extolleth charity aboue all gifts 1. Cor. 13. Againe what vertue more becommeth a Christian then charity which is to shew mercy as he hath receiued mercy and to do good as he hath receiued good He that receiueth good and doth none maketh God his seruant and himselfe a god a god of this world or diuell Againe God requireth the practise of this vertue of vs more strictly and inforceth the same and imprinteth the same in the memory by his owne example Ioh. 13. 4. to vers 17. here is the vertue of charity dramatically set forth before their eyes and things seene cannot be forgotten Also Ioh. 15. 12. Lastly we shall be iudged by the workes of charity at the last day Math 25. Come yee blessed of my Father c. but this is not meant of morall or ethnicall workes Pharisaicall Popish workes For sinners are bountifull to sinners they giue and lend and that freely sometimes to such like as themselues in fleshly respects But Christ saith Whatsoeuer ye did to the least of my brethen yee did to me Cast thy bread vpon the waters Euery word of this sentence is emphaticall Cast that is to say giue with a good heart willingly and readily and freely not being bound at all to the loue of earthly things as Dauid saith If riches increase set not your heart vpon them Psal 62. 10. and God loueth an open heart or cheerfull giuer that giueth confidently without feare and freely without compulsion This goodnesse of the heart in this respect consisteth of these particulars I. Thankefulnesse when vpon consideration of Gods mercy and bounty towards vs in Christ we deuote in way of thankfulnesse our goods not onely to our owne vse but to the poore and to the Church 2. Cor. 8. 5. The Macedonians first gaue themselues to the Lord and after to the Apostles and to the poore at their request And the citizens of Tyrus being conuerted deuote their merchandize and gaines to the Lord Esay 23. 18. Her merchandize shall not be layd vp and kept in store but it shall be for them that dwel before the Lord to eate sufficiently c. II. Loue 1. Cor. 13. 3. If a man giue all that he hath and hath not loue it is nothing Many build Hospitals for the poore and so do Turks also but the Lords poore the brethren of Christ Math. 25. they know not nay they had rather take from such poore III. Compassion We must reioyce with them that reioyce and weepe with them that weepe wee must relieue them that want and make their case our owne The wicked churle sayth do as they will shift as they can c. when he dispossesseth a poore tenant for a little more rent for one poore man will oppresse and dispossesse another and this is like the raging storme that destroyeth all things It is the voice of a beast not of a man euery beast careth onely for himselfe and when one is fallen the other tread vpon him and goare him and so do beastly men IIII. Simplicitie and that is when we aime at neither profit nor praise but intend to obey the commandement of God Therefore sayth Christ Math 6. 3. Let not the left hand know what the right doth Giue in vprightnesse and sinceritie of heart whether in priuate or publicke otherwise he that giueth giueth not to God but to himselfe that is the meaning of these words V. Cheerfulnesse Rich men must distribute and communicate for God loueth a cheerfull giuer 1. Tim. 6 16 Solomon sayth Prou. 3. 28. Say not to thy neighbour go and come againe to morrow and I will giue it thee if thou hast it now Iob sayth that he restrained not the desire of the poore nor made the eie of the widdow to faile Iob 31. 16. VI. Bountifulnesse He that soweth plentifully shall reape plentifully 2. Cor. 7. Bread A Synecdoche of the Speciall By Bread he meaneth all kinde of sustenance and maintenance meate drinke apparrell lodging money Matth. 25. 35. c. euen whatsoeuer our brethren stand in neede of wherein wee are able to helpe them their soules bodies states For we must not onely helpe a man when he is fallen with our almes but assist him before he fall with our reliefe and succour both by giuing and lending The deceitful hearts of hypocrites and churles is herein damnable They will relieue or assist no man but suffer him to fall yea occasion and cause his fall to buy vp all that he hath for neede maketh good penny worths Then will they nay then must they relieue him on the common almes wherin the churle for his part will beare the least charge And if for his great penny worth hee doth any thing of free will hee thinketh that hee hath done a great worke deseruing great commendation and reward at Gods hands These are the common good workes and almes of the deceitfull world They are most commonly like vnto persecuters and robbers that doe giue sometimes to the poore part of their stollen goods It is indeede nothing but the offering of a Dogs head and Swines bloud in facrifice yet they thinke to merit heauen therewith Thy bread Therefore thou must giue thine owne