A Christian Library, Chapter 23 – Chapter 25
CHAP. XXIII.
Thirdly, God hath further promised to confirm, strengthen, and continue, as well as increase his prosperous and flourishing estate, and that in sundry places of scripture already cited and elsewhere. He is gracious and full of compassion, he sheweth favour and lendeth, he hath given to the poore, &c. And what shall be his reward? Wealth and Riches shall be in his house, he shall not be moved for ever: his righteousness (aye and his riches too, as is implied in the close) shall endure for ever, he shall be in everlasting remembrance, he shall not be afraid of evill tidings, his hea…t is fixed trusting in the Lord, his horn shall be exalted with honour, Psal. 112.1. to 10. All grace shall abound towards him, that he always having alsufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work, and hold out to the end, 2 Cor. 9. He deviseth liberall things, and by his liberallity he shall stand, Isa. 82.8. He drawes out his soul to the hungry, and comforteth the afflicted: therefore his light shall rise in obscurity, and his darkness shall be as the noon day; and the Lord shall guide him continually, and satisfie his soul in draught, and make fat his bones, he shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters fail not: and they that shall be of him, shall build the old waste places, he shall raise up the foundations of many generations, and he shall be called the repairer of the b…each, the restorer of pathes to dwell in, Isa. 58.6. to 13. And the like Pro. 28.27. He that giveth unto the poor, shall not lack: And so Psalm …7.25. I have been young, and now am old, y… have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread: and why so? He is ever merciful and lendeth, and his seed is blessed, as it followes in the next verse, and in the next to that; He that dies good sh…l dwell for ever more, Verse 2…. He shall not be forsaken, but the Lord will preserve him for ever, Verse 28. He shall inherit the Land, and dwell therein for ever, Vers. 29. and a great deal more to the same effect, Verse 31, 33, 34, 37, 39, 40. See more Ier 17.25. Psal. 1.3. and 31.10. Iob 1.10. which are all pregnant places, and full to the point in hand. But I may not stand upon it; OnelyOnly read these Scriptures and remember them.
Fourthly, he shall be blessed in his person, and that many waies: yea the benefits and blessings, temporall, spirituall, and corporall, for soul and body, which God hath promised to bestow upon the mercifull, for a reward of their bounty, are infinite, of which observe with me these few.
First, touching corporall benefits and blessings. Blessed is he saith the Psalmist, that considereth the poore, the Lord shall deliver him in the time of trouble, he will keep and preserve him al…ve, he shall be blessed upon the earth, and not delivered unto the will of his enemies, Psalm 41.1, 2, 3. Great priviledges! but to these are added, Isa. 58▪ If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, then shall thy health spring forth speedily, &c. verse 7.8. But admit the mercifull man be long sick God will preserve him alive, strengthen him upon the bed of languishing; yea make all his bed in his sickness, the Lord will stir up the feathers under him, his soul shall be at ease, and his body sweetly refrashed, mercy shall be his cordiall or pillow of repose, untill he be raised up again, Psalm 41.1. to 11.
CHAP. XXIV.
But see how God hath rewarded many particular persons for this most excellent vertue. Abraham in his old age was blessed with an Isaac, a godly son and heir, a glorious type of the worlds Redeemer, and entertained Angels by his hospitality: yea the Son of God, the Lord of Angels, as Sinesius observes. The Shunam…te that entertained the Prophet Elisha, received above a Prophets reward; namely the promise and gift of a son when she was old, and the raising of him to life when he was dead, and the restoring of her house and land, lost in her long absence for the famine, 2 Kings 4 and 8. Chapters. Rebeccah got so good and great an Husband by her hospitality, as Chrysostom observes. Lot was honoured with the entertainment of Angels, and preserved alive with his whole family from the destruction of Sodom by his hospitality. The Widow of Sarepta was blessed with a miraculous increase of her meal and oyl, with the preservation of her family in the time of famine; & with the resurrection of her son, by her relieving the Prophet in his banishment, 1 Kings 17. Revell or Iethro (for it is the same man under two divers names) as Calvin proves upon Exod. 2. for this, was rewarded with such a son in law as Moses, and by him better instructed in the true worship of God. Publius the chief man of the Island Melit…, by entertaining St. Paul and his companions g…t his father healed of a f…aver, and of a bloody flux, Acts 28.8. It is likewise storied of Stephen King of Hungary, and of Oswald King of England, that their right …nds d…d never put…efie because so much exe…c…sed in relieving the n…cessities of …
Again Fifthly, It bringeth the blessings of God upon all we have, or do: And we know that the blessing of God in effect is all, and does all, Thou shalt surely give to thy poore Brother, and thy heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because for this thing, the Lord thy God shall blesse thee in all thy work and in all that thou puttest thine hand to, Deut. 15.10. And the like Prov. 22.9. Luke 14.14. It were endless to name the particulars, wherein God hath promised to bless the mercifull, see onelyonly Isa. 58. Psal. 112. Prov. 10. and 22. Chapters, 2 Chron. 31.10. Deut. 14 28, 29. Ezek. 44.30. Or turn to Luke 11. and there you shall see, that as fasting sanctifieth the body, and prayer the soul; so Almes does sanctifie the substance. Give almes of those things which ye have (saies our Saviour) and behold all things shall be clean unto you, ver. 41. Its not spoken without a behold. But,
CHAP. XXV.
Sixthly, The mercifull man shall be no less blessed in his name and credit, he shall be had in honour and reputation: according to that Prov. 14. He that oppresseth the poore, reproacheth him that made him; but he honoureth him that hath mercy upon the poore, ver. 31. And to this accords that of the Psalmist, he hath dispersed, … hath given to the poore, his righteousness endureth for ever his horn shall be exalted with honour, Psalm 112.9. And so Proverbs 10. His memoriall shall be blessed, Verse 7.
And of this I might give you sundry examples, and pregnant. As Rachab, Gaius, Iob, The Centurian, Boas, Cornelius, and Mary: as how did our Saviour value and honour Maries bounty? (though so slighted by him that was a thief, and carried the bag, into which he would have had it come) when he commanded it should be spoken of to her honour, wheresoever the Gospell should be preached throughout all the world, Matth. 26.13, But experience sufficiently proves, that a liberal and bountiful man, shall have all love and respect with men, all good repute and report, both living and dead: Nor is this so light a blessing as many deeme it, for what sayes the wise man? The memoriall of the just shall be blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot, Prov. 10.7. Yea a good name, is better then a sweet oyntment: and to be chosen before great riches, Prov. 22.1. yea, then life it self.
B…iefly, for conclusion of this point, let this be the use: when the poore at your gates ask their daily bread, they highly honour you, yea after a sort they make you Gods: therefore by your bounty & liberality, shew your selves at least to be Christians, to be men. Secondly, such as have by this divine vertue obtained a good report: let it provoke them as much to excell others in doing good, as they do excell them in hearing thereof. For I hold this a sure rule, He is of a bad nature to whom good report and commendations are no spur to vertue, but he is of a worse disposition, to whom evil report and blame, is no bridle and retentive from vice, which made Tully so wonder at the strange perverseness of Antony: whom neither praise could allure to do well, nor yet fear of infamy and reproach deter from committing evil. But,