Twenty-One Sermons on Amos 1, Sermon 16
THE Sixteenth Lecture.
AMOS 1.11, 12.
Thus ſaith the Lord, For three tranſgreſſions of Edom, and for foure, I will not turne to it: becauſe he did purſue his brother with the ſword, and did caſt off all pity, and his anger ſpoiled him euermore, and his wrath watched him alway.
Therefore will I ſend a fire vponupon Teman, and it ſhall deuoure the palaces of Bozrah.
IN this burdenſome Prophecie againſt Edom I obſerue two parts:
1 A Preface: Thus ſaith the Lord.
2 A Prophecie: For three tranſgreſſions of Edom, &c.
In the Prophecie I obſerue foure parts:
1 A generall accuſation of the Edomites: For three tranſgreſſions of Edom, and for foure.
2 The Lords proteſtation againſt them: I will not turne to it.
3 The deſcription of the ſin by which they offended; in foure branches:
1 He purſued his brother with the ſword.
2 He caſt off all pity.
3 His anger ſpoiled him euermore.
4 His wrath watched him alway.
4 The declaration of the puniſhments to be inflicted vponupon Edom, verſ. 12. Therefore will I ſend a fire vponupon Teman, and it ſhall deuoure the palaces of Bozrah.
The Preface, Thus ſaith the Lord, challengeth your attention. The two firſt parts of the Prophecie, the accuſation of the Edomites, and Gods proteſtation againſt them in theſe words: For three tranſgreſſions of Edom and for foure, I will not turne to it, may giuegive you occaſion to recount and remember a Doctrine already the third time recommended to your religious conſiderations; Many ſinnes doe plucke downe from heauen the moſt certaine wrath and vengeance of God vponupon the ſinners.
Mel ſatietatem gignit; It is an old ſaying, A man may eat too much hony. What? One leſſon ſo often? No variety? I could anſwer with a Greeke Prouerbe; foreign: that good and wholſome leſſons may well be commended to you twice and thrice, many times, and yet ſhould you not diſlike it.
But for the preſent I proceed to the third part of this prophecie, wherein is deſcribed Edoms ſin. Of this part are foure branches:
1 He did purſue his brother with the ſword] wherein obſerue
1 A purfuer: Edom.
2 The purſued: His brother.
3 The manner of purſuit; With the ſword. Edom did purſue his brother with the ſword.
Edom] Eſau, Iacobs brother, and Iſaacks ſonne by his wiſeaGen. 25.21, Rebekah, for ſelling his birth-right for a meſſe of red broth, was ſurnamed Edom, Gen. 25.30. and of him lineally deſcended the Edomites, or Idumaeans, Gen. 36.43. Eſau purſued Iacob with a deadly hate; ſo did the poſterity of Eſau the poſterity of Iacob: the Edomites were euermore moſt maliciouſly bent againſt the Iſraelites. Edom is the purſuer in his owne perſon, and in his poſterity.
The purſued is Edoms brother, Iacob, ſurnamed Iſrael, and his poſterity the Iewes and Iſraelites.
Edom purſued his brother with the ſword] Bello, & armat â manu, by warre, and bands of ſouldiers, ſaith Druſius. Eſau hated his brother Iacob becauſe of the bleſſing wherewith his father bleſſed him, and thereupon in heart vowed his death. For thus thought Eſau in his minde, Gen. 27.41. The daies of mourning for my father will come ſhortly, then will I ſlay my brother Iacob. Iacob to aſſwage his brother Eſaus fierceneſſe, fledbGen. 27.44. to his Vncle Laban in Meſopotamia, with whom he liuedcGen. 31.38. twenty yeeres: which time expired, Iacob vponupon God his admoniſhment returned into thedGen. 31.3. land of his fathers. A man would hauehave thought twenty yeeres time ſufficient for any one to hauehave forgotten, or at leaſt to hauehave diſgeſted a diſpleaſure. Twenty yeeres were not enough for Eſau; ſo immortall was his hatred. After twenty yeeres, as Iacob returned from Meſopotamia, Eſau went againſt him with foure hundred men, Gen. 33.1.
