Serm. XXXIX. of Covetoufnefs, 2,7.3 At the Great Day of Judgment, when we [hall appear before God, and, ac- córding to our Saviour's Reprefentation of the Proceedings; of that Day, (hall ,hear them thus Expo(tulating with Men-, Ilya, hungry, and ri ye óave me fick, and no Meat ye thir(iy, and ye gave me no drink ; prifon, andyevifited me not ; what would we then give, how much of our E- ftates, if we had them then at our Command, would we not be willing to part withal, to have that comfortable Sentence pail upon us ; Come ye bled ofmy Fa- ther, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you, before the foundation of the W,orld ! But if we - be found among thofe who would fpare nothing out of their a- bundance to any Charitable ufe and Purpofe, I have not the heart to tell you how miferable the Condition of filch Perlons will be, and how dread- ful a Doom will be paired upon them. It is afad Confideration, that there are forne Perlons in the World, who teem to beonly defe&ive in this Duty ; like the Young Man in the Gofpel, who lacked but this one thing to make him perfe& ; he bad kept the Commandments from his youth, and preferved himfelf from thofe grole Sins which the Law did plainly forbid ; and yet for want of this one thing he parted from his Saviour, and, for any thing we know, fell (bort of Eternal Life. There are many who are very devoutand Religiáus, much in Prayer and Fatting, and all the other frugal Exercifes of Piety, which colt them noMoney g but yet are very defe&i'e in Alms, and Charity, which in Scripture are fo frequently joyn'd with the Fa- ilings and Prayers of good Men; and by this Means, all their Devotion and Diligence in the other Parts of Religion is loft, and will not bring them to Heaven. And isit not great pity., that they who are not far from the Kingdom of God, fliould fallPort of it ? that they, who in molt other things bid fo fair for Heaven, (hould breakwith God upón this finglePoint ? I know Men have feveral ways todeceive their own Hearts, and to defend themfelves againft all thefe A(faults. Fir/t, They fay, they are injurious to no Man, in not being Charitable. And 'tis true, that in Humane Courts the Poor canhave no A&ion againft the Rich for want of Charity to them ; but yet for all that, they do injuriou(ly detain that which doth not of right belong to them. They are cruel and hard-hearted, and they are guilty of high breach of Trutt, in refpe& of God, whole Stewards they are, and who hath dealt'fo liberally with them in the Things of this Life, onpurpofe to oblige them to be fo to others. That which thou ftoreft up, without regard to the neceffities of others, is unlawfully detained by thee, finte God intended it fhould have been for Bread to the hungry, and Cloaths to the na- ked, and for helpand relief of thofe who are ready to perilh. For why art thou Rich, and another Poor ; But that thou mighteft exercife thy Charity' upon thofe fittingObje&s which the Providence of God prefents to thee. It had been cafte for God (fince the Earthis his, and the fulnefs thereof) fo to have contrived Things, that every Man fhould have had a fufficiency, and have been in a moderate Condition ; but then a great many Virtues would have been (hut out of the World, and loft, for want of opportunity to exercife them- Where thenhad been the Poor Man'sPatience, and the Rich Man's Pity ? and the contentednefs of Men of moderateFortune ? Secondly, Men fay that they have Children to provide for. And do fo in God's Name, for he allowsus to do it liberally ; but unlefs their Condition and Wealth fetthem above an ordinary Calling, do not chufe foto provide for them, as to take them off from all Employment, left you put them in the ready way to be undone ; havea Care of leaving them no other Bufinefs, but to fpend what you have left them ; if you do fo, they will in all probabilitydo that work very effe&ually, andmake as much hafte to be poor, as you did to make them rich. If Men couldbut be contented to do that which is heft . for their Children, they might doa great deal better for themfelves, by difpofing what they have to fpare inCharity. N n Thirdly,
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