Sermons and Discourses Volume 2, Sermon 10
A SERMON OF CHARITY AND ALMES.
Acts X.38.
—Who went about doing good.
WHen Almighty God deſigned the Reformation of the World, and the reſtoring of Man to the Image of God, the Pattern after which he was firſt made, he did not think it enough to give us the moſt perfect Laws of holineſs and virtue; but hath likewiſe ſet before us a living Pattern, and a familiar Example, to excite and encourage us, to go before us and ſhew us the way, and, as it were, to lead us by the hand in the obedience of thoſe Laws. Such is the Sovereign Authority of God over men, that he might, if he had pleaſed, have only given us a Law written with his own hand, as he did to the people of Iſrael from Mount Sinai: but ſuch is his Goodneſs, that he hath ſent a great Embaſſadour from Heaven to us, God manifeſted in the fleſh, to declare and interpret his will and pleaſure; and not only ſo, but to fulfil that Law himſelf, the obſervation whereof he requires of us. The bare Rules of a good life are a very dead and ineffectual thing in compariſon of a living Example, which ſhews us the poſſibility and practicableneſs of our Duty; both that it may be done, and how to do it. Religion indeed did always conſiſt in an Imitation of God, and in our reſemblance of thoſe excellencies which ſhine forth in the beſt and moſt perfect Being: but we may imitate him now with much greater eaſe and advantage, ſince God was pleaſed to become Man, on purpoſe to ſhew us how Men may become like to God. And this is one great End for which the Son of God came into the world, and was made fleſh, and dwelt among us, and converſed ſo long and familiarly with mankind; that in his own Perſon and Life he might give us the Example of all that holineſs and vertue which his Laws require of us. And as he was in nothing liker the Son of God than in being and doing good; ſo is he in nothing a fitter Pattern for our imitation, than in that excellent character given of him here in the Text, that He went about doing good.
In which words two things offer themſelves to our conſideration.
Firſt, Our Saviour's great Work and Buſineſs in the world, which was, to do good: foreign, Who employed himſelf in being a benefactour to mankind. This refers more eſpecially to his healing the bodily diſeaſes and infirmities of men. God anointed Jeſus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghoſt and with power; who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppreſſed of the Devil. Intimating to us by this inſtance of his doing good, that he who took ſo much pains to reſcue mens Bodies from the power and poſſeſſion of the Devil, would not let their Souls remain under his tyranny. But though the Text inſtanceth only in one particular, yet this general expreſſion of doing good comprehends all thoſe ſeveral ways whereby he was beneficial to mankind.
Secondly, Here is his Diligence and Induſtry in this work, He went about doing good; he made it the great buſineſs and conſtant imployment of his life. I ſhall propound to you the Pattern of our Saviour in both theſe particulars.
I. His great Work and Buſineſs in the world was, to do good. The moſt pleaſant and delightful, the moſt happy and glorious work in the world. It is a work of a large extent, and of an univerſal influence; and comprehends in it all thoſe ways whereby we may be uſeful and beneficial to one another. And indeed it were pity that ſo good a thing ſhould be confined within narrow bounds and limits. It reacheth to the Souls of men, and to their Bodies; and is converſant in all thoſe ways and kinds whereby we may ſerve the Temporal or Spiritual good of our neighbour, and promote his preſent and his future happineſs. What our Bleſſed Saviour did in this kind, and we, in imitation of him, ought to do, I ſhall reduce to theſe two Heads. Firſt, Doing good to the Souls of men, and endeavouring to promote their ſpiritual and eternal happineſs. Secondly, The procuring of their Temporal good, and contributing as much as may be to their happineſs in this preſent life.
1. Doing good to the Souls of men, and endeavouring to promote their ſpiritual and eternal happineſs, by good Inſtruction, and by good Example.
Firſt, By good Inſtruction. And under Inſtruction I comprehend all the means of bringing men to the knowledg of their duty, and exciting them to the practice of it; by inſtructing their Ignorance, and removing their Prejudices, and rectifying their Miſtakes, by Perſuaſion, and by Reproof; and by making laſting proviſion for the promoting of theſe Ends.