This inexpiable rancour and hatred ended not in Eſau. His malicious poſterity retained it. Witneſſe the churliſh anſwer giuen to Moſes his Ambaſſadors, Numb. 20.20. Moſes being to conduct the Iſraelites from Aegypt to the promiſed land, deſirous to bring them the neereſt way, ſent to the King of Edom for leaue to paſſe thorow his country: I pray thee let vsus paſſe thorow thy country: we will not goe thorow the fields, nor thorow the vineyards: we will not drinke of the water of thy wels; we will goe by the Kings high way: we will not turne to the right hand nor to the left, vntill we be paſt thy borders: we will goe the high way. If I and my cattell drinke of thy water, I will then pay for it: I will only without any harme goe thorow on my feet. Moſes the meekeſt man vponupon the earth, thus meekly beſought the King of Edom for paſſage thorow his country. Could hee obtaine it, thinke you? No. The inueterate hatred wherewith Eſau was poſſeſſed, reſiding in his poſterity, cauſed a deniall to ſo honeſt a petition. The King of Edom with much poople, and with a mighty power, roſe vp againſt Moſes and the Iſraelites.
Long after this, in the daies of Ahaz King of Iudah, were the Edomites better minded towards Iacobs poſterity? The ſacred ſtory, 2 Chron. 28.17. telleth vsus, that then alſo the Edomites were vp in armes againſt the Iewes; ſome of them they ſlew, and ſome they carried away captiues. Hee therefore, theePſal. 89.14. ſtabliſhment of whoſe throne are righteouſneſſe and equity, Almighty God, doth here iuſtly challenge Edom for purſuing his brother with the ſword. The leſſon which hence I would commend to you is: It is a thing very diſtaſtfull and vnpleaſing vntounto God for brethren to be at variance among themſelues.
Our aſſent to this truth, the light of nature within vsus doth extort from vsus. By natures light the very Heathen hauehave acknowledged one God, and him the author of vnity & friendſhip; as Plato in his Lyſis. From the ſame parents, one father, and one mother, as from one ſeed, one root, one beginning, by natures ordinance doe ſpringgPlutarch. de amore fraterno. two, three, or more brethren, not for diſcord, or contrariety; but that being many, they might the better one helpe another.
That brother that warreth with his brother, in Plutarch his iudgement, doth voluntarilyhIbid. cut off a member of his owne fleſh. AlliXenophon. lib. 2. de dictis & fact. Socr. enmity breedeth within our ſoules a thouſand tormenting paſſions; but eſpecially that enmity which a man beareth towards his owne brother, as that which is moſt prodigious and vnnaturall.
When Socrates ſaw Chaerephon, and Chaerecrates, two brethren iarring and warring each with other, he ſaid vntounto them: You doe now, as if the hands which were created to helpe one the other, ſhould hinder and hurt one the other; or as the feet, which were framed to beare one anothers burthē, ſhould ſupplant one the other: or as the eares, which are coauditors of mutuall good, ſhould wax deafe to heare good one for the other: or as the eyes, which like Caleb and Ioſhua are fellow ſpies in this Microcoſme, this little world and land of men, for the good each of other, ſhould looke a ſquint at the good each of other. You will grant it to be very vnnaturall, either for the hands, or for the feet, or for the eares, or for the eyes, one to ſtriue againſt the other. Much more monſtrous will the ſtrife between brethren be; becauſe the aid which one of them may and ſhould giuegive vntounto the other, doth farre exceed the cooperation of the hands, the ſupportance of the feet, the coaudience of the eares, the prouidence of the eies.
Thus farre hauehave I led you in Natures ſchoole. May it now pleaſe you to heare the ſame things out of the ſchoole of Grace? There Salomon hath this leſſon: Two are better than one; for if one of them fall, the other will lift him vp; But woe vntounto him that is alone, for he falleth, and there is not a ſecond to lift him vp. The words are Eccleſ. 4.9, 10. The Hebrewes referre thoſe words to married couples: but Salomon ſpeakes it generally: and thus you may expound it; Two are better than one, two brethren are better than one: for if one of them fall, the other will helpe him vp. If he fall into ſickneſſe, into want, into any kind of diſtreſſe, eriget, & allcuabit cum frater, his brother will be a ſuccour to him. But woe to him that is alone. foreign, is an old ſaying, one man is no man; woe to ſuch a man; woe to him that is alone; for he falleth, and there is not a brother to lift him vp.
