compendious course to attain unto riches Though our alms-deeds seem as the seed sown to perish and rot yet believing what we see not we shall assuredly see what we believe and find even here such a fruitful increase as we shall conclude that Giving to charitable uses is the surest and safest way of getting and thriving in the world Thus have you the truth of the point confirmed by Scriptures Examples and Reasons Come we now to the application 1. Vse of Reproof of all unmerciful men who notwithstanding the many charges God hath laid upon us to be rich in good works ready to distribute willing to communicate to draw forth our souls to the hungry to open our bowels to the needy and the manifold encouragements he hath given us in his word hereto yet do shut up their bowels of compassion from them refusing to afford them any succour or relief Surely such have no love to Christ for who can say he loves the Lord Jesus Christ in truth and sincerity when he suffers his Ministers members to want necessaries even food and rayment Is this thy love to Christ to suffer him to starve It is evident thou lovest thy money more than Christ and so commest under that fearful Anathema 1 Cor. 16. 22. If any love not the Lord Jesus Christ let him be Anathema Maranatha These two words though both denoing a curse are of two several languages The former word Anathema is a Greek word signifying accursed So it is used Rom. 9. 3. Gal. 1. 8. The latter is a Syriack word as Beza observeth in his Annotations on 1 Cor. 16. 22. yet frequently used by the Iews it signifieth Our Lord cometh Maran is Our Lord and atha cometh intimating that such as were under this curse were to expect no mercy but to look for the dreadful coming of Christ to take vengeance of them So that as St.
none of His who hast no bowels God is a God of mercy His children are all merciful children Worldling wilt thou prove thy self to be no child of God wouldst thou prove that the faith thou hast is vain thy religion vain and that thou art but a pretender to the love of God and hast not the love of God within thee This unmercifulness of thine will put it out of question If thou hast no bowels of compassion the love of God is not in thee O get a compassionate and merciful heart Hast thou received Mercy and wilt thou not be merciful Dost thou hope for mercy and wilt thou not shew Mercy Put thy self into thy poor brother's case a while think how hard t is with him think of his hunger and nakedness of his pressing straits and miseries let thy soul go into his house and see his naked walls his cold chimney his empty cup-board his starveling children and then think again O how if it were thus with me Ah poor distressed creatures how are they pinch'd and pin'd whilst I have enough and abound O my bowels how can you but yern O mine heart how canst thou but bleed over such distressed ones Hast thou nothing to help them Ther 's enough in my house ther 's enough in my purse to yield them relief but is there no alms for them in my heart Can I have the heart to see them pine and perish and do nothing to hâ—lp them Where are ye O my bowels Where are my compassions O my soul help and send portions to them for whom nothing is provided 3. Out of a thankeful heart Remember what God hath done for thee Hast thou any sense or experience of his special love to thee in Christ What should that produce The sense of divine Goodness in a way of Common Providence calls for all due acknowledgment from us But a taste of his paternal love in pardoning our sins and justifying our persons and enstating us in eternal life and happiness upon the account of his Son's-suffering and dying for us this is as the strongest Motive to so the most commanding reason of our charity or beneficence to our fellow-creatures who stand in need of it In Christ the beams of Gods mercy are concentred as the beams of the Sun are in a burning-glass which falling upon our hearts they are or should be hereby inflamed and made to burn with greater heat of love and kindness to all in want especially to all who bear his image The right spring of Mercy to our neighbour is the sense of God's Mercy towards us IV. Let all your streams of love flow into the Ocean My meaning is Let all be done to the glory of God This must be your last end to which all must be directed as the Apostle charges 1 Cor. 10. 