not as mercilesse churles doe guilefully nor yet as their fellow thieues doe which steale much from one and giue alittle to another or benefit one and hurt many The thiefe that robbeth by the highway giueth to the poore that beggeth by the highway and hee is counted a good maister but hee shall be hanged for his goodnesse if hee be apprehended Consider this ye couetous persons extortioners vsurers and all vnlawfull getters that enrich your selues by the hinderance of other men God indeede may in mercie accept your repentance but your gifts and great workes are abhominable in the sight of God without repentance and deniall of all your deceitfull and false goodnesse For God is no receiuer of stollen goods If yee bee contented with that which ye can lawfully get in a lawfull calling and trust in him giuing a little of a little yee shall please him better then otherwise with thousands Be thou content and let them do great workes into whose hands God hath put much wealth If they will not their damnation shal be the greater and God shall dispose of their wealth as pleaseth him it may be to thee or thine The widdowes mite shall be as great a gift in the sight of God the rewarder of euery worke as the great summes of Princes in the eyes of men As for the gift of the couetous person vsurer extortioner or oppressour it is but the sacrificing of a dogges head and swines bloud as I sayd before it is but a bribe to make God partaker of their theft and robberies Amos 2. 8. vnlesse it be in the way of restitution vpon vnfained repentance as Zacheus did Many chiefly Popish worldlings will doe no good whiles they liue but at their last end they thinke to merit heauen with a great funerall feast
How long thou shalt enioy thy goods thou knowest not and what need thou or thine may come to thou knowest nor Surely with what measure a man meateth to him it shall be measured againe Blessed is he sayth Dauid that prouideth for the sicke and needy the Lord shall deliuer him in time of trouble Diues prouided for his owne belly but nothing for the poore but aft rward he stood in need of Lazarus helpe but in vaine So shall it be wiâ—h euery rich glutton that loueth himselfe and hateth the poore When the rich mans soule is in hell then shall his goods be dispersed on the earth and his children vagabonds begging their bread and sometimes hanged for their leudnesse As the diuels fetched away the soule of the couetous rich man Luk. 12. so commonly doâ—vsurers whores and other miscreants carry away their goods Surely if Diues could haue risen from the dead he would haue done good but the Apostle sayth While we haue time let vs doâ—good while we are liuing and haue goods to bestow For while we are liuing they are ours afterwards they are none of ours we are now the stewards of them let vs now make friends of the vnrighteous Mammon let vs worke while we haue the instrument in our hands and do good while God giueth power to do it For riches are for the time our gift or talent to be layd out and vsed for our Lords aduantage It is a folly not to do good in time of life but to deferre till death as many brute heads do seruing God as they list and how and when they list seruing themselues first and if ought leaue then shall God haue something contrary to the practise of the faithfull widow of Sarepta as though God were a begger that stood need at all times and so nothing could come amisse nor at any time amisse and that he must depend on vs and be thankfull to vs. Thou foole and mad man God biddeth thee doe good in time of strength not at thy last end he respecteth thy faith and obedience to his commandement not thy gift which is his owne not thine Hast thou his grace at command Thou that wilt not now do good shalt not then For he will cut thee off suddenly thou shalt die in thy sinne nay in stead of doing good thou shalt haply end thy dayes in cursing and blaspheming God and in fearfull desperation Againe thou wilt giue to the poore at thy last end c. How many are suddenly taken as one arrested by the Sergeant and as thou hast bene vnfaithfull to the poore so may thy executors be to thee and them But iâ— the poore be partakers thereof that is no good to thee but thy faith and obedience should haue bene rewarded The commandement is giuen to men liuing not to men dying Thou hast alwayes bene a theefe and art so still for this is but a small part of that which thou hast vniustly withheld from the poore and wrongfully gotten Therefore thou art but as one going to the execution for theft and restoring some small part of his stollen goods to the poore as he goeth which cannot free him from the gallowes and leauing the rest to his babes which shall be taken yea stollen from them againe or wither away they cannot tell how For the curse of the poore is vpon their patrimony though themselues be safe Verse 3. If the clouds be full of raine they