a few small fishes he fed about foure thousand soules He is like that good Samaritane who when hee saw that man that fell among the theeues beeing robbed and wounded came nere vnto him and when hee saw him he had compassion on him and bound vp his wounds and powred in oyle and wine and put him vpon his own horse and brought him to an Inne and made prouision for him Finally wee know the grace of our Lord Iesus Christ that he being rich for our sakes became poore that through his pouerty wee might bee made rich All the Apostles had speciall care of the poore they put one another in minde of thisâ— duty Paul confesseth that hee had warning from others to remember the poore which thing also he was diligent to doe Hee doth in many places put the Church in minde of this duty Concerning the gathering for the Saints saith hee as I haue ordained in the Church of Galatia so doe yee also Euery first day of the weeke let euery one of you put aside by himselfe and lay vp as God hath prospered him that there bee no gathering when I come And in another place hee bestoweth two whole Chapters in perswading them by sundry reasons to the cheerefull relieuing of the poore Saints You may see that the primitiue Church had both ordinary extraordinary gatherings for their own poore and for strangers these collections were very fitly on the Lords day Such workes of mercy are workes of the Sabaoth then we heare the word which doth stirre vs vp to this duety then are publicke prayers and petitions to God which should moue vs to heare the petitions of others as we will haue God to heare vs then wee cry and craue for mercy to him and therefore wee should snewe mercy to others then are the Sacraments administred which doe moue vs to loue and charity one to another then the examples of others should prouoke vs to kindnesse and liberality towards our brethren then wee remember and call to minde the remembrance of God towards vs which should moue vs to bee beneficiall to others then wee professe the communion of Saints and therefore should bee ready to impart such gifts as wee haue to the comfort and benefite one of another Christians are all one Corporation and one houshold and therefore should haue a care of the helping and relieuing one of another The end of riches is not onely to serue our owne necessities but specially the glory of God and also the necessity of others The possession of riches is vncertaine our life vncertaine our state vncertaine being subiect to the same calamities that others are And therefore while wee haue time let vs doe good to all men and specially to the houshold of faith And consider I pray you who it is that hath need and requireth thy helpe It is Man euen one like thy selfe of the same nature and it may bee of the same Spirit and Grace And what doth hee aske of thee but onely that which God doth giue thee not onely foâ— thine owne vse but for the good of others Nay it is God himselfe that asketh and is become petitioner to thee for the poore It is God I say that asketh who hath giuen thee body and soule and goods who hath giuen his sonne for thee who loueth the poore and whatsoeuer is done to them for his sake hee accounteth it as done to himselfe And he asketh nothing but his owne for the earth is the Lords and all that therein is and all the beasts of the forrest are his and all the beasts on a thousand mountaines And he doth not aske it to thy hurt and hinderance but to thy greater gaine and aduantage He that is mercifull rewardeth his owne soule And he that hath mercie on the poore lendeth to the Lord and the Lord will recompence him that which he hath giuen This is the best vsury to put out money and riches to good and holy vses to put them into the hands of God to bestow them according to his will and then they shall be increased and multiplied We are all debters to God we owe him all we haue he hath ordained all things for our vse and therefore it is reason we should trust him and commit all we haue into his hands A wise creditor will trust a faithful debter with any thing And shall not wee trust our God who is most sure of his word and the best pay-maister of all others He is God the faithfull God which keepeth couenant and mercy vnto them that loue him and keep his Commandements euen to a thousand generations This God said vnto Abraham I am thy Buckler and thy exceeding great reward God saith to thee Giue and I will giue thou hast had mee a giuer make me now thy debter The poore man saith a Father is a fruitfull field and quickely and plenteously returneth that which it hath receiued The Husband-man buyeth Oxen Horse and feedeth them he tilleth the ground he casteth in his seede and all vpon hope of a doubtfull haruest but almes is a seed to be sowen the crop and haruest will certainly follow Againe If thou wilt bee a good Merchant and an excellent vsurer giue forth that thou canst not keepe that thou maist receiue that thou canst