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thou in thy Life receivedft thy good Things, and Lazarus evil Things; but now he is comforted and thou art tormented. Not that it is a Crime to be rich, or to have good Things in our Life; no, it is the inordinate Love of their Wealth (to which those that have it are too frequently prone) and their not imploying it to those Purposes of doing Good, for which it was given; it is thefe Things that bring thefe Curfes upon them, and really make it eafter, without an Hyperbole, for a Camel to go through the Eye of a Needle, than for a rich Man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, Luke 18. 25. Certain it is, there is no one Sin that can be named, doth more fatally exelude from Salvation than this we are fpeaking of. We never find the Prophets, or the Apoftles giving a Lift of those black Crimes that will involve all that are guilty of them in inevitable Deftruction, but we are fure to meet with Covetousness, and all the Attendants of it among them; as many Inftances might be given. Nay, fo great is this Sin of Uncharitablenefs, and not doing Good with our Wealth, that God in the final Sentence that he shall pass upon wicked Men, to their Condemnation at the laft Day, feems to take no notice of the other Sins, and Crimes of their Life, but only to cenfure them for Matt. 25. this. Thus we find, that when the King having gathered all Nations before him comes to pronounce the Sentence upon those on his Left-hand, who are thofe that are doomed to eyerlafting Fire; there is no men

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tion made of their Criminal Actions; they are not condemned for Fraud and Oppreffion for Unbelief and Irreligion, for Lewdnefs and Debauchery, tho' any of these be enough to damn a Man; but meerly for their not doing good, for their not relieving the Neceffitous, and exercising other Acts of Charity, when it was in their Power.

Since now, from thefe Confiderations, it doth appear how neceffary, how indifpenfable a Duty it is to do good with what we have, to be rich in good Works, to be ready to diftri bute and willing to communicate; let me, at this Time, charge all of you, that are rich in this World, as you would not be unthankful to your Benefactor, nor unjuft to your Neighbours; as you have any Piety towards God, or any Care of your own Souls, that you put it in Practice. And two Inftances of this great Duty, the prefent Occafion, and the Exigence of things, doth oblige me, more particularly, to recommend to you.

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The Firft, is the Bufinefs of the Hofpitals; the encouraging and promoting that Charity which the Piety of our Ancestors begun, and whofe Examples, their Succeffors have hitherto worthily followed, and of which we fee excellent Effects at this Day; for this we need no better Proof, than the Report given in of the great Number of poor Children, and other poor People maintained in the feveral Hospitals, under the Pious Care of the Lord Mayor, Commonalty, and Citizens of London, the Year last past.

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For these fo great Inftances of Charity what have we to do, but with all Gratitude to commemorate thofe noble and publick Spirits, that first began them; and with all Devotion to put up our Prayers to God, for all thofe now alive, that have been Promoters and Encouragers of fuch good Works; and Laftly, with all Cheerfulness and Diligence, to follow thefe Patterns, by liberally contributing to their Maintenance and Advancement. Thefe are the publick Banks and Treasuries, in which we may fafely lodge that Money which we lend out to God, and may from him expect the Intereft. O what Comfort will it be to us when we come to die, to be able to fay to ourselves, That Portion of Goods that God hath in his Providence difpenfed to me, I have neither kept unprofitably in a Napkin, nor fquander'd it away upon my Lufts; but Part of it I have put out towards the restoring my miferable. Brethren to the right Ufe of their Reafon and Understanding; Part of it to the amending Mens Manners, and from idle and diffolute Perfons, redeeming them to Vertue and Sobriety, and making them fome Way profitable to the Publick; Part of it for the healing the Sick, and curing the Wounded, and relieving the Miferable and Neceffitous; and laftly, another Part of it, towards the Educating poor helpless Children, in ufeful Arts for their Bodies, and in the Principles of true Religion for their Souls; that fo both in their Bodies and Spirits, they may be in a Capacity to

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glorify God, and to ferve their Country. These are all great things, and in which way foever of them we lay out ourfelves, we ferve excellent Ends of Charity.,

But there is another Point of useful pub lick Charity, which though the Occafion of this Meeting, hath nothing to do with it, yet the prefent Neceffity of the Thing doth oblige me feriously to recommend to you. There are few, I believe, in this City either ignorant, or infenfible of the extreme Numeroufnefs of Beggars in our Streets, and unless care be taken, their Number is likely to increafe; for this feems to be a growing Evil. I dare not lay the Fault of this, upon the Defectiveness of our Laws; nor dare I fay, that the Provifions made for the Poor, are incompetent and difproportionable to the Number of them; for, perhaps, the ufual publick Taxes, and private Free-will Offerings difereetly managed, would go a great Way towards the curing this Evil; fuppofing the richer Parishes to contribute to the maintaining the poorer. But here is the Mifery: we do not fufficiently diftinguish between our Poor; nor take care to make Provifions for them, according to their refpective Neceffities. There are fome, that by reafon either of old Age, or evil Accidents, are perfectly unable to earn a Livelihood for themfelves, or to be any way ufeful to the Publick, except by their Prayers and their good Examples; and to fee fuch go a Begging, is a Shame to our Chriftianity, and a Reproach to our Government. There

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are others that are fit to labour, and might prove useful Members of the Common-wealth many ways, if they were rightly managed: Now the true Charity to thefe, is not to relieve them, to the Encouragement of their Idleness; but to employ them, to put them into fuch a Way, that they may both maintain themselves, and help towards the maintaining of others; and if they refuse this, let them fuffer for their Folly; for there is no Reafon, that thofe fhould eat, that will not work, if they be able. A Neceffity therefore, there is, if ever this fcandalous publick Nuisance of common Begging be redreffed, that these Four Things be taken care of. 1. That those that cannot work, be maintained without Begging. 2. That thofe that can work, and are willing, have fuch publick Provi fions made, that they may be employed in one Way or other, according as they are capable, and every one receive Fruits of his Labour proportionable to his Industry. 3. That thofe that can work, and will not, be profecuted according to the Laws, as Rogues and Vagrants, and Pefts of the Kingdom. And, Laftly, after fuch publick Provisions are made for the maintaining both Sorts of Poor that are Objects of Charity; that is, the Helpless, and those that endeavour to help themselves; that all Perfons be exhorted and directed to put their private Charity in the right Channel, wholly withdrawing it from the lazy and the lufty Beggars, left they be thereby encouraged in their infamous

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