1)ireBions JV]Jat part of our Bftates we jhould de)Jote to d.>aritable rifes. pltafores will dye together, and deliver them up tonevcr...dying honour and defpair. 1havt heard it oft mentioned as the dilhonour of France, that the third put of the .uvcnews of fo rich a Kingdom, fhould be devoted and paid to the maintaining of Superrtirion: Bur 1f there be not m,omy (and moU; Kingdoms in the world, where one half of their wealrh is devoted to the f.·lcfh, and {Q ro th..c Dtv 1 J I fhould be glad to find my fclf herein millakcn: · And judge you which is more difgraceful, ro hay; half your eflatc:s given in fe~ality to the Devil, or a third part too ignorantly devored ro God ! lf men laid out no rnor.c than needs upon theftifh, they might have the more for the fe~vice of Go4 and of their fouls: You camrotlive under fo much a year, as would rnainfain above uyice as m:a.nj frugal, temperate, indufhious perfons, beco1ulc your fld"h mufinc:~ds bc.pkaJcd, and you art .flr;mgersro Chrifiian morcitication and.felf-dcnial. Lae1'tiJH tell us that Crates 1ht.b4n~J pur all h~s monf:y into the Bankers or Ufurers hands, wirh rhis dircttion, rhat If hi< fom prov1d Idcoti it jboul( aq beNid to tbem hut if they proved Philo{opherJ, ir fhould bt given to the'poor: becaufe Phifo{ophcrJ can live ztpo}t a lju/r: and thereforenud little. So if we could make men Mortified Chrijii.1n1, they would need 10 lirtlt te£ thcmfelves, that they would have the more to give to others, and to do good with. 2· Men do not ferioufly bc:lieve Gods promifes; that he will recomptpce them if! tbM lift ( wilh better thing'i) 11n bundted fold, and in tht world to come with life ctrrnal ! M~tth. 1.9. 2,9· An.d rhat hy receiving a Prophet, or rigbteouJ man, tiJty may have a ProphetJ or rightcaul mam rrwp,d: MJ.nh~ to. 41. And that a cup of coldwater (when you have nobetter) gium. to oneof Chrifh little ontJ in the name of a Difciple,jhaU not be unrewarded, Mnth. 10 4~· They believe not that Ht:a\•en will p~y for all, and thatrherc isa life to come in which God will Ice rhar they be no loftr;. They dunk the-re is nothing certain but what they have in hand, and therefore they lay up a treafme upon tarth, and rather trufi to their efiates th~n God : whereas if they verily believed that thne is another life, and rhat judgement will pafs on them on the terms defcribed, Matth. 25· rhcy would more in– dufirioufly lay up a lreafure in Heaven, Matth. 6. 20• and ma~ thtm{elvet frier.dt of the fr/ar>)fllon of u 11 • ' righuoufnefi, and fiudy how to be rich in good work1, and fend their wealth to Heaven before chem, and Jay up agoodfoundation againft tiJe time to comt, that th.ty may lay hold upon eternal life ~ an_d then they would be ready to diftribute, and willi1rg tocommu11icate, 1Tim.6. 17, 18, 19· Luk. r(j.p. Thc"y would rhen know how much they arc beholden to God, that will nor only honour them to be his Stewards, but reward them for difiributing his maintenance ro his Chilqrcn, as if they had givia fo much of their own : They would then fee chat it is tlley that ue the recciver1, and that giving is rhe. furefi way to be rich, when for tranfiwry things ( fincerely given) they may receive th~ Everlafiing' riches.Then they would fee tlut he that faveth his Riches lofeth them,and he thar lof"h them for Chrilt; doth fave them, and lay them up in Heaven :.. and that it U more ble.ffed to give than toreceive ; and that we jhoHid ot~rjelvu bt l4horiouJ that we may have wherewith to JUpporl tht Jt1ta~, and to give unt 11 the nudy: Read Aa. 20. 35· Epbef. 4· 28. Prov. 3r• 20, liCe. 1hm they wo~ld "'I be "''"'Y ,f ,.,,y. doing, if they believed, that, in due{eafon tbtjfoall rt!lpif they f:zint not; brtt .sJ they b.tvt opportzt)liry, would dot,ood toall men; but efPeci•l/y 10 thtm that are of the ho•Jhold of faith, Gal. 6. 9, w. They would not forget fo do good, and communicate, M k._mfl'ing that with fuch focrifice God M wtU~pleafcd, Heb.'13. 16. A rrue belief of the Reward, would make men Hrive who !hould do mol!. 3• Another great hindcrance is the want of Love to God and our neighbours~ toChrijf and his Difc'i– ;j; piu. If men loved Chril!, they would not deal fa niggardly with his dif6ples, when he ha. told f them that he takcth all that they do ro the leaft of rhcm ( whorr. he callcth hit hmhre• ) as do;tt t• bimfi/f, Marth. 2 5· & 1O• 39, 40. If men loved their ntighbo~trJ aJ themfoJveJ, I leave you to judge in what prop.?rtion and manner they would relieve rhern ? whether they would find money to lay out on Dice and Cards, and glur- · tonoqs feafiings, on playes, and gtmes, and pomp, and pride, while fo many round.about them are in pinching wanr. The deftruttion ofCharity or Chrijlian Love, is the cauG: that wor~t of Charity arc deftroyed. Who can look rhar the feed of the Serpent, that hath an enmity againil rhe holy feed, fhould liberally relieve them! or that the flejhly mind which is enmity againf!God, fhould bcready ro do good to rhe ffiri– tual and holy firv•ntt of God? Gtn. 3· '5· Rom. 5. 6, 7, 8. Or rhar a[eljijh man fhould much care for any body but himfi!fand hit ow•l When Love is rumed inro the hatred of each other, upon the account of our parti4l inttrefts, and opinions; and when we arc like men in war, that think he is the bravel!, moll deferving mao, thar bath kJlled mofi ; when men have bitter, harcful thoughrs o~ one another, and fer themfelves to make each other odious, and to ruine them., that they may fiand the fal!cr, and think rhar dejlroying them is good fcrvice to God, who can look for rhe truits of Love from damnable uncharirablencfs and hatred ; or rhat the Devils tree fhould bring forth holy fruir ro God? 4• And then (when Love is wcll-fpokcn of by all, even its deadly coemies ) left men fhould fee J:their wick<dnefs and mifcry, (and is ir nor admirable that they fee ir not>) rhe D.vil hath raughr '(them to play the f!rpacriteJ, and make thcmfelves a Religion which cofis them nothing, without true Cf;riftia~: LoveandGood wor~J, that they may have {omcthing toquiet and cheat their confc.:ienccs with. One man drops now and then an inconfidcrable gift, and another oppreffc:.th, and hateth and ddhoy· cth (and flandtreth, and cenfureth, that he may not be thought to hate and ruine without caufe ); and when they have done, they wipe their mouths with a few Hypocritical prayers or good words, and and think they are good Chrifiians, and God will nor be avenged on them: One rhinks that God will fave him hedufc: he ls of this Church, and another becaufe he is of another CQyrch : One thinks to be faved ~ccaufe he is of this opinion and party in Religion, ~nd another bccaufe he is of that : One thinks
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