not loose Giue a little that thou maist receiue an hundred times as much giue a temporall possession for an euerlasting inheritance What a folly is it â—aith another there to lay vp thy goods from whence thou must depart and not rather to send them before thee to the place where thou must go to inhabite Let thy goods be where thy country is hee that hoordeth vp treasure in earth hast nothing to looke for in heauen Why lookest thou vp to heauen where thou hath laid vp nothing Charge them that are rich in this world saith the Apostle that they bee not high-minded and that they trust not in vncertaine riches but in the liuing God which giueth vs aboundance of all things to enioy that they do good and bee rich in good worke and ready to distribute and communicate laying vp in store for themselues a good foundation against the time to come that they may obtaine eternall life God hath ordained saith one for men two Crownes for the poore the Crowne of Patience for the rich the Crowne of Liberality As the poore do depriue themselues of their Crowne by Impatiency and murmuring so ought the rich by helping the poore to striue to obtaine the Crowne of Liberality Worthy is the example of the Primitiue Church of whom it is said there was such order and charity amongst them that none of them lacked for as many as were possessours of lands and of houses sold them and brought the price of the things that were sold and laid it downe at the Apostles feete and it was distributed to euery one as he had need The nuÌ„ber of beleeuers at that time was about fiue thousand
They liued in time of persecution they wanted the helpe of a good Magistrate All Kings and Princes were enemies to the Church at that time yet they tooke such good order and were so charitable that they suffered none to lacke among them It is a shame then for vs to suffer any to want necessary sustenance wee I say liuing in the daies of peace and plenty vnder a Christian King hauing so many good Lawes for the prouision and reliefe of the poore There is a memorable example of the Christians vnder Maximinus the Emperour In the time of famine many of the Heathens were preserued and saued from death by the mercy and liberallity of the Christians whereupon it came to passe that those which did deadly hate them before did now require their helpe and did openly confesse that the bowels of mercy were onely found amongst Christians that therefore Christian Religion was the true Religion which taught her worshippers true piety and godlinesse The which when Iulianus the Apostata afterwards obserued and marked least Christian Religion should bee the more esteemed because of such incredible kindnesse and mercy shewed to all sorts of people Iulienus I say euery where erected Hospitals and endewed them with yeerely reuenues And hee setteth downe this reason of his purpose writing to one Arsatius an Idolatrous Bishop It is a shame saith hee that the worshippers of the Gods should neglect their owne when as the wicked Galileans for so he had wont to call Christians releiued not onely their owne but also strangers yea â—uen the enemies of their Religion and suffered none of their owne to beg from dore to dore The most vnhappy Nation of the Iewes hauing no certaine resting place nor any forme of Common-wealth yet do they mainetaine and seed their owne least they should be constrained to craue help from Christians The French and Dutch Churches in this our Land they set all their owne on worke they suffer none to beg nor to want among them The Papists our Fore-fathers they did excell in liberallity to the Church and Common-wealth in Hospitality and Almes to the poore Wee haue many Monuments of their liberality amongst vs as Hospitals and Almes-houses for the releiefe of the needy with good Reuenues adioyned to them Nay the Papists adorned beautified and cloathed their dumbe Idols and Images and shall wee suffer poore people to want food and cloathing which carry vpon them the liuely Image of God All these examples are to our shame and condemnation and shall bee iudges and witnesses against vs at the day of the Lord. Wee professe the glorious Gospell of Christ wee haue the light of Gods word shining before vs wee haue daily Sermons and Exhortations stirring vs vp to the workes of mercy wee haue many good and godly Lawes agreeing to the Lawes of God and to the true discipline of the Church commanding and enioyning prouision and reliefe of the poore forbidding all idlenesse commanding all to bee set a worke and all that want to bee releiued according to their necessity and yet there be many idle persons amongst vs many would worke and cannot get it many though they do worke labour and toyle night and day as much as may be yet in respect of the hardnesse of the times all that they get will hardly prouide bread for them and theirs Others there bee that cannot worke at all and others but a very little yet these in many places