By inſtructing mens Ignorance. And this is a duty which every man owes to another, as he hath opportunity; but eſpecially to thoſe who are under our care and charge, our Children and Servants, and near Relations; thoſe over whom we have a ſpecial authority, and a more immediate influence. This our Bleſſed Saviour made his great work in the world, to inſtruct all ſorts of perſons in the things which concerned the Kingdom of God, and to direct them in the way to eternal happineſs; by publick teaching, and by private converſation, and by taking occaſion from the common occurrences of humane life, and every object that preſented it ſelf to him, to inſtil good counſel into men, and to raiſe their minds to the conſideration of divine and heavenly things. And though this was our Saviour's great Employment, and is theirs more particularly whoſe office it is to teach others: yet every man hath private opportunities of inſtructing others, by admoniſhing them of their duty, and by directing them to the beſt means and helps of knowledg; ſuch as are Books of Piety and Religion, with which they that are rich may furniſh thoſe who are unable to provide them for themſelves.
And then by removing mens Prejudices againſt the Truth, and rectifying their Miſtakes. This our Saviour found very difficult; the generality of thoſe with whom he had to do, being ſtrongly prejudiced againſt Him and his Doctrine by falſe Principles, which they had taken in by education, and been trained up to by their Teachers. And therefore he uſed a great deal of meekneſs in inſtructing thoſe that oppoſed themſelves, and exerciſed abundance of patience in bearing with the infirmities of men, and their dulneſs and flowneſs of capacity to receive the Truth.
And this is great Charity, to conſider the inveterate Prejudices of men; eſpecially thoſe which are rooted in education, and which men are confirmed in by the reverence they bear to thoſe that have been their Teachers. And great allowance is to be given to men in this caſe, and time to bethink themſelves, and to conſider better. For no man that is in an Errour think he is ſo: and therefore if we go violently to rend their Opinions from them, they will but hold them ſo much the faſter; but if we have patience to unrip them by degrees, they will at laſt fall in pieces of themſelves.
And when this is done, the way is open for Counſel and Perſwaſion. And this our Saviour adminiſtred in a moſt powerful and effectual manner, by encouraging men to Repentance, and by repreſenting to them the infinite advantages of obeying his Laws, and the dreadful and dangerous conſequences of breaking of them. And theſe are arguments fit to work upon mankind, becauſe there is ſomething within us that conſents to the equity and reaſonableneſs of God's Laws. So that whenever we perſwade men to their duty, how backward ſoever they may be to the practice of it, being ſtrongly addicted to a contrary courſe; yet we have this certain advantage, that we have their Conſciences and the moſt inward ſenſe of their minds on our ſide, bearing witneſs, that what we counſel and perſwade them to, is for their good.
And if need be, we muſt add Reproof to Counſel. This our Saviour did with great freedom, and ſometimes with ſharpneſs and ſeverity, according to the condition of the perſons he had to deal withal. But becauſe of his great Authority, being a Teacher immediately ſent from God, and of his intimate knowledg of the hearts of men, he is not a pattern to us in all the circumſtances of diſcharging this duty; which, if any other, requires great prudence and diſcretion, if we intend to do good, the only end to be aimed at in it. For many are fit to be reproved, whom yet every man is not fit to reprove; and in that caſe we muſt get it done by thoſe that are fit, and great regard muſt be had to the time, and other circumſtances of doing it, ſo as it may moſt probably have its effect.
I will mention but one way of Inſtruction more, and that is, by making laſting proviſion for that purpoſe: as, by founding Schools of learning, eſpecially to teach the poor to read, which is the Key of knowledg; by building of Churches and endowing them; by buying or giving in Impropriations, or the like. Theſe are large and laſting ways of teaching and inſtructing others, which will continue when we are dead and gone; as it is ſaid of Abel, that being dead, he yet ſpeaks. And this our Saviour virtually did, by appointing his Apoſtles after he had left the World to go and teach all Nations, and ordering a conſtant Succeſſion of Teachers in his Church, to inſtruct men in the Chriſtian Religion, together with an honourable Maintenance for them. This we cannot do in the way that he did, who had all power in heaven and earth; but we may be ſubſervient to this Deſign in the ways that I have mentioned. Which I humbly commend to the conſideration of thoſe whom God hath bleſſed with great Eſtates, and made capable of effecting ſuch great works of Charity.
