Chap. 31. An Expeft.ion report the à'oeke of Jo a. Vert. 17. with the fatte and the fweete, but fend the poore eyther quite empty away, or only a little relieved (to keepe them from ftar- ving) with the refute oftheir Table. Which latter pra&ice is al.. fo fep;oved by the practice of ?ob in this text. For, faith he, If Ihave eatenmy morfel my[elfe alone, and the fathtrleffe bath not eaten thereof. Hence note. Agood man will give thepoorefach things as aregood, to eate, lea fometimes asgood as be eates himfelfe : He dash not thinke it below him, that theyAmidBate with him, and of what he hintfelfo Bates. 7,b did not put offthe poore withfcrapps only ( though I doe not fay 'Cis fiu?ull to give broken meate to the poore ) yet'eis plaine he did not put offthe poore with lochpoore reliefes, nor thould we. Some rhinke any thing they have, the worft they have, good enough for thofe whohave nothing. But as Chrift faith concerning fpirituall bread (Math. 15.26. ) It is not meet to a .ke the childrens bread, and to raft it to dogs : So I may lay in reference to material! bread It is not good to take dogs bread, and to give it to the ehildren;thar is, togivecorrupt orunfavory bread andmeate to the poore. The belt which we have is but givenus, or indeed lent to us, and therefore what we give to the poore thould be good, efpecially feeing what is given to the poore, is lent to the Lord , from whofe hand we receave all our riches. And (hall we lend bale money, or mouldy bread to the Lord Againe, whenwe feed the godly poore, we feed Chrift himfelfe: ( Matb. 25. 35.4o.) and (hall we not feedChrift our Lord and Mafter with that which is good ? Mmes is a facrifice (Heb. 13. i6.) Now as the Lord did highly difguft it and Cooke it very ill at the hands of the Jewes when they offered the blinde, and lame, and ficke for facrifices; Is it not evt'(1 ( faith the Lord, (Mal. i. 8.) Offerit now unte thyGovernour , will he be plea¡ed with thee, or accept thy perlen ? Yea he adds (v. r4.) Curled be the Deceaver that bath in braflockea male, and voweth andfacrif- ceth unto the Lord a corrupt thing; for 1 am agreat King,faith the Lord ofhpfls. Now, I fay, as the Lord Cooke it ill, when the pro- per facrifices wereof corrupt things ; fohe will not take it well, when thefe metaphoricall facrifices are no better. Indeed if we 0 o o have ------- 465
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