Indeed one brother helping another is like a defenced City (askSeptuagint. Vulgat. Hieron. Gloſſ. Lyran. Hugo. Card. ſome reade it) and their counſells are like the barre of a palace which is impregnable, Prou. 18.19. and if one ouercome him, two ſhall ſtand againſt him, Eccleſ. 4.12. So naturall is their vnity, and ſtrong their coadinuance, which nature hath framed double for mutuall aſſiſtance.
The place cited out of the Prou. 18.19.lMercer. Lauater. Bibl. Augl. ſome read otherwiſe; A brother offended is harder to win than a ſtrong City, and their contentions are like the barres of a palace. And then the meaning is: The angers of brethren one of them towards another, are ſo ſharpe and vehement, that they can no more eaſily be ſubdued, than ſtrong defenced townes conquered; nor more eaſily be broken, than moſt ſtrong bars. Which expoſition teacheth vsus, that there is no ſtrife matchable to the ſtrife among brethren. According to the Prouerbe, Fratrum contentiones acerbiſſimae; moſt bitter are the contentions of brethren.
Examples Poeticall, Hiſtoricall, and Diuine, doe ſpeake as much. The implacable hatred of Atreus againſt Thyeſtes, Eteocles againſt Polynices, Romulus againſt Remus, Baſſianus againſt Geta, Cain againſt Abel, and Eſau againſt Iacob, are they not as trumpets to ſound out this truth? To this purpoſe might I alleage the King of Argiers, the Kingdome of Tunes, and Ottomans family, many a brothers hand embrued and waſhed in his brothers bloud; but ſeeing it is growne into a Prouerbe, Irae fratrum acerbiſſimae, moſt bitter are the contentions of brethren, it needeth no further proofe.
Againſt ſuch monſtrous and prodigious contentions, the Holy Ghoſt would hauehave all Chriſtians well armed; and for this end giueth vsus in holy writ many wholſome Leſſons. Let a few ſerue this time. In the firſt Epiſtle of S. Iohn, Cap. 2.11. we are taught that whoſoeuer hateth his brother, he is in darkneſſe, he walketh in darkneſſe, he knoweth not whither he goeth; darkneſſe hath blinded his eyes: and Chap. 3.15. that whoſoeuer hateth his brother is a man-ſlayer: and Chap. 4.20. that whoſeeuer hateth his brother is a lyer, if he ſaith he loueth God. The reaſon is annexed; For how can he that loueth not his brother, whom he hath ſeene, louelove God whom hee hath not ſeene? And this commandement wee hauehave of Chriſt, that he that loueth God ſhould louelove his brother alſo.
In the book of Prouerbs, Chap. 16.19. we read of ſix things which the Lord hateth, and of a ſeuenth which his ſoule abhorreth: that ſeuenth is, verſ. 19. The man that raiſeth vp contentions among brethren. Now if God doe abhor with his ſoule the man that raiſeth vp contentions among brethren, how doth he like of the contentions themſelues? My propounded doctrine ſtands good.
It is a thing very diſtaſtfull and vnpleaſing vntounto God, for brethren to be at variance among themſelues.
Now let vsus ſee what vſes doe offer themſelues to our conſiderations out of this Doctrine.
Firſt, it may ſerue for a iuſt reproofe of theſe our laſt and worſt daies, wherein by experience wee finde true that ſamemDr. King B. of London vponupon Ionas, Lect. 15. paradox, in common reaſon hardly to be proued; namely, that not friends only, or kinſmen, but brethren alſo when they fall to enmity, their hatred is greater than that betwixt mortall foes. It is come to paſſe according to Chriſt his prophecie, Matth. 10.36. A mans enemies ſhall be they of his owne houſe: A mans enemies indeed, and his enemies to purpoſe, to worke him moſt harme, ſhall be they of his owne houſe.