Secondly, Another way of doing good to the Souls of men is by good Example. And this our Bleſſed Saviour was in the utmoſt perfection. For he fulfilled all righteouſneſs, had no ſin, neither was guile found in his mouth. And this we ſhould endeavour to be, as far as the frailty of our nature and imperfection of our preſent ſtate will ſuffer. For good Example is an unſpeakable benefit to mankind, and hath a ſecret power and influence upon thoſe with whom we converſe, to form them into the ſame diſpoſition and manners. It is a living Rule, that teacheth men without trouble, and lets them ſee their faults without open reproof and upbraiding. Beſides that it adds great weight to a man's counſel and perſwaſion, when we ſee that he adviſeth nothing but what he does; nor exacts any thing from others from which he himſelf deſires to be excuſed. As, on the contrary, nothing is more cold and inſignificant, than good counſel from a bad man, one that does not obey his own precepts, nor follow the advice which he is ſo forward to give to others.
Theſe are the ſeveral ways of doing good to the Souls of men; wherein we, who are the Diſciples of the Bleſſed Jeſus, ought, in imitation of his Example, to exerciſe our ſelves according to our ſeveral capacities and opportunities. And this is the nobleſt Charity, and the greateſt kindneſs that can be ſhewn to humane nature; it is in the moſt excellent ſenſe, to give eyes to the blind, to ſet the priſoners at liberty, to reſcue men out of the ſaddeſt ſlavery and captivity, and to ſave Souls from death. And it is the moſt laſting and durable benefit; becauſe it is to do men good to all eternity.
2. The other way of being beneficial to others is, by procuring their Temporal good, and contributing to their happineſs in this preſent life. And this, in ſubordination to our Saviour's great deſign of bringing men to eternal Happineſs, was a great part of his buſineſs and employment in this world. He went about healing all manner of ſickneſſes and diſeaſes, and reſcuing the Bodies of men from the power and poſſeſſion of the Devil.
And though we cannot be beneficial to men in that miraculous manner that he was, yet we may be ſo in the uſe of ordinary means: We may comfort the afflicted, and vindicate the oppreſſed, and do a great many acts of Charity which our Saviour, by reaſon of his poverty, could not do without a miracle: We may ſupply the neceſſities of thoſe that are in want, feed the hungry, and cloath the naked, and viſit the ſick, and miniſter to them ſuch comforts and remedies as they are not able to provide for themſelves: We may take a Child that is poor and deſtitute of all advantages of education, and bring him up in the knowledg and fear of God; and, without any great expence, put him into a way wherein, by his diligence and induſtry, he may arrive to a conſiderable fortune in the world, and be able afterwards to relieve hundreds of others. Men glory in raiſing great and magnificent Structures, and find a ſecret pleaſure to ſee Sets of their own planting to grow up and flouriſh: But ſurely it is a greater and more glorious work, to build up a Man, and to ſee a Youth of our own planting, from the ſmall beginnings and advantages we have given him, to grow up into a conſiderable fortune, to take root in the world, and to ſhoot up to ſuch a height, and ſpread his branches ſo wide, that we who firſt planted him may our ſelves find comfort and ſhelter under his ſhadow. We may many times with a ſmall liberality ſhore up a Family that is ready to fall, and ſtruggles under ſuch neceſſities, that it is not able to ſupport it ſelf. And if our minds were as great as ſometimes our eſtates are, we might do great and publick works of a general and laſting advantage, and for which many generations to come might call us bleſſed.
And thoſe who are in the loweſt condition may do great good to others by their Prayers, if they themſelves be as good as they ought. For the fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. The interceſſion of thoſe who are in favour with God (as all good men are) are not vain wiſhes, but many times effectual to procure that good for others, which their own endeavours could never have effected and brought about.
I have done with the Firſt thing, The great Work and Buſineſs which our Bleſſed Saviour had to do in the world; and that was, to do good. I proceed to the
II. Second thing contained in the Text, Our Saviour's Diligence and induſtry in this work, He went about doing good. He made it the great buſineſs and conſtant employment of his life; he travelled from one place to another to ſeek out opportunities of being uſeful and beneficial to mankind. And this will fully appear, if we briefly conſider theſe following particulars.
