Prudently.

The charitable man will also use as much prudence as circumstances will permit, to bestow his alms where most needed, and in such a manner as may do the receiver most good, and himself no injury. For if we do not manage our charities with prudence, we shall create neceffities by fupplying them, and multiply miferies by an unskilful endeavour to redress them; it is with alms as it is with eftates, where half doth confift in the difcretion of the owner; and charities distributed by a blind fuperftition, or a foolish pity, many times do more hurt than good. Or what harveft can the world reap from this precious feed of our alms, when they are scattered at all adventures, without any diftinction of the cultivated from the fallow ground; fo that the birds of prey, vagrants, drones and beggars, eat them up, whilst the modeft, impotent, and laborious poor are utterly unprovided for? We must not therefore be tempted, by the importunities of idle perfons, to prostitute our alms to their intemperance and floth. What a pity it is, that these good fruits of our charity should be thus abused, to pamper a company of vagrants, that wander from door to door; whilst many poor industrious families, that have more mouths to feed than hands to work, lie drooping under neceffities and want! And though the former are not to be altogether neglected, when their needs are really urgent; yet prudence will direct our charity to fuch perfons as have fallen from riches to poverty, and are lefs able to toil and drudge for bread; or to fuch as are worn out with labour, or disabled with fickness, or oppreffed with a numerous family. But first of all we are obliged to relieve our relations, and in all cafes to prefer the neceffities of those who have any dependence on us. The fame prudence will direct us to prefer thofe alms, which may serve for a conftant provifion, and put one in a fixed way of living, before those which are tranfient, which do juft hold him up from perishing for an hour, but do not take him out of the deep waters of affliction. And it is doubtless a prudent charity to contribute to the building and maintenance of publick workhouses for the poor, where they and their children may be provided with fuch work as they are capable of; and accustomed to induftry, and inabled to fupport themselves in fome future ftate of life. Prudent

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charity

charity gives its alms in kind rather than in value; gives cloaths to the naked, food to the hungry, phyfick to the fick, and books to the uninftructed; the benefit of this charity to the fouls of men appears at first fight; by this means they are instructed in the great points of the chrifiian belief, and acquainted with the feveral branches of their duty which relate to God, their neighbour and themfelves. When a book comes as a gift from their fuperiors, they are at firft pleased with it is as a mark of their favour, which engages them to read; and then, by the grace of God, the ferioufnefs of the matter, and the importance of the fubject, may feize upon their minds, and make them pious and devout chriftians. And therefore perfons of quality and eftates, if they have hearts and difpofitions to give good books to their fervants and tenants and the poor, particularly where their eftates lie, are undoubtedly capable of doing abundance of good; and by this method they become preachers of righteousness, and fecure to themselves a fhare with the authors in the reward of fuch performances. And,

As to the proportion of our charity, it is certain that almfgiving ought to be performed liberally and bounti

Liberally.

fully charity measures its alms, and proportions them to the neceflities it fupplies, not only to rescue the miferable, but to render them happy. Though I should give ten times less than one who hath ten times more, I fhould be as liberal as he, according to my ability: fo the widow's two mites are pronounced by our Saviour a more liberal alms than the rich man caft into the treasury; because he cast in of his abundance, but she of her penury: wherefore tho' it is impoffible to determine the meafure of our alms, because the measure of our abilities is so various, charity exacts that we fhould be liberal in proportion to our circumstances. Chrift hath not indeed fixed the proportions of any kind of charity: For circumftances vary fo infinitely, that general rules concerning fuch matters are impoffible. And this latitude should not give anxiety to any good mind: for we ferve a most equitable mafter. Neither should it give encouragement to bad minds; and make them imagine, that where nothing is afcertained, they may do juft as little as they please. For God will expect from every one what may be reasonably ex

