The Christian Life Part 3 Volume 4, Part 2 · Chapter 3
CHAP. III. Of Almsgiving, as to the manner of performing it; and some Motives thereunto.
WE have seen that Almsgiving is one of the principal Acts of Mercy; and it being so, I shall more largely insist upon it, and endeavour to shew,
First, THE Manner in which it ought to be preformed: And
Secondly, To press the Performance of it by some Considerations.
I. THE Manner in which this Duty of Almsgiving ought to be performed, and that in these following particulars:
First, IT ought to be performed with a good and merciful Intention.
Secondly, JUSTLY and Righteously.
Thirdly, READILY and Chearfully.
Fourthly, LIBERALLY and Bountifully.
Fifthly, TIMELY and Seasonably.
Sixthly, DISCREETLY and Prudently.
I. THIS Duty of Almsgiving ought to be performed with a good and merciful Intention, not meerly to court the Applauses and Commendations of Men, to bring our Names in vogue, or to serve our secular Designs; but chiefly and principally to express our Gratitude and Duty to God, and Confidence in Him; who hath not only filled our Cup, but crowned it with an overflowing Plenty, thereby inabling us to relieve others, and thereby constituting us Trustees for the Poor and Needy, with a strict and inviolable Charge to give them their Food in due season; to which he hath annexed a Bill of Credit under his own Broad Seal, to repay us the Principal of our Alms with a thousand-fold Interest: With respect therefore to these mighty Reasons, and out of a tender Commiseration to our poor Brethren, we ought to perform our Alms; that so like Curls of holy Incense they may ascend to Heaven, and breath a sweet smelling Savour into the Nostrils of God. For 'tis by this alone that they are consecrated into an acceptable Sacrifice to him, and render'd true Piety and Devotion: whereas if we give our Alms meerly, or mainly to be seen of Men, or to serve a worldly Interest, they proceed not from Mercy but Self-Love. And since all Acts that are materially good do receive their Form, and Denomination from the Intention; such Pharisaical Alms can be denominated neither Pieties, nor Mercies, but are a sordid Traffick for Applause and Interest; and hence our Saviour cautions us, Take heed that ye do not your Alms before men, to be seen of them; otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in Heaven: therefore when thou dost thine Alms, do not sound a Trumpet before thee, as the Hypocrites do in the Synagogues, and in the Streets, that they may have glory of men; verily I say unto you, they have their reward. Matth. vi. 1, 2.
II. This Duty of Almsgiving ought to be performed with Iustice and Righteousness; that is, we ought not to give that in Alms which is none of our own, supposing it hath a rightful Owner, to whom we can make a Restitution of it For what we have wrongfully got, is none of ours, but his whom we have wrongfully deprived of it; and to him we are bound in Conscience to restore it, in case he be living, and we know where to find him; if not, to his lawful Heirs, or Assigns: But if either the Party be dead whom we have wrong'd of it, or we cannot find him, or any Heir of his, that can lawfully claim it; it is not only lawful, but necessary for us to bestow it upon the Poor and Needy. For where there is no visible Owner, the Property reverts immediately into the Hands of the Supream Lord of the World; who hath settled it as a Pension on the Poor, to eek out the narrow Provisions which his Providence hath made for them. But to give Alms out of those unlawful Gains, which we are obliged in Justice to restore to the rightful Owners, is to make our selves the Thieves, and the Poor the Receivers. For to do Alms, is to give away something of our own to remedy another's Want or Misery; and therefore to give away one Man's Right, to supply another's Necessity, is not so much an Alms, as a Robbery. By this Rule therefore Debtors that owe more than they can pay, are obliged in Conscience not to intrench upon their Iustice by their Mercy; nor to disable themselves from being just to their Creditors, by being merciful to the Poor. For though to relieve the Poor be nakedly, and abstractedly good; yet it is to be considered, that particular Actions are good, or bad, according as the Circumstances are which adhere to them: And when that Action which is nakedly good, happens to be clothed with an evil Circumstance, it is so far Evil and Unlawful. And therefore when my relieving the Poor is accompanied with this evil Circumstance of defrauding my Creditors of their Due, I am so far bound in Conscience not to relieve them…; because if I do, I must relieve them unjustly: this therefore we are especially to take care of, that our Alms be just and righteous.