Firſt, How unwearied our bleſſed Saviour was in doing good. He made it his only buſineſs, and ſpent his whole life in it. He was not only ready to do good to thoſe that came to him, and gave him opportunity for it, and beſought him to do it; but went himſelf from one place to another, to ſeek out objects to exerciſe his Charity upon. He went to thoſe who could not, and to thoſe who would not come to him: for ſo it is written of him, He came to ſeek and to ſave that which was loſt. He was contented to ſpend whole days in this work, to live in a crowd, and to be almoſt perpetually oppreſt with company: and when his Diſciples were moved at the rudeneſs of the people in preſſing upon him, he rebuked their impatience; and, for the pleaſure he took in doing good, made nothing of the trouble and inconvenience that attended it.
Secondly, If we conſider how much he denied himſelf in the chief comforts and conveniences of humane life, that he might do good to others. He neglected the ordinary refreſhments of nature, his meat and drink and ſleep, that he might attend this work. He was at every bodie's beck and diſpoſal, to do them good. When he was doing cures in one place, he was ſent for to another; and he either went, or ſent healing to them, and did by his word at a diſtance what he could not come in perſon to do. Nay, he was willing to deny himſelf in one of the deareſt things in the world, his reputation and good name. He was contented to do good, though he was ill thought of and ill ſpoken of for it. He would not refuſe to do good on the Sabbath-day, though he was accounted profane for ſo doing. He knew how ſcandalous it was among the Jews to keep company with Publicans and Sinners; and yet he would not decline ſo good a work, for all the ill words they gave him for it.
Thirdly, If we conſider the malicious oppoſition and ſiniſter conſtruction that his good deeds met withal. Never did ſo much goodneſs meet with ſo much enmity, endure ſo many affronts, and ſo much contradiction of Sinners. This great Benefactour of mankind was hated and perſecuted, as if he had been a publick Enemy. While he was inſtructing them in the meekeſt manner, they were ready to ſtone him for telling them the truth: and when the fame of his Miracles went abroad, though they were never ſo uſeful and beneficial to mankind, yet upon this very account they conſpire againſt him, and ſeek to take away his life. Whatever he ſaid or did, though never ſo innocent, never ſo excellent, had ſome bad interpretation put upon it; and the great and ſhining Vertues of his life were turned into Crimes and matter of accuſation. For his caſting out of Devils, he was called a Magician; for his endeavour to reclaim men from their vices, a friend of Publicans and Sinners; for his free and obliging converſation, a wine-bibber and a glutton. All the benefits which he did to men, and the bleſſings which he ſo liberally ſhed among the people, were conſtrued to be a deſign of Ambition and Popularity, and done with an intention to move the people to Sedition, and to make himſelf a King: Enough to have diſcouraged the greateſt goodneſs, and have put a damp upon the moſt generous mind, and to make it ſick and weary of well-doing. For what more grievous, than to have all the good one does ill interpreted, and the beſt actions in the world made matter of calumny and reproach?
And then, Laſtly, If we conſider how chearfully, notwithſtanding all this, he perſevered and continued in well-doing. It was not only his buſineſs, but his delight; I delight (ſays he) to do thy will, O my God. The pleaſure which others take in the moſt natural actions of life, in eating and drinking when they are hungry, he took in doing good; it was his meat and drink to do the will of his Father. He plyed this work with ſo much diligence, as if he had been afraid he ſhould have wanted time for it. I muſt work the work of him that ſent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. And when he was approaching towards the hardeſt and moſt unpleaſant part of his Service, but of all others the moſt beneficial to us, I mean, his Death and Sufferings, he was not at eaſe in his mind till it was done; How am I ſtraitned, (ſays he) till it be accompliſhed? And juſt before his Suffering, with what Joy and Triumph does he reflect upon the good he had done in his life? Father, I have glorified thee upon earth, and have finiſhed the work which thou haſt given me to do. What a bleſſed Pattern is here of diligence and induſtry in doing good? how fair and lovely a copy for Chriſtians to write after?