emptie themselues vpon the earth and if the tree fall toward the South or toward the North in the place where the tree falleth there it shall be A Confirmation drawne from the creatures or law of nature whereof two are specified full clouds and fruitfull trees Or they are an illustration of the rich mans duty or stewardship and vse of worldly goods by the similitudes or examples of clouds and trees vegetables and meteors euen all the creatures As the clouds being full doe not withhold their raine but powre it downe vpon the earth so the rich man must not hoord vp his treasures or goods from others When the merchants of Tyre repented they left off to hoord vp riches and gaine according to their old manner and dedicated them to holy vses Our Sauiour sayth Giue almes and lay vp treasure in heauen Thus did Iob and the faithfull in the Primitiue Church sold their possessions to communicate to the needy Moreouer the clouds do not raine vpon certaine mens grounds certaine fields and woods but vpon all places and all things where they are caried with the windes So the truly mercifull namely he that is receiued to mercy sheweth mercy on all his compassion is extended to all which generall extent is a print or stampe of Gods mercy set in his heart to wit that he is receiued to mercy and is againe truly mercifull a fruite of the former Christ sayth Be yee mercifull as your heauenly Father is mercifull Now he sheweth mercy on all as Paul saith He is the Sauiour of all men especially of them that beleeue Rich mens houses are Gods store-houses His gold siluer corne wine oyle c. is not layd vp in euery house nor the charge and dispensation thereof committed to euery one but to certaine persons and places where it must not lye as a talent hid in the ground but be dispersed abroad among other men For â—e that hath giuen power right and a commandement to gather his frui es hath also giuen a commandement how to dispose them As the clouds so all creatures haue their fulnesse which is not for themselues but for the earth and they enuy their raine to no man The rich mansfulnesse is not for himselfe but for all and he must enuy the same to no man for that is hatefull to God and man For the earth is the Lords with the fulnesse thereof and the creatures with the fulnesse thereof euery fulnesse is for man and euery man hath a fulnesse to be rained vpon all to be distributed and communicated to all and that is his gift or talent All creatures haue not one kind of fulnesse nor all members one office nor all men in a corporation one trade But euery one distributeth his fulnesse and is serued of the fulnesse of others that there may be a supply of all necessaries to euery man and an equality He that retaineth his fulnesse to rot within him is worthily hated For he is a drone and a theefe Therefore Saint Iames threatneth iudgment mourning and woe to them Iam. 5. 1. 2. 3. The rottennesse of their riches the mothes of their garments the canker and rust of their gold and siluer shall be a witnesse against them and eate vp their flesh as fire And if the tree falleth c. The trees bring forth fruite for man so must man do for man They are fruitfull on euery side and where their fruite falleth there it lyeth for all that need it so must euery man be fruitfull of good workes as he hath
receiued the gift and the fulnesse thereof And in what place soeuer the tree groweth it fructifieth so doth a good man out of the good treasure of his heart bring forth good vnto all wheresoeuer he is Verse 4. He that obserueth the winde shall not sow and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reape THe former exhortation is figured by a double Prolepsis in this and the next verse wherein the answers are wholly set downe figured by an allegory but the obiections are vnderstood The first is concerning the time and persons First for the time They say that now they are not prouided to giue they haue rents to pay they haue an hard Landlord it is because thou art hard to the poore Mat. 7. 2. they haue a purchase to pay for They haue layd all out vpon house land cattell they will hereafter do something When they die they will make a bequest to the poore Qui non est hodie crà s minus aptus erit Mony is scant but grace is more scant they feare a dearth that is the churles desire therefore they cannot yet do good Secondly concerning the persons They alledge that they should haue bene more prouident and painfull in former times that they are vnworthy of any thing that they are leud and wicked like thy selfe and will spend it naughtily as thou gettest it that all is lost which is put into a riuen dish not in a close chest they must not doe for euery one that do all for themselues and so out of their selfeloue distrust and infidelity they pretend a thousand excuses and delayes they find innumerable obstacles to hinder them that they shall neuer do any good thing at all The answer hereto is illustrated by a similitude of the sower and the reaper He that obserueth the winde shall not sow He that stands vpon winde and weather calme and sunshine shall neuer sow his seed in the spring Now it is rainy now a drisling fog and claggie now snow-like now frosty and dry now windy and stormy c. no weather pleaseth he will tarry for a more conuenient season and that comes to be out of season and sometimes when earing time is past It is colde threfore the slouch will not plow Prou. 20. 