III. THIS Duty of Almsgiving ought to be performed readily and chearfully. For this is the Apostle's own Direction, Even man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity; for God loveth a Chearful Giver 2 Cor. ix. 7. And indeed if we give Alms out of a Principle of Mercy and Compassion, it is impossible but we must do it chearfully; because by Compassion we make others Miseries our own, and so by relieving them we relieve our selves, and are Partakers with them in the Comfort of those Reliefs we afford them. For when I see a Man struggling with Want, and groaning under a sharp Necessity, if I relieve him, I ease and refresh my own yearning Bowels; and the Humane Nature within me, which is common to us both, doth by a kind of sympathetick Motion, exalt and raise up it self, and swells with a generous Pleasure. So that if Mercy be the Spring of my Alms, they will flow with a free and chearful Current, because all the while I am watering others, I shall feel the Refreshment of my own Streams. When therefore we bestow our Alms with a grudging and unwilling Mind, 'tis plain that it is not Mercy, but Shame, or Fear, or Importunity that moves us; and if so, there is no Virtue in them, nor can we expect that any Reward should attend them▪ For to contribute towards another's Relief, because we are ashamed, or afraid to do otherwise, is rather paying a Tax, than giving an Alms: And when nothing can be wrung out of me, but what is distrained by Importunity, I give not for the Poor's Relief, but for my own Peace and Quiet: And what Virtue is it for a Man to give, only to get rid of a Dun, and ease himself of a troublesome Importunity? Wherefore to render our Alms virtuous, and rewardable; it is necessary that they should be performed with a free and chearful Heart; that they should flow, like Water from a Spring, in natural and unforced Streams, and not be pump'd from us with Shame, or Impottunity.
IV. THIS Duty of Almsgiving ought to be performed liberally, and bountifully; according to the proportion of our Estate and Abilities. For the Design of those Alms which are the Fruits of Mercy, is to redress the poor Man's Misery, to satisfy his hungry Bowels, and rescue him from the pinching Necessities under which he groans and languishes: And this being the Design of Mercy it measures its Alms accordingly, and proportions them to the craving Necessities it supplieth. And its Aim being not only to rescue the miserable from extream Misery, but also according to its Power, to render them happy; it doth not think it sufficient to rescue the Necessitous from extream Want and Famine, but doth also covet to render their Lives happy, and give them a comfortable Enjoyment of themselves. For meerly to keep a Man from famishing, looks rather like a design to prolong his Torment, and spin out the Duration of his Misery, than to contribute to his Ease and Happiness; and if we design His Happiness, as we must do if we design mercifully, we shall endeavour not only to enable him to live, but to live comfortably, and accordingly proportion our Alms. 'Tis true, the Liberality of our Alms is to be measured, not according to the Quantity of them, but according to the proportion they bear to our Power and Ability; and though I should give five times less than one who hath ten times my Estate, yet I should be as liberal as he, according to the proportion of my Ability: And accordingly the indigent Widow's two mites are pronounced by our Saviour a more liberal Alms, than the much more which those which were Rich cast into the Treasury, Mar. xii 42, 43, 44. Because they cast in of their abundance, but she of her want. And therefore though (as I shall shew by and by) it is impossible to determin the Measures of Alms, which we are obliged to, because the particular Measure of our Abilities is so various; yet this to be sure the Law of Mercy exacteth, that in proportion to our Estates and Circumstances, they should be liberal and bountiful. For he who gives in such slender Proportions as bring little or no Relief to the Receiver, acts as if he designed rather to mock him, than to supply his Necessities; or as if he intended rather to keep him alive for a Prey to a long and lingering Misery, than to render his Life happy and comfortable.