31. Whether you eat or drink I may add or whether you give to eat or to drink or Whatsoever ye do do all to the glory of God Let this be chiefly in your eye and your heart that God may be glorified Other subordinate ends there are As the refreshing of the needy the adorning our holy profession the edification of others by our good example but all at last must end here that God may be glorified Take heed your end be not to glorifie your selves As worms breed in the fairest fruit so pride and vain-glory are apt to creep-up out of the best duties V. Let your works of charity be done in humility giving unto God the honour of them by acknowledging that as what you have bestowed on the poor you first received from him So it was his goodness to give you an heart to give any thing out of your abundance towards their relief Yea you ought to be ever jealous over your-selvs lest there hath been some hypocrisie and self-seeking in your works of charity acknowledging that you are so far from meriting heaven and Salvation by your good works that if God should deal with you according to the rigour of his justice he might cast you into hell for that pride and hypocrisie which cleaves to your best works VI. Let your workes of charity to men be accompanied with prayers and thanksgivings unto God Thank God that he hath put you amongst the givers and not amongst the receivers it being a more blessed thing to give then to receive that he hath put you among the givers and not the withholders that he hath given you an estate to give and an heart to give Thank God that he will accept a gift at your hands that He whose is all you have and to whom it is owing will count that a gift which is but the payment of so small a part of your debt say with David in 1 Chro. 29. 11 13. Thine O Lord is the greatness both riches and honour come from thee Now therefore Our God we thank thee and praise thy glorious name But what am I and what is my people that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort For all things come of thee and of thine own have we given thee VII Give out proportionably to what God hath given unto you 1 Cor. 16. 2. The Apostle adviseth the Corinthians to give as God had prâ—spered them Rich men therefore ought to be rich in good worâ—s for God expecteth fruit answerable to the seed which he soweth Hath he abounded to you in this worlds goods you ought thereupon to be abundant in good works towards others your Pounds are expected where the Widdows mites are accepted Having given you some Directions for the manner of bestowing your Almes I shall briefly shew you the means how to attain to this grace of Christian Charity Now the means I shall prescribe shall be 1. Such as tend to the bringing your hearts to be willing to this Duty 2. Such as shall tend to the helping of you for the better managing of it First for means to bring your hearts to be willing to set upon this duty take These Oft call to mind and imprint in your memories the manifold precepts in the Scriptures requiring this Duty at your hands As also the many gracious promises God hath there made for the encouragement of his people thereunto and thereupon reason thus with thy self what Hath God commanded me Deut. 15. 10. to give unto my Brother according to his necessity to cast my bread upon the waters Eccl. 11. 1. And hath our blessed Saviour commanded me Luk. 6. 38. to give unto the poor And hath the Lord for my encouragement thereunto promised that he will bless me in all my works and in all that I put my hand unto prosper me in my Trade and Calling That my Barnes shall be filled with plenty That what we shall give or lend unto the poor he will pay us again with Interest That though I cast my bread upon the waters where it may seem to be lost yet I shall find it after many days it shall certainly be returned into
Rom. 15. 4. Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning and for our admonition The most that I have heard or read of who have taken this course to conâ—ecrate unto God a certain portion of their estate to charitable uses have followed the example of Iacob in giving a tenth part unto God And as God did exceedingly bless Iacob after his vow so hath he likewise blessed very many others after their like vow unto God Mr. Stock in his funeral Sermon at the burial of the Lord Harrington speaking of his Charity declared that in his life time he gave the tenth part of his yearly revenue to the poor Mr. Gataker in his funeral Sermon at the burial of Mr. Iohn Parker Merchant and Citizen of London speaking of his Charity saith That at his first effectual Call among other things he then resolved upon this was one to set apart every year a tenth of his gain for the relief of the poor and needy and that God from that time abundantly advanced his estate And questionless if such Merchants who usually ensure their goods upon their apprehension of danger at Sea would sincerely promise unto God in testimony of their thankfulness unto him the tenth of what should come safe into their hands they might receive far greater returns than they do In the Life of Dr. Hammond written by Dr. Fell I find this expression The rate and summ of what the Doctor devoted was the tenth of all his income wherein he was so strictly punctual that commonly the first thing he did was to compute and separate the poor mans share And how his stock increased notwithstanding his abundant giving out to the relief of others the history at large declareth The like I read in the