are little regarded or prouided for Good Lawes wee haue and in this place I know there is good order and care taken for the poore Here bee many meanes for their reliefe which others want And I know there bee many tender mercifull and pittifull hearts pittying the needy estates of their brethren stretching forth their hands to their releife yet considering the hardnesse of the time and how vnmercifull and hard hearted some are which yet are of great estate and ability and considering also the multitude and great number of the poore which increase daily Your care your pitty your liberallity your collections and almes publicke or secret had need bee more then ordinary And therefore I beseech you deerely beloued in the bowels of Christ as the Elect of God put on you the bowels of mercy consider your owne abilities and the great necessitie of so many and let it not grieue you to helpe and releiue them but freely frankly and cheerefully shew forth the fruite of your compassion loue and mercy to your distressed brethren and especially you Right Worshipfull Magistrates Gouernours do your best endeuours according to your place and callings to see this seruice and worke performed by your counsell and example to perswade and draw as many as you can to this duty And as for those that are rich yet cruell couetous hard-heartd and vnmercifull compell and force them by rigour of Law to giue that to good vses which they are vnwilling to giue at all All the poore vnder your gouernement be they neuer so many they are your cure and charge you must see them prouided for if any of them perish through your default their bloud shall bee required at your hands The good Minister is to be a mouth for the poore to speake and entrâ—ate for them and also by his example as much as he may to go before others in the duties of mercy But the good Magistrate is not onely to bee a good mouth for the poore but an hand an eare an eye and a foote for them to speake to heare to see to go to do what lyeth in him both for the defence and reliefe of the poore As God forbiddeth all cruelty and priuate reuenge in the sixth Commandement so he commandeth all care and meanes to preserue the liues of our brethren now releife of the needy is a meanes to preserue life he that releeueth not when he may and when there is great necessity offendeth against this Commandement and is a murtherer Non pauisti occidisti thou hast not fed saith one therefore thou hast killed A Lampe is quenched not onely by blowing it out but by keeping away the oile to feed it A fire is quenched not onely by water but by keeping away wood from it In a great drought many hearbs do die not onely by plucking vp but for want of watring So many poore people for want of food which they should haue by the care of good Gouernours and charitable good people many I say for want of meanes and prouision doe decay pine and perish which is most shamefull fearefull lamentable and intollerable in a Christian State But I nothing doubt of your care and dilligence to performe this so worthy and necessary duty I know you are dayly put in minde of these things and therefore I will cease to vrge this point any further Onely by the way let mee giue some few instructions and caueats and some comforts to the poorer sort These must know that God hath so ordained and appointed in his
in Ahab his time They flie as birdes for shelter But when the godly rule the righteous swarme as Bees in a sunnie day They multiplie and fill the Churches and shew their faces bouldly and openly The necessitie and commoditie of kings may be seene in the vniuersall order of nature The chiefe Philosophers Plato Aristotle and Apollonious did see and feele that as generally there is one chiefe Creator and maker of all things and as among the starres the sunne beareth the chiefe light as among Bees there is one chiefe king as the flockes and heards of beasts haue one guide and ruler finally as the cranes doe follow one leader So there ought to be in a common-wealth one king as head by whom all the members may consent And this reason of the common-wealth declared by the instinct of nature God hath more euidently opened in the holy scripture and maketh mention of kings and doth approue and allowe their authoritie with his owne mouth as we haue heard before and the words of this woman doth approue and testifie the same She blesseth God for this king who had set him in his owne throne She acknowledgeth God the author of this kind of gouernment so that the authoritie of kings is a sacred and diuine ordinance But it will be obiected How is God the author of this kind of gouernment when as Salomon was but the third King that Israel had they had no King at all before Saul who was a wicked King giuen to them not in loue but in wrath and that at the vnlawfull and turbulent desire of the people wherein they sinned both against God and Samuel For thus it is written That the Elders