V. THIS Duty of Almsgiving ought to be performed timely and seasonably, i. e. in the nick of Opportunity, when the poor Man's Necessities call loudest for it, and our Relief and Succour may be most beneficial to him. To such Poor indeed as do always want, our Alms can never be unseasonable, because their Necessities do always call for them: But there are some particular Seasons when their Wants call louder, as in times of Sickness; or Scarceness of Work; or Dearness of Provisions; or in the beginning of Arrests, before the Prison hath devoured them; or after a great Loss, when their Fortunes are sinking, and a small Support may keep their Heads above water; or, in a word, when they are young and capable of Work, or Instruction, and their Parents are not able to dispose of them, when the placing them out to some honest Calling may prevent their turning Thieves or Beggars, and render them useful to the World; or when they are setting up their Trades with an insufficient Stock, and a little Help may encourage their Diligence, and advance them to a comfortable Livelihood. These and such like are the proper Seasons of Almsgiving; in which by tendering our helping hand, we may rescue many a poor Wretch out of a deep Abyss of Misery, and render their future Condition happy and prosperous. Wherefore the Law of Mercy obliges us, not only to bestow our Alms, but to bestow them at such Times and Seasons wherein they are most needed, and may do the greatest Good; that we should not reserve them to our last Will and Testament, like Medlars that are never good till they are rotten; but embrace all Opportunities, while we are living, to give timely Reliefs to the Necessitous. For he who deferreth his Alms, when such proper Seasons are presented, is so far the Cause of all the consequent Calamities which the Poor do suffer by the want of them: And since the Design of Mens Alms is to relieve the Sufferings of the Poor, 'tis doubtless a degree of Cruelty to prolong their Sufferings, by needlesly delaying to relieve them. You would think her a cruel Mother, that having Bread enough and to spare, should rather choose to afflict her Child with a long unsatisfied Hunger, than to content its craving Appetite by giving it its Food in due Season: And sure 'tis a great Defect of Compassion unnecessarily to prolong the Sufferings of our indigent Brother, though it be but for a Day or an Hour, when we have a present Opportunity to relieve him: And since whatsoever Relief we do design him, he must necessarily lose so much of it as the Time of our Delay amounts to, Mercy obliges us to relieve him quickly, and not to suffer him to pine away, whilst our Charity is growing.
Sixthly and Lastly, THIS Duty of Almsgiving ought to be performed discreetly, and prudently▪ For thus the Psalmist tells us, Psal. cxii. 5. A good man sheweth favour and lendeth, and will guide his affairs with discretion. And indeed unless Prudence be the Dispenser of our Alms, Mercy will miss of what it aims at and designs by them; which is to do good to the Poor, to supply their craving Necessities and give them a comfortable enjoyment of themselves: Instead of which, if we do not manage our Charities with Prudence, we shall many times create Necessities by supplying them, and increase and multiply the miseries of the World by an unskilful Endeavour to redress them. For it is with Alms, as it is with Estates, where half of the Riches doth consist in the Discretion of the Owner; and those very Charities, which being distributed by a blind Superstition, or a foolish Pity, do many times do more Hurt than Good; might have been improved into a plentiful Provision for the Necessities of the World, had they been wisely ordered and disposed. But what Harvest can the World reap from this precious Seed of our Alms, when they are sown with a careless, or unskilful hand? When they are either thrown on a heap to useless or superstitious purposes, or scattered at all Adventures, without any distinction of the cultivated from the fallow Ground; so that the Birds of Prey, the useless Vagrants, Drones and Beggars devour and eat them up, whilst the modest, impotent, and laborious Poor are utterly destitute and unprovided? Since therefore the Design of Mercy is to do Good with its Alms, to comfort and relieve the Poor, and supply their pinching Necessities; it is doubtless very necessary in order to this end, that it should be conducted by Prudence and Discretion; which ought more particularly to guide and direct our Alms; First, In the Method of Provision of them. Secondly, In the Choice of the Objects of them. Thirdly, in the Nature and Quality of them. Fourthly, As to the Proportions of them. Fifthly, In the Manner of bestowing them.
I. WE ought to exercise our Prudence as to the Method of providing our Alms. For herein Prudence will direct us, not only to be frugal in our Expences, to pare off our Superfluities, and to be diligent and industrious in our Callings, that we may have to give to them that need; but also out of our Incomes and Profits to consecrate a considerable Proportion to pious and charitable Uses. And herein the Apostle giveth us an excellent Rule, 1 Cor. xvi. 2. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come: which though it doth not carry with it a necessary and indispensable Obligation, it being impossible for many Men to take a Weekly Account how God hath prospered them, and to lay by accordingly; yet thus far at least it is a very wise Direction to us, that as oft as we cast up our Accounts, whether it be weekly, monthly, or annually, we should in Proportion to our Increase devote some convenient Share of it, as a private Bank or Treasury for charitable Uses; that so we may not be to seek for Alms upon sudden and emergent Occasions, but may have a Store ready by us, to supply our daily Expence and Distribution. And if we take care not to alienate, or imbezle what we have thus devoted to our private Corban, we shall always give with chearfulness, having by us a Stock designed to no other End but that of Charity.
