The Whole Duty of Man Epitomized, Part 16
PARTITION XVI.
Other Branches of our Duty to our Neighbour. Of Charity to Men's Souls, Bodies, Goods and Credit.
THE next Duty Charity in the Affection.to our Neighbour is Charity, this is a Duty which the Bleſſed JESUS himſelf has ſolemnly enjoyn'd in his Holy Goſpel, and may be conſidered two Ways, either in our Affections, or Actions; and Firſt, The Charity of Affections, is ſuch an univerſal Kindneſs, that inclines us to wiſh well to the Soul, Body, Goods, and Credit, of all Mankind.
To their Souls in the firſt Place, and to To Men's Souls, Bodies, Goods, and Credit.them we cannot ſure but wiſh well, when we conſider, that Chriſt thought their Ranſome worth the Price of his own Blood; we owe next all the good we can to the Bodies of Men; this is an high Article of our Charity, and without it, we can never come up to that golden Rule, of loving our Neighbour as our ſelves. His Goods, and his Credit, are likewiſe to be very dear, and precious to us, and we are bound to propagate his Intereſt, and Reputation, and to eſteem them upon all Accounts equal to our own.
This kind of Charity naturally begets The Effects of this Charity.in us a quiet and peaceable Mind, and a Compaſſion and Tenderneſs towards others; it creates in us a Joy for their Proſperity, and excites us to Pray for 'em, and to importune Almighty God in their It caſts out Envy, Pride, Cenſoriouſneſs, Diſſembling, Selflove and Revenge.behalf; beſides all theſe too, it guards our Minds againſt all ſort of Envy or Revenge, keeps down our Pride, and impreſſes deep upon us the Grace of Humility; it deſtroys Cenſoriouſneſs, and curbs the raſhneſs of our Judgment, ſuppreſſes Diſſimulation, and baniſhes, and ſubverts, all feign'd, and pretended Kindneſs; it caſts away all Self-love, and mercenary Deſigns, and intirely roots out of our Minds all manner of Ranchor and Malice.
Nay, this Charity goes further, according The Motives to it, Chriſt's Commands, and the example of Godto the Doctrine and Example of our Bleſſed Lord, it extends it ſelf even to our Enemies; and what can be a greater Motive to it, then to find it ſo ſolemnly commanded and enforc'd by God's own Preſident.
This is a Subject well becoming our This Charity to extend even to Enemies.ſerious Conſideration, and ſhould put us in mind methinks, to ballance our Sins againſt God, with the Offences of our Brethren againſt our ſelves, and would we do that, we ſhould find the firſt ſo much outweigh the laſt, that from a fair Compariſon, we muſt needs judge our ſelves very unworthy to expect God ſhould Pardon us The Diſproportion of our Offences againſt God compar'd with Men's againſt us.for ſo many great offences, and yet at the ſame time we refuſe to forgive our Brethren for ſome, perhaps, trivial faults; beſides this too, there's a great deal of Pleaſure Pleaſantneſs of this Duty.and Satisfaction in the forgiving our Enemies; 'tis true, this may ſeem a Paradox at firſt ſight, but then, if we examine the Truth of it by Experience, we ſhall find it really ſo, and this ſort of forgiving Temper, the moſt delightful as well as the moſt Chriſtian.
Beyond this likewiſe, there is another Conſideration ſtrong enough to engage us to forgive our Enemies, I mean the danger of it; God has made our Compaſſion to others, the If we forgive not, God will not forgive us.Standard by which he intends to meaſure his to us. If ye forgive not Men their Treſpaſſes, neither will your Father forgive your Treſpaſſes, nay, he has made it a part of our daily Prayers, ſo that when a revengeful Perſon ſays this Prayer, he lays upon himſelf a Curſe, and does in effect beg God not to forgive him.
This is a Duty we are oblig'd to in Point of Gratitude too; God has ſhew'd Gratitude to God.us wonderful Mercies, and can we be ſo baſe to think, we are not oblig'd to ſome returns. Peace and Unity was one of the laſt things our Saviour recommended to the World, and indeed he has preſs'd no ſingle Precept The firſt riſing of Ranchor to be ſuppreſt.with greater concern than this of univerſal Charity and forgiving Enemies, a Conſideration methinks, that ſhould engage us to ſuppreſs all Degrees of Ranchor and Revenge, and to check and curb them in their very firſt Motions.
I come now to the Charity in the Actions, to the Mind, Soul, Body, &c.Charity in the Actions, which is the trueſt way to prove the former, I mean by a ſincere and cordial Love, diſtributed without Hypocriſie, or Reſerve, to the Soul, Body, Goods, and Credit of our Neighbour; to his Soul and Mind, we ſhould acquit our ſelves with the utmoſt tenderneſs and concern, and omit no means that might any ways promote the Happineſs or Advantage of either; to his Body we ſhould exerciſe all the Offices of true Chriſtian Friendſhip and Kindneſs and upon all occaſions be conſtantly ready to promote his Intereſt, and defend his Reputation.