May not many now adaies complaine, yea cry out with Dauid, Pſal. 55.12. If mine enemy had done me this diſhonour, I could hauehave borne it: If mine aduerſary had exalted himſelfe againſt me, I would hauehave hid my ſelfe from him; but it was thou, O man, my companion, my guide, my familiar: we tooke ſweet counſell together; we walked in the houſe of God as friends. Yet haſt thou done me this diſhonour; yea, thou haſt exalted thy ſelfe againſt me.
Of all the Vials of the wrath of God powred down vponupon ſinners, it is one of the ſoreſt, when a man is fed with his own fleſh, and made drunke with his owne bloud, as with ſweet wine. So the Prophet Eſay ſpeaketh, Chap. 49.26. The meaning is, as a chiefenB. King. Ibid. pillar of our Church expoundeth it; when a man taketh pleaſure in nothing more, than in the ouerthrow and extirpation of his owne ſeed: when he thirſteth not for any bloud, but that which is drawne from the ſides of his brethren and kinſmen. Neuer was there more eager and bitter contention betweene Turke and Chriſtian, than now adaies there is betweene Chriſtian and Chriſtian, a brother and a brother.
All we, who hauehave giuen our names to Ieſus Chriſt, and vowed him ſeruice in our baptiſme, we are all brethren, we are fratres vterini, brethren from the womb, foreign, wee hauehave one father, and one mother; one father in heauen, and one mother, the holy Catholike Church, militant vponupon the earth. But it fareth with vsus as it did with Simeon and Leui, Gen 49.5. We are brethren in euill; the inſtruments of cruelty are in our habitations. They in their wrath ſlew a man: and what doe we? If our wrath be kindled againſt our brother, we will not ſticke Edomlike, to purſue him with the ſword; we will make our ſword to be fed with his fleſh, and drunke with his bloud.
Thinke not (dearely beloued, you of the other ſex) thinke not your ſelues exempt from this reproofe, becauſe in it I hauehave not made any mention of ſiſters; for vnderunder the name of brethren I meant you alſo. My ſpeech was vntounto Chriſtians; and in Chriſtianiſme diuerſity of ſex maketh no difference. So ſaith the Apoſtle, Gal. 3.28. Male and female, all are one in Chriſt. To you therefore this reprofe of brethren at variance doth alſo appertaine. If you lay violent hands vponupon any, your husbands, your children, or other; or if with your tongue (which the holy Spirit, Pſal. 57.4. calleth a ſharpe ſword) you are giuen to vex them of your owne houſe; or ſhall back-bite or ſlander any; know, that Edom-like, you doe purſue your brother with the ſword. And take, I beſeech you, my propounded doctrine, as belonging vntounto you alſo; It is a thing very diſtaſtfull and vnpleaſing vntounto God, for brethren to be at variance among themſelues.
A ſecond vſe is, to worke in vsus brotherly kindneſſe: that vertue, whereby eueryevery good Chriſtian embraceth the Church of God and the members thereof with the bowels of louelove. This brotherly kindneſſe, S. Peter, 2 Epiſt. 1.7. commendeth vntounto vsus, as whereto we ought to giuegive all diligence.
Dauid, Pſal. 133.1. ſtileth it with the ſweet name of Vnity; Behold how good and comely a thing it is for brethren to liue in vnity. And therefore commendeth it by two ſimilitudes: in the one ſhewing the ſweetneſſe and pleaſantneſſe of it; in the other, the fruit and profit which commeth by it.
Firſt, it is like that precious ointment, which was powred on the head of the high Prieſt, and ran downe vponupon his heard, and ſo to the borders of his garments. Behold the ſweetneſſe and pleaſantneſſe of vnity. That ſweet perfume and ointment, that holy o le powred out vponupon the high Prieſt and his garment, was not only pleaſant and delightfull to himſelfe, but did alſo yeeld a ſweet ſmelling ſauour to all that were about him. So is it with vnity. It is not onelyonly pleaſant to them, who doe religiouſly eſteeme and keepe it, but to others alſo which are about them.