II. WE ought also to exercise our Prudence in the Choice of the Objects of our Charity, so as to take care that they be such as do truly need and deserve it. For unless we do so, we shall many times encourage Vice, instead of relieving Poverty; and be tempted by the clamorous Importunities of idle and vicious Persons, to prostitute our Alms to their Sloth and Intemperance. For how often do we see the imprudent Charities of well disposed Minds poured into those Sinks of Filthiness; and like the Sacrifices of Bel, devoted to the importunate Lusts of a company of idle Drones and Beggers; that are not so properly the Members, as the Wens of the Body Politick, as being utterly useless to all its Natural Ends, and only serving to deform and bring Diseases upon it, and to draw away the Nourishment of it from its useful Parts and Members? Now what a Shame and Pity is it, that these precious Fruits of Mercy should be thus abused and misemployed, to pamper a company of devouring Vermin, whose business it is to croak about the Streets, and wander from Door to Door; whilst many a poor industrious Family, that hath more Mouths to feed than Hands to Work, lies drooping under its Wants, and Necessities? Wherefore though the former are not to be altogether neglected, when their Needs are real and urgent; yet certainly Prudence will direct our Charity to such persons, as have either fallen from Riches to Poverty, and consequently are less able to Toil and Drudge for Bread; or else to such as are either worn out by Labour, or disabled from it by Sickness, or oppressed with such a numerous Charge of Children, as do exceed their utmost Industry to maintain. In such good Grounds as these Prudence will advise us to sow the main of our Charities, and not to throw it away with a careless Hand upon the barren Rocks and Highways, to be devoured by Vermin, and Birds and Prey.
III. WE ought to exercise our Prudence, in determining the Nature and Quality of our Alms. And herein Prudence will direct us, to prefer those Alms which may serve a poor Man for a constant Provision and put him in a fixed way of living, before those which are transient, and do only help in a Pang of Need; which do just hold him up from perishing for an Hour, but do not take him out of the deep Waters. Wherefore if the Person, to whom we design a Relief, be fit and able to work, or hath been bred up in any honest Occupation, 'tis a much wiser Charity, to provide him an Employment, or to contribute towards the Setting him up in his Trade, than barely to relieve his present Necessity; because by this means we relieve him both for the present and the future, and convert our Alms into a standing Maintenance. Upon which Account 'tis doubtless a very prudent Charity to contribute to the Erection and Maintenance of Publick Work-houses for the Poor, where they and their Children may be provided with such Work as they are capable of; and thereby be inured to Industry, and enabled to support themselves. And as prudent Charity prefers such Alms as do draw after them a lasting Effect and Benefit, before such as do only supply a transient Necessity; so it also chuses, if it be consistent with Convenience, to gives its Alms in Kind rather than in Value, to give Cloaths to the Naked, and Food to the Hungry, Physick to the Sick, and Books to the Uninstructed: for though Mony indeed will answer all these Needs, yet we are not sure it will be always laid out upon them.
IV. WE ought to exercise our Prudence also in sttating the Proportions of our Charity; that is, what Proportion of our Income, or Increase we ought to devote to Charitable Uses, and in what Proportion we ought to distribute. For as for the first of these, when all is done, every Man must be his own Casuist: the Iews indeed had a Proportion fixed and stated to their Hands; for there was a double Tithing prescribed to them by the Law of Moses, viz. the every years Tithing, which was an annual tenth part of their Increase, for the Maintenance of their Priests and Sacred Officers; and then there was a third years Tithing, which amounted to the thirtieth part of their Increase, and that was devoted for the Supply and Maintenance of the Poor: and if such a Proportion were required of the Iews, we may besure a greater is required of us, whose Righteousness must exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, if ever we mean to enter into the Kingdom of God. But since God hath not determined the exact Proportions of our Charity, it is impossible for us to do it, where there are such different Circumstances and Abilities in this matter: therefore we must have Men, who best understand their own Condition, to the Guidance of their own Conscience and Discretion; who are in the first place to consider, what is requisite to support them in the condition of their Birth, their Place, or Office, or Family, and to the Discharge of their several Obligations. For Prudence doth not require of all the same Proportions of Charity; some may afford a twentieth, others a thirtieth, and to others whose Children and Dependents