2

pected

pected from them; and hath left this matter at large, not that we may fhew our backwardness to serve him, but our zeal. And though we may not be able to give alms to our neceffitous brother: yet if by representing his neceffities to others, who are able to relieve him; if by begging relief for him, which perhaps he is afhamed to do for himself, we can any way contribute to his fupport, we stand strictly obliged to it by charity; and this will be as acceptable to God, as the most liberal alms out of our own fubftance. Where the deed is impoffible, God accepts the will for it, and reckons all good works to our account, which he knows we would do, if it were in our power. So when he furnisheth us with means to relieve the neceffitous, he expects the deed, knowing that we cannot fincerely will the deed, if when it is in our power we don't do it; the neceffity of which deed, to shew the fincerity of the will, appears from that paffage where it is written: Whoso hath this world's goods, and feeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compaffion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? And fince God has not determined any thing concerning it, we must leave men, who beft understand their own condition, to the guidance of their own confcience and discretion, who In what are to confider what is requifite to the discharge of proportion.. their feveral obligations. For prudence doth not require of.. all the fame proportion of charity; but of every one according to their different circumstances and abilities: and chriftian prudence will direct us not to be partial to ourselves in ftretching our needs and conveniencies beyond their juft bounds, to fpare what may be decently spared from too many servants, idle meetings, unneceffary feafts, chargeable apparel, and diverfions: and if we thus fpare in our needlefs expence, and lay afide the remains for charity, the confequence will be this: the poor will be more plentifully relieved, and we more able to do it; and we shall reap more pleasure and profit from laying out upon the poor, than from wasting it on the pomps and vanities of this wicked world. When any miferable creature would borrow or beg of us, And manprudence will advise us not to turn him away with ner. fcorn, nor yet to remove him at a diftance with disdain or violence;

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[Sund. 12. violence; but if we fee reafon to grant him his request, to do it with an open hand, that fo the freedom of our charity may raise the comfort of it, and leave no fting in the mind of the neceffitous perfon. We ought not to opprefs the modesty of the humble, of those who have been wont to give and not to receive, nor to relieve them with lofty looks, or angry words, or a fevere behaviour; nor to expose their poverty by publishing our charity, or conveying it to them in the view of the world; but to hand our relief in such a secret and obliging manner, that they may receive it with chearfulness, without confusion and shame.

The reward

of almfgiving.

In fine, as giving of alms is a real expreffion of our love and gratitude to God, and our Saviour Chrift, God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love which ye have fhewed towards his name, in that ye have ministered to the faints, and yet do adminifter, fays the apoftle. He may defer, but he never forgets: you may fafely reckon that fo much as ye have beftowed in works of charity, fo much with increase ye have fecured in the hands of God; who will either return it in temporal bleffings, or repay it with intereft: think then what is incumbent on you in relation to these things. There are but two reasons, and they are both very bad ones, that hinder men from being charitable according to their power; either covetoufnefs makes them unwilling, or expensiveness makes them imagine they are unable. If the former influences you, confider well that your happiness for ever depends on doing your duty; but your happiness even here doth not depend on enlarging your fortunes. You may, if you will form yourfelves to it, enjoy great fatisfaction in doing good. But what felicity can you poffibly find, either in the consciousness of having, or the vanity of being known to have, ever fo much wealth more than you have any occafion for; And befides, if the enjoyment of man's life doth confift in the abundance of the things which he poffeffes, charity may often be fo contrived by prudence, as not to diminish wealth; and is often fo bleffed by heaven, as greatly to increase it. And if it be expensiveness that withholds you from charity, in this cafe alfo think with yourfelves, for what purpofe is it your maker hath intrusted you?

for

for vices and follies, or for pity and mercy? You may indeed plead, that luxury, by the numbers it employs, is perhaps the most extensive beneficence. But this is a poor pretence, evidently calculated to make yourselves eafy in acting wrong. Undoubtedly the wisdom of providence hath contrived, that many, who will do no good in any other way, fhall, however, do fome in this. But then it is ufually done to those who need it least. A number of perfons, well able to take care of themselves otherwife, are maintained part in idleness, and part in profeffions of no manner of ufe; whilft the true objects of compaffion, the infirm and helpless, are left unregarded to fuffer and perish. Luxury therefore contributes nothing to answer the intent of Chriftian charities. And even thofe it is pretended to provide for, it teaches at the same time to ruin themselves by the imitation of it. And in proportion as it prevails, it deftroys every where both virtue and happiness, public and private. Let therefore both the frugal and the expenfive man seriously confider; one, what proportion his charity bears to his increase; the other to his profufions: and each think of juftifying themselves, not to the world, but to God. Poffibly it may feem a good reason to fome, for their own neglect of the poor, that the law makes provifion for them: and it is certainly an honour to the law that it doth; but no honour to us, that it needs do it. Befides there are very many cafes of great diftrefs, to which legal provifion is neither eafily nor properly extended; nor can it give by any means fo plentiful relief, as should be given, to the greater part of those to whom it may extend. But fuppofe the law capable of doing every thing that need be done; what would be the confequence of leaving every thing to it? Then we should lofe intirely the means we have now, of proving to the world, and to ourselves, the goodness of our own hearts; and of making an undoubted free-will offering to God, out of what he hath given us. Perfons of bad minds may indeed take occafion to neglect the poor, from our willingness to relieve them: and thus by their fault, the burthen may fall heavier upon us than it ought. But then God, who hath intrufted us, not only in conjunction with others to do our share, but separately by ourselves to do what we can, is

not