And now that I have ſet it before you, it will be of excellent uſe to theſe two purpoſes: To ſhew us our Defects; and to excite us to our Duty.
I. To ſhew us our Defects. How does this bleſſed Example upbraid thoſe who live in a direct contradiction to it; who, inſtead of going about doing good, are perpetually intent upon doing miſchief; who are wiſe and active to do evil, but to do good have no inclination, no underſtanding? And thoſe likewiſe, who, though they are far from being ſo bad, yet wholly neglect this bleſſed work of doing good? They think it very fair to do no evil, to hurt and injure no man: but if Preachers will be ſo unreaſonable as to require more, and will never be ſatisfied till they have perſuaded them out of their eſtate, and to give to the poor till they have almoſt impoveriſh'd themſelves, they deſire to be excuſed from this importunity. But we are not ſo unreaſonable neither. We deſire to put them in mind, that to be charitable according to our power is an indiſpenſable duty of Religion: that we are commanded not only to abſtain from evil, but to do good; and that our Bleſſed Saviour hath given us the example of both; he did not only do no ſin, but he went about doing good. And upon this nice point it was, that the young rich man in the Goſpel and his Saviour parted. He had kept the Commandments from his youth, Thou ſhalt not kill, Thou ſhalt not commit adultery, Thou ſhalt not ſteal: he had been very careful of the negative part of Religion: But when it came to parting with his Eſtate, and giving to the poor, this he thought too hard a condition, and upon this he forſook our Saviour, and forfeited the Kingdom of heaven. And it is very conſiderable, and ought to be often and ſeriouſly thought upon, that our Saviour, deſcribing to us the Day of Judgment, repreſents the great Judg of the world acquitting and condemning men according to the good which they had done, or neglected to do, in ways of mercy and charity; for feeding the hungry, and cloathing the naked, and viſiting the ſick, or for neglecting to do theſe things: Than which nothing can more plainly and effectually declare to us the neceſſity of doing good, in order to the obtaining of eternal Happineſs.
There are many, indeed, who do not altogether neglect the doing of this work, who yet do in a great meaſure prevent and hinder themſelves from doing it as they ought, under a pretence of being employed about other Duties and parts of Religion. They are ſo taken up with the exerciſes of Piety and Devotion in private and publick, with Prayer, and reading and hearing Sermons, and preparing themſelves for the Sacrament, that they have ſcarce any leiſure to mind the doing of good and charitable offices to others: or, if they have, they hope God will pardon his ſervants in this thing, and accept of their Piety and Devotion inſtead of all. But they ought to conſider, that when theſe two parts of Religion come in competition, Devotion is to give way to Charity, Mercy being better than Sacrifice: that the great End of all the Duties of Religion, Prayer, and reading and hearing the Word of God, and receiving the holy Sacrament, is to diſpoſe and excite us to do good, to make us more ready and forward to every good work: and that it is the greateſt mockery in the world, upon pretence of uſing the means of Religion, to neglect the end of it; and becauſe we are always preparing our ſelves to do good, to think that we are for ever excuſed from doing any.
Others are taken up in contending for the Faith, and ſpend all their zeal and heat about ſome Controverſies in Religion; and therefore they think it but reaſonable that they ſhould be excuſed from thoſe meaner kind of Duties, becauſe they ſerve God, as they imagine, in a higher and more excellent way; as thoſe who ſerve the King in his Wars uſe to be exempted from Taxes and Offices. But do thoſe men conſider upon what kind of Duties more eſpecially, our Bleſſed Saviour and his Apoſtles lay the great weight and ſtreſs of Religion? that it is to the Meek and Merciful and Peaceable that our Saviour pronounceth Bleſſedneſs? that pure Religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to viſit the fatherleſs and widows in their affliction? that the wiſdom which is from above is full of mercy and good works? Theſe are the great and weighty things of Religion, which, whatever elſe we do, ought not to be left undone. Do they conſider, that a right Faith is wholly in order to a good Life, and is of no value any farther then it hath an influence upon it? ſo that whatever other Duties we may be obliged to, nothing can excuſe us from this. How much better is it to do good, to be really uſeful and beneficial to others, and how much more clearly and certainly our duty, than to quarrel about doubtful and uncertain opinions? Were men Chriſtians indeed, they would be ſo much delighted and taken up with this better work, (more acceptable to God, and more profitable to men) that they could not find leiſure, or, if they could, they could not find in their hearts to employ all their time and zeal about things which are at ſo great a diſtance from the life and heart of Religion, as moſt of thoſe Queſtions are which Chriſtians at this day contend and languiſh about. Were we poſſeſſed with the true ſpirit of Chriſtianity, theſe would be but dry and inſipid and taſtleſs things to us, in compariſon of the bleſſed employment of doing good in a more real and ſubſtantial way. If the ſincere love of God and our neighbour were but once throughly kindled in our hearts, theſe pure and heavenly flames would in a great meaſure extinguiſh the unchriſtian heats of diſpute and contention; as Fires here below are ready to languiſh and go out, when the Sun in his full ſtrength ſhines upon them.