are numerous, or whose Fortunes are clogged and entangled, the hundreth part may be overmeasure. Wherefore according as the Heap is, the wise Man is to sow and distribute; substracting not only what will support his Life, but also what will maintain the Decency of his Estate and Person; and that not only as to present Needs, but also as to future Necessities, and very probable Contingencies. But yet in the stating of this matter, it is doubtless much safer to exceed, than to fall short of our due Proportions; for as for exceeding, we have many holy Persons for our Precedents, we have Christ himself for our Voucher in the forenamed Case of the poor Widow, and a vast Treasure in Heaven for our Reward. Wherefore in the determination of this Case, Christian Prudence will direct us not to be too nice and curious, too fond and partial to our selves, in stretching our Needs and Conveniences beyond their just Dimensions; but to take easie and moderate Measures of them, and to spare what may be decently spared from superfluous Servants, idle Meetings, unnecessary Feasts, and chargeable Garments and Diversions; and if we thus pare off our needless Expence, and lay aside the Surplusage for Charity, the Consequence will be this; the Poor will be more plentifully relieved, and our selves will be more able to do it, and we shall reap more Pleasure and Profit from laying out upon the Backs and Bellies of the Poor, than from wasting it on our own Vanity And now having fixed the Proportion of your Estates for Charity, you ought in the next place to advise with your Prudence in what Proportions to distribute it: and here Prudence will direct you to differ in your Distributions, according to the different Circumstances of those whom you design to relieve by them. To such as are of a lower Rank, Prudence directs to give by little and little, according to their emergent Necessities; yet so as not always to limit your Alms to their bare Necessities, but sometimes to extend them even to their Refreshment and Recreation; that so together with their Toil and Drudgery, they may now and then enjoy some Sabbath for the Ease of Humane Nature: but to such whose Fortunes are by Loss and Accident sunk and declined, both Decency and Mercy requires us to enlarge the Proportion of our Alms; considering how great a Fall it is from Plenty to Necessity, and consequently how much more is necessary to raise up such dejected Creatures, who are so unexperienced to misery, into any degree of Comfort, or Self-enjoyment.
Fifthly and Lastly, WE ought to exercise our Prudence also in the Manner of bestowing and conveying our Alms; so as that we may oblige both by what we give, and by the way of our giving it. And accordingly Prudence will sometimes direct us to search and find out just Needs, and prevent the Poor from asking, by surprizing them with a Kindness which they did not look for: by which means we shall strengthen their Faith in the Providence of God, who thus creates them Friends out of the Dust, and brings them Supplies without, and beyond their Expectations. And then in giving Prudence will direct us not to upbraid the Want, or insult over the Miseries of those we give to; for that would be to feed them with a Bit and a Knock, and to sophisticate our Mercy with Cruelty. And when any miserable Creature would borrow, or beg of us, Prudence will advise us not to turn him away with Scorn; nor yet to remove him at a distance with signs of Disdain, or Contemptuous Violence; but if we see Reason to grant him his Request, to do it with a ready and open hand, that so the Freedom of our Charity may raise and enhanse the Comfort of it; and that that which we design for a Relief and Succour, may leave no Sting behind it in the Mind of the Receiver. And above all we ought to take especial Care, not to oppress the Modesty of the Humble, especially of those who have been wont to give, and not to receive; not to relieve them with lofty Looks, or angry Words, or a scornful and severe Behaviour; not to expose their Poverty by the divulging our Charity, or conveying it to them in the open View of the World; but to hand our Relief to them in such a secret and benign, courteous and obliging manner, as that they may receive it with chearfulness, and without Blushing and Confusion. And then as for those whose constant Necessities have habituated them to ask, and receive with more Confidence, and Assurance; our Prudence will direct us to convey our Alms to them with such a mixture of Severity and Sweetness, as neither to encourage them to grow upon our Charity, nor drive them into Desperation of it.
I now proceed to press and enforce the Practice of this great Duty, with some Motives and Arguments, which are these that follow. First, Almsgiving is imposed upon us as a necessary Part of our Religion. Secondly, 'Tis recommended to us by the Examples of God, and of our Saviour. Thirdly, It is a substantial Expression of our Love and Gratitude to God, and our Saviour. Fourthly, It charges an high Obligation▪ to us upon the Accounts of God, and our Saviour.
