SERM. But the most confiderable text of all other to this CXXVI. purpose, is in Matth. xxv. where our SAVIOUR

gives us a description of the judgment of the great day and if that be a true and proper representation of the process of that day, then the grand enquiry will be, what works of charity have been done or neglected by us, and accordingly fentence shall be paft upon us.

The proper refult from all this difcourfe is to perfuade men to this neceffary duty. Our eternal happiness does not so much depend upon the exercife of any one fingle grace or virtue, as this of charity and mercy. Faith and repentance are more general and fundamental graces, and as it were the parents of all the reft: but of all fingle virtues the fcripture lays the greatest weight upon this of charity; and if we do truly believe the precepts of the gospel, and the promises and threatnings of it, we cannot but have a principal regard to it.

I know how averfe men generally are to this duty, which makes them fo full of excufes and objections against it.

1. They have children to provide for. This is not the cafe of all, and they whofe cafe it is, may do well to confider, that it will not be amiss to leave a bleffing, as well as an inheritance to their children.

2. They tell us they intend to do fomething when they die. I doubt that very much; but granting their intention to be real, why should men choose to spoil a good work, and take away the grace and acceptableness of it, by the manner of doing? it fhews a great backwardness to the work,

when

when we defer it as long as we can. He that will S ER M. not do good, till he be forced by the laft necef- CXXVI. fity, diu noluit, "was long unwilling." It is one of the worst compliments we can put upon GoD, to give a thing to him when we can keep it no longer,

3. Others fay they may come to want themselves, and it is prudence to provide against that, To this I answer.

(1.) I believe that no man ever came the fooner to want for his charity. David hath an exprefs obfervation to the contrary, Pfal. xxxvii. 25. "I have "been young and now am old, yet have I not "feen the righteous forfaken, nor his feed begging "bread." And tho' he ufes a general word, yet that by the righteous here he intended the merciful man, is evident from the next words, "he is ever " merciful and lendeth."

And befides David's obfervation, we have exprefs promises of GOD to fecure us against this fear. Pfal. xl. 1, 2. "Bleffed is he that confider"eth the poor, the LORD will deliver him in "time of trouble, the LORD will preferve him "and keep him alive, and he fhall be bleffed upon "the earth." Prov. xxviii. 27. "He that giveth "unto the poor fhall not lack."

(2.) Thou mayelt come to want tho' thou give nothing; thou may'ft loose that which thou haft fpared in this kind as well as the reft; thou may'st lofe all and then thou art no better secured against want, than if thou hadst been charitable, Befides that, when thou art brought to poverty, thou wilt want the comfort of having done this duty, and may't

SERM. may'ft juftly look upon the neglect of this duty CXXIV, as one of the caufes of thy poverty.

(3.) After all our care to provide for our felves, we must trust the providence of GOD; and a man can in no case so fafely " commit himself to GoD "as in well-doing." If the providence of GoD (as we all believe) be peculiarly concern'd to blefs one man more than another, I dare fay the charita ble man will not have the leaft portion.

4. There is a worfe objection than all these made by fome grave men, who would be glad under pretence of piety to flip themselves out of this duty; and that is this, that it favours of popery to prefs good works with fo much earnestness upon men, as if we could merit heaven by them; fo that they dare not be charitable out of a pious fear, as they pretend, left hereby they should entertain the doctrine of merit.

But if the truth were known, I doubt covetoufnefs lies at the bottom of this objection: however it is fit it should be anfwer'd. And,

(1) I fay that no man that is not prejudiced either by his education or intereft, can think that a creature can merit any thing at the hand of God, to whom all that we can poffibly do, is antecedently due; much less that we can merit fo great a reward as that of eternal happiness.

(2.) Tho' we deny the merit of good works, yet we firmly believe the neceffity of them to eternal life. And that they are neceffary to eternal life, is as good an argument to perfuade a wife man to do them, as if they were meritorious; unlefs a man be fo vain-glorious as to think heaven not worth the

having unless he purchase it himself at a valuable SER M. confideration.

And now let me earnestly intreat you, as you love GOD and your own fouls, not to neglect this duty; left you bring your felves to the fame miferable state with this rich man, to whom the leaft charity that could be afk'd was denied. Our SAVIOUR hath purposely left this parable on record, to be a teftimony and a witnefs to us; left we being guilty of the fame fin," fhould come into the fame place of 66 torment."

And if any afk me according to what proportion of his eftate he ought to be charitable? I cannot determine that. Only, let no man neglect his duty, because I cannot (and it may be no one elfe can) tell him the exact proportion of his charity to his eftate. There are fome duties that are ftrictly determined, as those of justice; but GOD hath left our charity to be" a free will offering." In the proportion of this duty, every one must determine himself by prudence and the love of GOD: GOD hath left this duty undetermined, to try the largeness of our hearts towards him; only to encourage us to be

abundant in this grace," he hath promised, that according to the proportion of our charity, shall be the degree of our happiness, 2 Cor. ix. 6. "He that "foweth plentifully, fhall reap plentifully." But let us be sure to do something in this kind; any part of our eftate rather than none.

CXXVI.

I will conclude with that excellent counfel of the fon of Syrach, Eccl. iv. "My fon, defraud not the 66 poor, and make not the needy eyes to wait long; "make not a hungry foul forrowful, neither pro“voke a man in his distress; ádd not more trou"ble

"ble to a heart that is vexed, and defer not to give to
"him that is in need. Reject not the fupplication
"of the afflicted, nor turn away thy face from a

66

poor man; turn not away thy eye from the needy, and give him none occafion to curfe thee. For "if he curfe thee in the bitterness of his foul, his σε prayer fhall be heard of him that made him. Let "it not grieve thee to bow down thine ear to the 66 poor, and give him a friendly answer with meek

nefs. Be as a father to the fatherlefs, and instead "of a husband to their mother; fo fhalt thou be "as the Son of the moft high, and he fhall love "thee more than thy mother doth."

SERMON CXXVII.

The parable of the rich man, and

Lazarus.

SERM.
CXXVII.

T

fermon on

this text.

LUKE xvi. 19, 20.

There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared fumptuously every day: and there was a certain beggar, named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate full of fores.

Proceed to our fecond obfervation, that a man may be poor and miferable in this world, and yet dear to GOD. This beggar Lazarus, tho' he was fo much flighted, and despised in his lifetime by this great rich man, yet it appeared when he came to die, that he was not neglected by GoD,