Secondly, it is like the dew of Hermon, which fell vponupon the mountaines of Sion; where the Lord appointed the bleſſing, and life foreuermore. Behold the fruit and profit which commeth by Vnity. The dew, and wet that fell downe from heauen vponupon H rmon and Sion, made thoſe hils, and the plaine countries neere them, fertill: ſo doth Vnity bring with it great fruit and profit. If makes them among whom it is ſincerely obſerued, it makes them through Gods bleſſing fruitfull and plentifull in good workes towards God, and in him and for him towards men, and one of them towards another. This vnity, concord, brotherly louelove, mutuall conſent and agreement, if it bee vnfeigned, hath the promiſes both of this life and of that to come: of peace and quietneſſe in this life, and of eternall ioyes in the life to come.
One of the notes by which we may be aſſured of God his ſpeciall louelove and fauour, is the louelove of our brethren. Now that we deceiue not our ſelues in this louelove, S. Iohn, Epiſt. 1. giues vsus three rules to direct vsus.
1 Chriſtian brotherly louelove muſt not be for any worldly reſpects or conſiderations, but principally for and in God. We muſt louelove our brethren principally becauſe they are the ſons of God and members of Chriſt. This rule he intimateth, Chap. 5.1. EueryEvery one that loueth him which begat, loueth him alſo which is begotten of him: that is, whoſoeuer loueth God the Father, he loueth alſo the ſons of God; his naturall ſon Chriſt Ieſus, and his ſons by grace and adoption, all Chriſtians.
2 Chriſtian brotherly louelove muſt not be outward in ſhew only, but inward in the heart. This rule he giueth vsus, Chap. 3.18. Let vsus not louelove in word, nor in tongue onelyonly, but in deed and in truth.
3 Chriſtian brotherly louelove muſt be not onelyonly in time of proſperity, but when moſt need is. This rule hee giueth verſ. the 17. Whoſoeuer hath this worlds good, and ſeeth his brother hath need, and ſhutteth vp his compaſſion from him, how dwelleth the louelove of God in him?
Let theſe rules (beloued) be your direction. LoueLove ye eueryevery one that is called a Chriſtian, not becauſe he is rich or in authority, but becauſe he is a Chriſtian, the ſon of God by grace and adoption. LoueLove ye him, not outwardly in ſhew only, but inwardly in heart, in deed, in truth. LoueLove him not only in his proſperous and flouriſhing eſtate, but in his greateſt need; and be ye aſſured that the ſpeciall louelove and fauour of God will be your ſhield and protection.
Three things there are that doe reioyce God, ſaith Eccleſiaſticus, Chap. 25.1. The vnity of brethren, the louelove of neighbours, a man and his wife agreeing together. The firſt, which is the vnity of brethren, according to my former conſtruction, compriſeth the other two. All Chriſtians are brethren in Chriſt, a neighbour to a neighbour, a husband to his wife, a wife to her husband. For, as I ſaid, in Chriſt there is no difference of ſex; there is neither male nor female; all are brethren in Chriſt; and therefore that neighbour that loueth not his neighbour, the husband that is at ods with his wife, the wife that agreeth not with her husband, they are guilty of the breach of brotherly louelove.
That exhortation made by S. Paul to the Romans, Chap. 12.10. concerneth all of you, all, of both ſexes, without any difference: Be yee affectioned to louelove one another with brotherly louelove. I conclude this point with the ſame Apoſtles words, 1 Cor. 1.10. and 2 Cor. 13.11. Now I beſeech you brethren, by the name of our Lord Ieſus Chriſt, that yee ſpeake all one thing, and that there be no diſſentions among you: Be of one minde; liue in peace, and the God of peace ſhall be with you.
Thus farre of the firſt branch in the deſcription of Edoms ſinne, and of the doctrine grounded thereupon: The doctrine was, It is a thing very distastefull, and vnpleaſing vntounto God, for brethren to be at variance among themſelues.