I. CONSIDER that giving Alms is imposed upon us as a necessary Part of our Religion; that is, when God hath furnished us with Abilities and Opportunities to do it. For where we cannot give Mony to relieve the Poor, our Pity and our Prayers are accepted for Alms: for if there be a willing mind, (saith the Apostle) that is, a charitable Heart, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not, 2 Cor. viii. 12. But where a Man hath, it is his indispensable duty to do accordingly: for Pure▪ Religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world, Jam. i. 27. And that this visitation is to be performed with an open and a liberal Hand, the same Apostle imformeth us, Iam. ii. 15, 16. If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, depart in peace, be you warmed and filled, notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body, what doth it profit? That is, if instead of Food and Raiment, you only give him fair Words and good Wishes, what doth it profit him? Or what advantage can you expect to reap by it? And to the same purpose, 1 Iohn iii. 17. But whoso hath this world's good and seeth his brother have need and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? that is, let him pretend what he pleases, he hath not one Spark of Love to God or true Religion in his Bosom. So that for Men to pretend to Religion, who are able to relieve the Poor and yet refuse it, is one of the greatest Mockeries in the World: for howsoever Men's Covetousness may bribe their Conscience to dispense with the Obligations of Almsgiving, as if it were only a carnal Ordinance, or useless Relique of Popery; a holy Cheat, a devout Drunkard, a pious Fornicator are not greater Contradictions in the sense of Scripture, than a hardhearted, a stingy, and a hide-bound▪ Saint For though our Religion doth by no means warrant us in such a vain and fond Opinion of our good Works, as to think we merit Heaven by them; or to presume to drive a Bargain with God, by putting our good Works into the Ballance with an infinite and eternal Reward, our hopes of which we wholly owe to the infinite Goodness of God through Iesus Christ; yet it requires them of us as a necessary Condition, upon which God hath entailed all our future Bliss, and without which we can never hope for Admittance into the Kingdom of God. So that if we are able to relieve the Poor, and yet will not when we have Opportunity; by shutting up our Bowels against them, we shut the Door of Heaven against our selves; and must one day expect to receive the same Answer from God, that we give to them; I have nothing for you, no Mercy, no Heaven for such unmerciful Wretches, as would rather suffer their poor Brethren to perish, than part with a penny to relieve them. For of this Doom our Saviour himself hath fairly forewarned us, Matth. XXV. 41, 42, 43. Go ye cursed into everlasting fire; for when I was hungry, ye fed me not, when I was naked, ye cloathed me not: so that from any encouragement our Religion gives us, we may as well hope to go to Heaven without Faith and Repentance, as without giving of Alms according to our Ability and Opportunity.
II. CONSIDER that giving of Alms is highly recommended to us by the Examples of God, and our Saviour. For as for God, the whole Series of his Providence is little else but a continued Dole of Alms and Charities to his Creatures: It was his Charity that founded this vast and magnificent Hospital of the World, that stock'd it with such a numberless Swarm of Creatures, and endow'd it with such plentiful Provisions for the Support and Maintenance of them all: so that we do all of us live upon his Alms, and depend upon his boundless Charity, for every Breath of Air we draw, for every Bit of Bread we eat, and for every Rag of Cloaths we wear. And indeed what are all the Good Things of this World but so many Effluxes and Arguments of his Almighty, Liberality? Look every where about Nature, consider the whole Tenor of his Providence, survey all the Works and Actions of his Hands, and you shall find them all conspiring in that amiable Character the Psalmist gives of him, Psal. cxix. 68. Thou art good, and thou dost good. So that in relieving the Necessities of others we act the Part, and the best Part too of the Almighty Father of Beings; who sits at the upper End of the Table, and carves to his whole Creation. Hence St. Gregory Nazian. speaking of the Charitable Man, saith that he is foreign i. e. A God to the unfortunate, imitating the Mercies of God; for Man hath in nothing so much of God, as in doing good; which is doubtless the most divine and Godlike thing, that a Creature is capable of. What then can be more honourable, or more becoming a Creature, than to tread in the Footsteps of God, to transcribe his Nature and Actions, and be a kind of Vice-God in the World? Surely did we but understand and consider, how divinely magnificent it is to supply the Necessities, and contribute to the Happiness of others; we should court it as our highest Preferment, and bless God upon our bended Knees for deeming us worthy of such an illustrious Employment, and that among the numerous Blessings he hath heaped upon us, he hath vouchsafed to admit us to share with himself in the Glory of doing Good.