II. But the hardeſt part of my task is yet behind (and it is ſtrange it ſhould be ſo): And that is, to perſwade us to the imitation of this Bleſſed Example. Let us go and do likewiſe; let the ſame mind be in us that was in Chriſt Jeſus; let us tread in the ſteps of the great God and the beſt man that ever was, our Bleſſed Saviour, who went about doing good. Methinks the work it ſelf is of that nature, that men ſhould not need to be courted to it by perſwaſion, nor urged by importunity. The very propoſal of the thing, and the Pattern which I have ſet before you, is temptation and allurement enough to a generous and well-diſpoſed mind. But yet to inflame you the more to ſo good a work, be pleaſed to dwell with me a little upon theſe following Conſiderations.
Firſt, It is an argument of a great and generous mind, to employ our ſelves in doing good, to extend our thoughts and care to the concernments of others, and to uſe our power and endeavours for their benefit and advantage: Becauſe it ſhews an inclination and deſire in us, to have others happy as well as our ſelves.
Thoſe who are of a narrow and envious ſpirit, of a mean and ſordid diſpoſition, love to contract themſelves within themſelves, and like the hedg-hog, to ſhoot out their quills at every one that comes near them. They take care of no body but themſelves; and fooliſhly think their own Happineſs the greater, becauſe they have it alone and to themſelves. But the nobleſt and moſt heavenly diſpoſitions think themſelves happieſt when others ſhare with them in their happineſs. Of all Beings God is the fartheſt removed from Envy; and the nearer any creature approacheth to him in bleſſedneſs, the farther is it off from this helliſh quality and diſpoſition. It is the temper of the Devil, to grudg happineſs to others; he envied that Man ſhould be in Paradiſe, when He was caſt out of Heaven.
Other Perfections are (as one ſays) of a more melancholick and ſolitary diſpoſition, and ſhine brighteſt when they are alone, or attained to but by a few; once make them common, and they loſe their luſtre. But it is the nature of Goodneſs, to communicate it ſelf; and the farther it ſpreads, the more glorious it is. God reckons it as one of his moſt glorious Titles, as the brighteſt Gem in his Diadem, The Lord mighty to ſave. He delights not to ſhew his Soveraignty in ruining the innocent, and deſtroying helpleſs creatures; but in reſcuing them out of the jaws of Hell and deſtruction. To the Devil belongs the Title of The Deſtroyer.
Without this quality of Goodneſs, all other Perfections would change their nature, and loſe their excellency. Great Power and Wiſdom would be terrible, and raiſe nothing but dread and ſuſpicion in us: For Power without Goodneſs would be Tyranny and Oppreſſion, and Wiſdom would become Craft and Treachery. A Being endued with Knowledg and Power, and yet wanting Goodneſs, would be nothing elſe but an irreſiſtible Evil, and an omnipotent Miſchief. We admire Knowledg, and are afraid of Power, and ſuſpect Wiſdom; but we can heartily love nothing but Goodneſs, or ſuch Perfections as are in conjunction with it. For Knowledg and Power may be in a nature moſt contrary to God's; the Devil hath theſe perfections in an excelling degree. When all is done, nothing argues a great and generous mind but only Goodneſs; which is a propenſion and diſpoſition to make others happy, and a readineſs to do them all the good offices we can.