It was grounded vponupon theſe words, He did purſue his brother with the ſword. It followeth:
And did caſt off all pity] or after the Hebrew text, did corrupt his compaſſions, which reading is expreſſed in the margin of our Church Bible, and the Geneua tranſlation. The Engliſh tranſlation ſet out by Tyndall reades it otherwiſe: Hee deſtroyed his mothers wombe: and Winckleman reads it, Et violauerit vterū, and violated or abuſed the mothers wombe: both doe allude to the Greeke edition of the Septuagent, foreign, he did violate the mothers wombe; which reading may hauehave reference to the natiuity of Iacob and Eſau, borne at one birth of their mother Rebekah. And then the meaning is, that the Edomites Eſau's poſterity, neglecting that bond and knot of brotherhood and conſanguinity, did exerciſe rigour and cruelty againſt the Iſraelites, Iacobs poſterity: or it may hauehave reference to a ſauage and outragious cruelty, as if the Edomites were here noted for ripping vp mothers wombes, or women with childe in Iſrael. That ſuch cruelty was vſed by the Ammonites, it is plaine by the 13. verſe of this Chapter. But this Text in the originall doth not faſten this blame vponupon the Edomites, and I louelove not, to force my Text. I will not trouble you with other expoſitions.
The originall is: He did corrupt his compaſſions] The ſenſe and meaning is well rendred and deliuered in our receiued Engliſh Bibles; He did eaſt off all pity. Is Edom here condemned for corrupting his compaſſions? for caſting off all pitie? The leſſon hence to bee commended to your Chriſtian conſiderations is this, Vnmercifulneſſe is a ſinne hatefull vntounto God.
I could bring you many places out of holy Writ for the confirmation of this doctrine. But two only, or three, and they but touched, ſhall ſerue for this preſent. In Iob 6.14. the vnmercifull are noted to hauehave forſaken the feare of the Almighty. In Rom. 1.31. among ſuch as God hath giuen vp to a reprobate minde to commit things worthy of death, the vnmercifull are named. In Iames 2.13. a puniſhment is denounced to the vnmercifull; There ſhall be iudgement mercileſſe to him that ſheweth no mercy. Theſe few Texts of Scripture doe plentifully eſtabliſh my doctrine: Vnmercifulneſſe is a ſinne hatefull vntounto God.
If any will aske me, What is this vnmercifulneſſe whereof I now ſpeake; my anſwer ſhall be out of the learned. Out ofoApud A ſhia. 22. qu. 118.8.3. Iſidore, that it is one of the nine daughters of couetouſneſſe. Out ofp22. qu. 159.1.2.2. Aquinas, that it is the withholding of a deed of charity, and anq22. qu. 118.8.3. obduration or the hardning of the heart againſt mercy: Out ofrComment. in hunc locum. Mercer, that it is a breach of natures law, and an aboliſhing of all kindneſſe. And ſo I come to make ſome vſe of this doctrine.
The vſe is to ſtirre vsus vp to the exerciſes of humanity and mercy. I will not now make any long declamation againſt inhumanity and vnmercifulneſſe; yet my Text requireth that I ſpeake ſomewhat to it. There was a time when righteouſneſſe ſeemed to be taken vp into the clouds, and the earth to be void of it. It was in the daies of the Prophet Eſay. He then cryed out, Chap. 45.8. O ye heauens, ſend the dew from aboue, and let the clouds drop downe righteouſneſſe. The time is now, when louelove ſeemeth to be taken vp into the clouds, and the earth to bee void of it. Now may we cry out, O ye Heauens, ſend the dew from aboue, and let the clouds drop downe louelove; that the vncourteous and churliſh Nabals of this preſent generation may now at length know, that they are not borne for themſelues only, but for their poore neighbours alſo. Your poore neighbours, who ſtand in need of you, by very prerogatiue of mankinde, hauehave an intereſt in your ſuccour and ſeruice.
But it may be that ſome are ſo farre from all humanity, that this prerogatiue of mankind will not moue them to doe any worke of charity. Such hard hearts let them heare what the Law is, Deut. 15.7. If one of thy brethren with thee be poore, within any of thy gates in thy land which the Lord thy God giueth thee, thou ſhalt not harden thine heart, nor ſhut thine hand from thy poore brother: But thou ſhalt open thy hand vntounto him, and ſhalt lend him ſufficient for his need.