of Israel gathered them together and came to Samuel vnto Ramath and saide vnto him Behold thou art olde and thy sonnes walke not in thy waies make vs now a King to iudge vs like all nations But the thing displeased Samuel when they said giue vs a King to iudge vs and Samuel prayed vnto the Lord. And the Lord saide vnto Samuel Heare the voyce of the people in all that they shall say vnto thee for they haue not cast thee away but they haue cast me away that I should not raigne ouer them As they haue euer done since I brought them out of Egypt euen vnto this day and haue forsaken me and serued other gods euen so doe they to thee Now therefore hearken vnto their voyce howbeit yet testifie vnto them and shew them the manner of the king that shall raigne ouer them Behold heere are a people great and small affecting and desiring a king hauing had none before yet their desire is displeasing to God and Samuel the reason is why God misliked their petition because they did now cast off that forme of gouernment which God himselfe had ordained for them They aske that which would be hurtfull vnto them and that with an obstinate and bad minde But it will be obiected that they had a commandement and warrant from God who said thus vnto the forefathers when thou shalt come into the land which the Lord thy God giueth thee and shalt possesse it and dwell therein If thou say I will set a king ouer me like as all the nations that are about me then thou shalt make him ouer thee whom the Lord thy God shall chuse from among thy brethren shalt thou make a King ouer thee Thou shalt not set a stranger ouer thee which is not thy brother Behold here the allowance of God to chuse themselues a king so he be not a stranger And whereas it is said the Lord should chuse them a king they come in this place to him that be would make choyce of a king for them how doe they then offend in this their petition and desire Indeed their desire is not simplie euill of it selfe for if it were so it might not haue beene graunted but their desire is not to this end to haue the word of God performed but to satisfie their owne humors They should haue stayed Gods time and leisure but they distrust God and are most vnthankfull to Samuel despising him in his olde age neither doe they aske a king according to Gods appoyntment and institution But let vs haue a king say they as other nations haue be he good or bad But yet if God would as it fell out after giue them a king why is he angry with them for asking a king because they did aske it with a bad minde offering some iniurie to Samuel yet in his secret will and purpose his meaning was to giue them a king He disliked in this people their distrust and difficience who relied more vpon man then God their bouldnes in attempting so rashly and suddenly to erect a new forme of gouernment He misliked the contempt of his owne gouernment in that contemning him their king they sought a certaine king after the example of other nations and so they were wearie of Gods order And yet the gouernment of kings doth not shut out the gouernment of God but God doth raigne by kings as well as he reigned by iudges The king is the minister of God his seruant and deputie he sitteth in his place and throne and God is the author of his office and authoritie as we may see in this place And this forme of gouernment hath beene of many nations much desired This principalitie or kingdome was first begun as it is thought by the Egyptians who could liue no while without a king And we finde in the booke of Geneses which is most ancient that the Aegyptians had their kings one after an other And whereas in the administratioÌ„ of a common weale there hath beene long since three sortes or kindes of gouernments set downe the one Monarchie an other Aristocratie when the best gouerne the third Democrati or popular state when the common people haue a stroake in ruling the publike weale The first kinde of gouernment is thought as good as any if not the best of all For when counsell or gouernment is in the power of one In the gouernment of the common-wealth all things are more easily performed In the other two kinds of gouernmeÌ„ts one oftentimes saith one thing and others will not graunt it and they are not easily agreed Heere one hath a stroake the preheminence and prerogatiue of commaunding and graunting The whole world is ruled and gouerned by one and what can be better or more wisely gouerned The gouernment by Iudges was not very strong but almost voluntarie and therefore more contemptible but in the gouernment of a king there is more maiestie in their kingly pompe and glory which is a more admiration and a wonder to the people and is a meanes to keepe them in better order and subiection The name of a king hath beene alwaies famous great most glorious and sacred amongst all nations of the world But yeâ— sâ—e the madnesse and inconstancie of this people They egerly desired a king and when