AND as the Example of God doth highly recommend to us relieving of the poor and miserable, so also doth the Example of our Saviour. For it was for this that he left his Father's Bosom, and came down from Heaven into our Nature, that he might relieve a poor perishing World, and rescue it from Eternal Ruin. And what a glorious Recommendation of Charity is this, that the Son of God chose rather to do good upon Earth, than to reign over Angels in Heaven? And while he was here, the sole Employment he thought worthy of himself, was to relieve the Miserable, to feed the Hungry, to cure the Blind and the Lame, to restore the Sick, to instruct the Ignorant, and reclaim the Rebellious. This was the Drift of all his Actions, this the Subject of his Miracles, and this the Scope of all his Doctrines: So that his whole Life was nothing else but a continued Train of Beneficencies; for the Apostle telleth us in the x. of the Act. 38. that he went about doing good. Consider this therefore, O thou hard-hearted Christian, that stoppest thy Ears, against the poor Man's Cries! What would thy blessed Lord have done, had he been in thy Case and Circumstances? Would He, who had so much Compassion on the Multitude, as to work a Miracle to feed them, have turned that miserable Wretch away as thou dost, without the least Dram of Comfort and Relief? Would He, whose Heart and Hand was always open to the Poor and Miserable, have despised the poor Man's Moans as thou dost, or shut his Bowels of Compassion against him? Do but peruse the Pattern of his Life, and scan over his whole Behaviour; and see if there be any one Action in all that great Exemplar, that doth not upbraid thee, and cry Shame upon thee for entitling thy narrow, cruel, and stingy▪ Self a Disciple to such a merciful, generous and liberal Master; and if so, learn for the future either to be so honest as to follow his Rule and Example, or else so modest as to disclaim thy Relation to him.
III. CONSIDER that giving of Alms is a most substantial Expression of our Love and Gratitude to God, and our Saviour. How much we are obliged to express our Gratitude to God, for these our outward Enjoyments and Abilities to do good to others, is evident from hence; because we receive them from him and do hold in vertue of his Donation. For to suppose our selves independent▪ Possessors▪ of them, is in effect to devest▪ God of his Dominion, and to strip him into an insignificant Cypher▪ that only sits above in the Heavens, like an Almighty, Sardanapalus, with his Arms folded in his Bosom; and no further concerning himself in the Affairs of this lower World, than to look down from his Throne, and please himself to see Men scrambling for their several Shares of it. But if we suppose him, as we have infinite Reason to do, the Almighty, Author, and Supream Disposer of all things; then we must acknowledge, that 'tis from his overflowing Bounty that we derive whatever we possess; that 'tis the Gold of his Mines that enriches us, the Crops of his Fields that feed us, the Fleeces of his Beasts that cloath us, and that every Good Thing we enjoy is handed to us by the Ministry of his all-disposing Providence. And since we owe all to his Bounty, and in our greatest Flourish are but his Almsmen and Pensioners; how deeply are we obliged to return upon him in the Oblations of Love and Thanksgiving? And since Love and Gratitude consist either in the Affection of the Mind, or in the verbal Signification of it, or in the effectual Performance of good things to the Person whom we thank and love; this last is the most compleat and substantial Expression of the Reality of our Words and Affections. For though Good-Will is indeed the Root of Love and Gratitude, yet that lying under Ground and out of sight, we cannot conclude its Being and Life without visible Fruits of Beneficence to the Person whom we thank and love: And as for good Words, they are at best but the Leaves of Love and Gratitude; but 'tis good Works that are the real Fruits of them, by which their Sincerity is demonstrated. For as no Man doth ever impress a false Stamp upon the finest Metal, so costly Thanks and Love are seldom counterfeit. It is to decline spending their Goods, or their Pains, that Men do so often forge and feign, pretending to make up in wishing well the Defects of doing so, and paying down Words instead of Things: But where Works are wanting, there is no Expression of our Love or Gratitude can either be real in it self, or acceptable to God. So that we may spare our Breath, if we keep back our Substance; for our close Hand giveth the lye to our full Mouth, and all our verbal Praises of God, when we will part with nothing for his sake, are only so many empty Compliments, and down-right Mockeries. But then do our Love and Gratitude to God discover their Reality, when it appears by our Actions that we think nothing too dear for him; when for his sake who hath fed and clothed us and abundantly supplied our Necessities, we are ready upon all Opportunities to feed and cloath and supply the Necessities of others. And can we think any Thing too dear, by which we may express our Gratitude to Him, upon whose overflowing