I know fleſh and bloud will oblect: Shall I lend my neighbour ſufficient for his need? So may I ſoone exhauſt my ſubſtance and liue in want my ſelfe. I reply: O thou of little ſaith, why feareſt thou? Looke backe vponupon the bleſſing of God; rely vponupon it: he through his benediction will make thee large recompence.
Of this thou maiſt be aſſured, if thou wilt hauehave recourſe to the fore-cited Chapter, Deut. 15.10. There art thou infallibly promiſed for thy almes deeds done to the needy, that the Lord thy God ſhall bleſſe thee in all thy workes, and in all that thou putieſt thine hand to.
My exhortation is no other than that of the Prophet Eſay, Chap. 58 7. Deale thy bread to the hungry: bring the poore wanderer to thine houſe: If thou ſeeſt him naked, couer him; hee is thine owne fleſh; hide not thy ſelfe from him. Thy liberality will bring thee great aduantage: whereof thou wilt not doubt if thou conſider the next verſe, Thy light ſhall breake forth as the morning; thy health ſhall grow ſpeedily: thy righteouſneſſe ſhall goe before thee; the glory of the Lord ſhall embrace thee. Seeſt thou not an heape of bleſſings one vponupon another?
Looke into the booke of Pſalmes. In the beginning of the 41. Pſalme many a ſweet promiſe is made thee conditionally, that thou tender the poore mans caſe: The Lord ſhall deliuer thee in the time of trouble, he ſhall keepe thee and preſerue thee aliue; he ſhall bleſſe thee vponupon the earth; he will not deliuer thee to the will of thine enemies: he will ſtrengthen thee vponupon thy bed of ſorrow, and will make thy bed all the time of thy ſickneſſe.
I might weary you and my ſelfe in the purſuit of this point. Here I ſtop my courſe, with recommendation of one onelyonly place, and that a very remarkable one, Prou. 19.17. Hee that hath mercy vponupon the poore, lendeth to the Lord; and the Lord will recompence him that which he hath giuen.
Behold and ſee how gracious and good the Lord is. If you ſhew pity and compaſſion vponupon the poore, God will recompence you to the full: yea, in the largeneſſe of his mercies hee will reward you plentifully.
It was a graue exhortation of afTobit to his ſonne Tobias. cap. 4.7. father to his ſonne: GiueGive almes of thy ſubſtance, and when thou giueſt almes, let not thine eye be ennious, neither turne thy face from any poore, leſt that God turne his face from thee. GiueGive almes according to thy ſubſtance: if thou hauehave but a little, be not afraid to giuegive a little: So ſhalt thou lay vp a good ſtore for thy ſelfe againſt the day of neceſſity. Almes will deliuer thee from death; and will not ſuffer thee to come into the place of darkneſſe. Almes is a good gift before the moſt high to all them which vſe it.
Vſe it, I beſeech you in the bowels of our Lord and Sauiour Ieſus Chriſt. Be ye not like Edom in my Text, Corrupt not your compaſſions; caſt not off all pity; ſuffer ye one with another; louelove as brethren; be pitifull, be courteous: doe ye good to all men, and faint not: great ſhall be your reward in Heauen.
This your ſeruice will be acceptable vntounto God. God for it will giuegive you his bleſſing. God will bleſſe you for the time of your being here; and when the day of your diſſolution ſhall be that you muſt leaue your earthly Tabernacles, then will the Sonne of man, ſitting vponupon the throne of his glory, welcome you with a Venite Benedicti, Come ye bleſſed of my Father, inherit the Kingdome prepared for you from the foundations of the world. For I was hungry, and ye gaue me meat; I was thirſty, and ye gaue me drinke; I was a ſtranger, and ye lodged me; I was naked, and ye cloathed me; I was ſick, and ye viſited mee; I was in priſon, and ye came vntounto me. In as much as ye hauehave done theſe things to the needy and diſtreſſed, ye hauehave done them vntounto me. Come ye bleſſed of my Father; inherit the Kingdome prepared for you from the foundations of the world.