Secondly, To do good is the moſt pleaſant employment in the World. It is natural; and whatever is ſo, is delightful. We do like our ſelves whenever we relieve the wants and diſtreſſes of others. And therefore this Vertue among all others hath peculiarly entituled it ſelf to the name of Humanity. We anſwer our own Nature, and obey our Reaſon, and ſhew our ſelves Men, in ſhewing Mercy to the miſerable. Whenever we conſider the evils and afflictions of others, we do with the greateſt reaſon collect our duty from our nature and inclination, and make our own wiſhes and deſires and expectations from others, a law and rule to our ſelves. And this is pleaſant, to follow our Nature, and to gratifie the importunate dictates of our own Reaſon. So that the benefits we do to others are not more welcom to them that receive them, than they are delightful to us that do them. We eaſe our own nature and bowels, whenever we help and relieve thoſe who are in want and neceſſity. As, on the contrary, no man, that hath not deveſted himſelf of humanity, can be cruel and hard-hearted to others, without feeling ſome pain in himſelf. There is no ſenſual pleaſure in the World comparable to the delight and ſatisfaction that a good man takes in doing good. This Cato in Tully boaſts of, as the great comfort and joy of his old age; That nothing was more pleaſant to him, then the conſcience of a well-ſpent life, and the remembrance of many benefits and kindneſſes done to others. Senſual pleaſures are not laſting, but preſently vaniſh and expire: but that is not the worſt of them, they leave a ſting behind them; as the pleaſure goes off: — Succedit frigida cura, Sadneſs and melancholly come in the place of it, guilt and trouble and repentance follow it. But the pleaſure of doing good remains after the thing is done; the thoughts of it lie eaſy in our minds, and the reflexion upon it afterwards does for ever miniſter joy and delight to us. In a word, that frame of mind which inclines us to do good is the very temper and diſpoſition of Happineſs. Solomon, after all his experience of worldly pleaſures, pitcheth at laſt upon this as the greateſt felicity of humane life, and the only good uſe that is to be made of a proſperous and plentiful fortune, Eccl. 3.12, I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoyce and do good in his life. And a greater and a wiſer than Solomon hath ſaid, that it is more bleſſed to give than to receive.
Thirdly, To employ our ſelves in doing good, is to imitate the higheſt Excellency and Perfection. It is to be like God, who is good, and doth good; and to be like him in that which he eſteems his greateſt glory, and that is, his Goodneſs. It is to be like the Son of God, who, when he took our nature upon him, and lived in the World, went about doing good. It is to be like the bleſſed Angels, whoſe great employment it is to be miniſtring ſpirits for the good of others. To be charitable and helpful and beneficial to others, is to be a good Angel, and a Saviour, and a God to men. And the Example of our bleſſed Saviour more eſpecially, is the great Pattern which our Religion propounds to us. And we have all the reaſon in the World to be in love with it; becauſe that very Goodneſs which it propounds to our imitation was ſo beneficial to our ſelves: when we our ſelves feel and enjoy the happy effects of that good which he did in the World, this ſhould mightily endear the Example to us, and make us forward to imitate that love and kindneſs to which we are indebted for ſo many bleſſings, and upon which all our hopes of happineſs do depend.
And there is this conſiderable difference between our Saviour's charity to us, and ours to others: He did all purely for our ſakes, and for our benefit; whereas all the good we do to others is a greater good done to our ſelves. They indeed are beholden to us for the kindneſs we do them, and we to them for the opportunity of doing it. Every ignorant perſon that comes in our way to be inſtructed by us; every ſinner whom we reclaim, every poor and neceſſitous man whom we relieve, is a happy opportunity of doing good to our ſelves, and of laying up for our ſelves a good treaſure againſt the time which is to come, that we may lay hold on eternal life. By this principle the beſt and the happieſt man that ever was, governed his life and actions, eſteeming it a more bleſſed thing to give than to receive.