4. It raineth the land will be too heauie it drisâ—eth that will rot the furniture the windes are aloft that will blow his seed on heapes it is ouermoist that will cause weeds it is ouerdrie and frost-like the seed will not come vp it is a faire day and a conuenient season but there is a Lion in the way So the wicked rich cannot sow the seed of good workes for want of a conuenient time and person Either the weather or land is not in tune because himselfe is out of tune But the strong man attaineth to riches the good husbandman ouerpowreth the weather and the stars so a good heart of gracious disposition can do good at all times and to all persons hee is armed against all weathers And he that regardeth the clouds shall not reape Hee that will tarry for a conuenient season of his owne deuising shall reape his owne deuice euen nothing He that will not sow till he see and be sure of faire weather shall haply neuer mow but let his corne rot on the ground or be all eaten with beasts and birds We must take the time as it is and reape the fruites as they are As we serue others so are we serued againe Some man will do good when he is old some when he dieth some after death by his last will some feare pouertie and want hereafter some haue now no leisure some alledge the vnworthinesse and vnthankfulnesse of the poore but none of these can finde a time when nor a person to whom to do good till death summon them to iudgement and then come they with their talent tied vp in a napkin Their reward shall be according to their workes Verse 5. As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit nor how the bones do grow in the wombe of her that is with child euen so thou knowest not the workes of God who maketh all AN answer to the second obiection concerning a mans selfe arising from his diffidence in Gods prouidence and deniall of his power It is thus I know not what need I may stand hereafter for I see not my latter end I must prouide also for my wife and children the more that I lay vp the more shall they finde this I am sure of and the more that I giue the lesse I haue that I am as sure of I will not depend on chaunces fortunes and vaine hope I will not make my selfe richer by other mens goodes and hee that waiteth for olde mens shooes may happily goe bare foote in the meane time and a bird in the hand is far better then two in the wood but if she die and be turned into rottennesse in thine hand or bee poyson to thee when thou eatest her what art thou the better how or which way shall God doe this or that for me or mine what will he doe for me when will he doe it While the grasse groweth the horse dyeth in the meane time I will first relie on mine owne prouidence and on Gods afterward I will doe for my selfe yea by stealing and lying amongest hands such like were the distrustfull and blasphemous speeches of the Israelites in the wildernesse which are set forth as ensamples for our admonition They also limited Gods power and prouidence How shall we do for bread and water in this barren and thirsty desert Can God prepare a Table in the wildernesse Wee are wearie of this Manna can hee giue vs flesh would to God wee were in Aegypt agayne or in the bottome of the redde Sea with Pharaohs armie if God should deale with you according to your deserts but that hee respecteth his promise to Abraham and glory of his name amongst the heathen The answer is illustrated by a similitude As thou knowest not what is the way of the Spirit Leane not to thine owne wisedome nor limite the power of God Hee hath commaunded thou must obey without reasons He hath promised thou must beleeue without interrogatories thou must not binde him to times and meanes His secresie is his glorie none is of his counsell neither is any worthy or able for his wisedome is infinite his goodnesse is to all and his mercy is ouer all his workes and on them that feare him throughout all generations As thou knowest not the way of the winde when it shall come whence it commeth or whither or how it goeth and as thou knowest not how the bones doe grow in the wombe so neyther canst thou know the workes of God who maketh all by the word of his power and gouernes all by the word of his prouidence he onely is all in all shewing mercy and iustice on all Feare and obey therefore trust not thine owne counterfeit imaginations make not a