Bounty we depend for every Blessing we have, or hope for; who hath provided not only this Temporal World for our Bodies, but also an Eternal Heaven for our Souls; and hath sent his Son to us from his own Bosom to tread out our Way to it, and conduct us thither? Or can we think any Thanks too costly for that blessed Son, who never grudged to come down from Heaven into this Vale of Miseries, and pour out his Blood for our sakes? Was it not much harder for Him to part with Heaven, than 'tis for you to part with a little Mony? And can you think it much to bestow an Alms for his sake, who never grudged to lay down his Life for yours? This is the Argument of the Apostle, 2 Cor. viii. 9. For ye know the grace of our Lord Iesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes the became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
IV. CONSIDER that giving of Alms charges an high Obligation to us, upon the Accounts of God and our Saviour. For God lends the poor Man his Name, and allows him to crave our Succours for his sake: He gives him Credit from himself to us for what he stands in need of, and bids him charge what he receives upon his own Account, permitting to reckon Himself obliged thereby, and to write Him down our Debtor: So that when we stop our Ears to the Cries of the Poor, he reckons himself repulsed by us, and interprets it as a rude Affront offered to his own Person, it being offered to one that bears his Name, and wears his Livery. For the poor Man's Rags are the Badges of his Relation to God, and his Wants are the Mouths by which God himself intreats our Relief, and Succour; assuring us that he will reckon it to our selves, and accept it as kindly at our hands as if we had relieved Him in his own Person. For he that hath pity upon the poor, (saith the Wise Man) lendeth unto the Lord, Prov. xix. 17. in which one Sentence methinks there is more Rhetorick, than in a whole Library of Sermons: And surely did we but understand, and consider it in its full Emphasis, we should not need such Volumes of Instructions, but might easily learn to be charitable by an Epitome. O blessed God! that thou should'st own thy self my Debtor, only for repaying thee a Part of what thou hast lent me, and of what is still thine own by an unalienable Propriety; that thou who art the great Landlord of the World, should'st thus acknowledge thy self indebted to thy poor Tenant, for paying thee a small Quit-rent, a Pepper-corn of Homage for what I hold in thy Right, and by thy Bounty! And yet thus it is, he lends us our Estates, and then writes himself our Debtor, for that small Part which we repay him in Works of Piety and Charity. And as God putteth our Alms to his own account, so doth our Saviour also: For so, Matth. xxv. 40. In as much (saith he) as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me; that is, I account my self obliged by it, and do receive it at your hands with the same Kindness and Acceptance, as if you had been with me in my state of Humiliation, and shewed me all this Mercy in my own Person. And when both God and my Saviour do send a poor Wretch to me in their own Name, and Person, and desire me for their Sakes and upon their Accounts to relieve him; Can I be either so ungrateful to them, to whom I am indebted for all that I have or do hope for, or so wanting to my own Interest, as to neglect so fair an Opportunity of making them some Return of their Favours, and thereby obliging them to heap more Favours upon me? For when in giving to the Poor I give to God and my Saviour, what glorious Compensations may I expect from such kind and liberal Pay-Masters? he that soweth bountifully shall reap bountifully, saith the Apostle, speaking of Alms, 2 Cor. ix. 6. for he soweth in the richest Soil, in the fruitful Hands of God, and his Saviour; where the Seed being nourished with infinite Bounty never faileth to increase and multiply a thousand-fold. For 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, Heb. vi. 10. Though he may sometimes defer, yet he never forgets to return a charitable Work: So that you may safely reckon upon it, that so much as you have bestowed in Works of Charity, so much with vast Increase and Interest you have secured to you in the Hands of God; who will either return it to you hither in Temporal Blessings, or, which is a thousand times better, repay it to you with infinite Interest in the weight of your Eternal Crown. For so our Saviour promises the young Man, that if he would give what he had to the poor, he should have treasure in heaven, Matth. xix. 21. So that by giving Alms we make Earth tributary to Heaven, and in a nobler sense than the new System of Astronomy teaches, advance it into a Celestial Body; and consequently enrich not only our Selves, but our Wealth too, by thus transmitting it to Heaven before us, as it were by Bills of Exchange, to be repaid us when we come there in an everlasting Treasure of Happiness. And when by relieving the poor Man's needs, we may thus transmute our Dross into Gold, and, which is more, our perishing Gold into immortal Glory, What▪ Man in his Wits would refuse any fair Opportunity of making such a blessed Exchange?