Fourthly, This is one of the greateſt and moſt ſubſtantial Duties of Religion; and next to the love and honour which we pay to God himſelf, the moſt acceptable ſervice that we can perform to him. It is one half of the Law, and next to the firſt and great Commandment, and very like unto it: like to it in the excellency of its nature, and in the neceſſity of its obligation. For this commandment we have from him, that he who loveth God, love his brother alſo. The firſt Commandment excels in the dignity of the object; but the Second hath the advantage in the reality of its effects. For our righteouſneſs extendeth not to God, we can do him no real benefit; but our charity to men is really uſeful and beneficial to them. For which reaſon God is contented, in many caſes, that the external Honour and Worſhip which by his poſitive commands he requires of us, ſhould give way to that natural duty of Love and Mercy which we owe to one another. And to ſhew how great a value he puts upon Charity, he hath made it the great teſtimony of our Love to himſelf; and for want of it rejects all other profeſſions of love to him as falſe and inſincere. If any man ſay, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar. For he that loveth not his brother whom he hath ſeen, how can he love God whom he hath not ſeen?
Fifthly, This is that which will give us the greateſt comfort when we come to die. It will then be no pleaſure to men to reflect upon the great eſtates they have got, and the great places they have been advanced to, becauſe they are leaving theſe things, and they will ſtand them in no ſtead in the other world; Riches profit not in the day of wrath: But the conſcience of well-doing will refreſh our Souls even under the very pangs of death. With what contentment does a good man then look upon the good he hath done in his life? and with what confidence doth he look over into the other world, where he hath provided for himſelf bags that wax not old, a treaſure in the heavens that faileth not? For though our eſtates will not follow us into the other world, our good works will; though we cannot carry our riches along with us, yet we may ſend them before us, to make way for our reception into everlaſting habitations. In ſhort, works of Mercy and Charity will comfort us at the hour of death, and plead for us at the day of Judgment, and procure for us at the hands of a merciful God a glorious recompence at the reſurrection of the juſt. Which leads me to the
Laſt conſideration I ſhall offer to you; which is, the reward of doing good both in this world and the other. If we believe God himſelf, he hath made more particular and encouraging promiſes to this grace and virtue, than to any other.
The advantages of it in This World are many and great. It is the way to derive a laſting bleſſing upon our eſtate. Acts of charity are the beſt Deeds of Settlement. We gain the prayers and bleſſings of thoſe to whom we extend our charity; and it is no ſmall thing to have the bleſſing of them that are ready to periſh to come upon us. For God hears the prayers of the deſtitute; and his ear is open to their cry. Charity is a great ſecurity to us in times of evil: and that not only from the ſpecial promiſe and providence of God, which are engaged to preſerve from want thoſe that relieve the neceſſities of others; but likewiſe from the nature of the thing, which makes way for its own reward in this world. He that is charitable to others, provides a ſupply and retreat for himſelf in the day of diſtreſs: For he provokes mankind by his example, to like tenderneſs towards him; and prudently beſpeaks the commiſeration of others, againſt it comes to be his turn to ſtand in need of it. Nothing in this World makes a man more and ſurer friends than charity and bounty, and ſuch as will ſtand by us in the greateſt troubles and dangers. For a good man (ſays the Apoſtle) one would even dare to die. 'Tis excellent counſel of the Son of Sirach; Lay up thy treaſure according to the Commandment of the Moſt high, and it ſhall bring thee more profit than gold. Shut up thy alms in thy ſtore-houſe, and it ſhall deliver thee from all affliction: It ſhall fight for thee againſt thine enemies, better than a mighty ſhield and ſtrong ſpear. It hath ſometimes happened, that the obligation that men have laid upon others by their Charity, hath, in caſe of danger and extremity, done them more kindneſs than all the reſt of their Eſtate could do for them; and their Alms have literally delivered them from death.
But what is all this to the endleſs and unſpeakable Happineſs of the Next life; where the returns of doing good will be vaſtly great beyond what we can now expect or imagine! For God takes all the good we do to others as a debt upon himſelf; and he hath eſtate and treaſure enough to ſatiſfie the greateſt obligations we can lay upon him. So that we have the Truth, and Goodneſs, and Sufficiency of God for our ſecurity, that what we ſcatter and ſow in this kind, will grow up to a plentiful harveſt in the other World: and that all our pains and expence in doing good for a few days, will be recompenſed and crowned with the Joys and Glories of Eternity.
FINIS.
End of the text · John Tillotson, Sermons and Discourses Volume 2 (1678)