Life of Mr. William Wheatly Minister of Banbury how for many years he set apart the tenth of his yearly comings in both out of his Temporal and Ecclesiastical Means and that his Estate prospered the better after he took that course To these I could add many more out of the Lives of good and charitable men and out of several funeral Sermons which are printed and published And could name multitudes of men now living who have devoted the like and greater portion out of their estates for charitable uses and are ready to attest the truth of this discourse That they are no losers but great gainers in Temporals by what they have given to the poor Mr. Richard Baxter in his Learned and Usefull Piece called A Christian Directory Part the 4th fol. 195. of the quotapars what proportion is meet for most men to devote for charitable uses whether the tenth part of their increase be not ordinarily a fit proportion hath this expression Though the proportion of the tenth part is too much for some and much too little for others yet for the most part I think it as likely a proportion as it is fit for another to prescribe in particular Yet I would not be thought to impose this as a proportion to be observed by all for all mens hearts are not alike inlarged with love and bounty and some there are who have no more than is necessary for the comfortable support of themselves and family from whom less is required for the relief of others But I would advise such whom the Lord hath blessed with a plentiful estate so that their necessary expences are or might be far less than their incomes to devote a tenth part of their whole yearly income to charitable uses I say of their whole yearly income without first deducting any part thereof for diet cloaths or other necessary expences for the tenth of the remainder will be a very inconsiderable proportion for a rich man to devote to Charity and far short of that which the Scripture seemeth to call for And know assuredly that this course is so far from being a means of diminishing your stock and store that if it be managed as it ought according to the forementioned rules and directions it is the surest and safest means the most compendious course of increasing it through the secret blessing of God which accompanieth the same which hath been sufficiently demonstrated in the foregoing discourse 2. Be careful on whom thou bestowest thine alms for by giving to such common beggars who are able to work and yet are so lazy that they will not work but would live by the sweat of other mens brows I say by relieving such we shall both maintain them in their idle and wicked life and they who are truly poor and ought to be looked upon as the proper objects of our Charity will be neglected or at least scanted of that which of right belongeth to them I am not against the relieving of all beggars some of them I know are blind others lame aged and past their work these impotent poor in regard of their present condition are objects of Charity but not the impudent poor who have strength enough to work and will not those canting vagrants who are the burthen of the earth and shame of the Kingdom for these I have no charity Neither had the Apostle St. Paul who towards God's poor was full of compassion but for the Devil 's poor he gave this command 2 Thes. 3. 10. That if any would not work neither should he eat that hunger and necessity might drive them to labour Erasmus mentions a kind of mercy meetest for such ' t is misericordia puniens Surely the Whip is more their due than food Bridewell to entertain them than an Alms-house III. Another Means for the attaining this grace of Christian Charity is this Be earnest with God in prayer that he would be pleased to bestow upon thee that adorning and enriching grace of Charity and accept thy offering This Sacrifice as it must be offered up to Heaven so it must be fetched from Heaven The gift of a merciful and charitable heart is one of those gifts that come down from above even the Father of Lights Iam. 1. 17. If thou receivest not this gift from God thy poor Brother is like to have no gift from thee Now it must be thy prayer that must fetch down this gift from God Lift up thine heart to the Lord and beg a merciful and compassionate soul beg of God that he would make thee ready to every good work willing to communicate to the poor members of Christ according to thine ability and their necessity that thereby thou mayest lay up in store for thy self a good foundation against the time to come and so lay hold on eternal life pray for a willing heart and pray for acceptance of thy gift that thine alms may be such a sacrifice and so offered up that therewith the Lord may be well pleased Having thus shewed you the Means on our part to be performed for attaining and exercising this grace of Charity I shall close this discourse with answering two or three Objections Object 1. Some object the greatness of their