THis Epistle, whether wrote by S. Paul or S. Luke, was directed to the Hebrews; that is, to the Jews that were convert­ed to Christianity; and principally to those of Judaea and Jerusalem; who notwithstanding their Conversion, by reason of their weakness and infirmity, were for a season indulged the practice and observance of the Rights and Ceremonies of the Jewish Church; for which they retained so great an esteem and venerati­on, as if they still expected to be justified by them; and so did not as they ought to do, press on to that Spirituality and Perfection revealed in the Gospel, of which those Legal Ceremonies were at the best but Types and Shadows.

And therefore the principal design and drift of the Author of this Epistle is to shew, That Christ is the Substance and Foundation of the Ceremonial Law, which of it self, without relation to him, was of no [Page 4]value: but having fulfilled it in himself, the force and obligation of it was taken away; and that those Sacrifices and external Purgations, which were onely Shadows of things to come, were now to give place to the true meritorious Sacrifice of Christ himself, which he had offered up as a full Propitiation for the sins of the whole world. And therefore presses all along upon these converted Jews, that leaving those low and beggarly Elements and Institutions, they would persevere in the Faith of Christ, and in the Practice of the Gospel, which is the true and rea­sonable service of men, much more acceptable to God than the bloud of Bulls or Goats, or the whole Pa­geantry of the Legal Sacrifices.

And this particularly is the Argument he pursues in this last Chapter, of which my Text is a part; for in the tenth Verse he plainly says, We (that is, we Christians) have an Altar, whereof they have no right to eat, that serve at the Tabernacle: that is, that Christ the onely Christian Altar, to which we bring all our Christian Sacrifices, will not be beneficial to them that depend upon the Law of Moses; which he fur­ther exemplifies in the 11, 12, and 13 Verses; and then in the 15 Verse, the Verse immediately prece­ding my Text, tells them what sort of Sacrifice they should offer, not that of the Bodies of Beasts, but the true Christian Sacrifice of Praise and Thanksgi­ving, which they were not onely once, but continu­ally to offer up, in acknowledgment of the great power and goodness of God. By him therefore let us offer up the Sacrifice of Praise continually, that is, the Fruit of our Lips, giving thanks to his Name, Verse 15. And then in the words of my Text pro­ceeds [Page 5]to recommend another Christian Duty, which God will prefer before any Ceremony or Legal Sa­crifice, which is Beneficence and Liberality. To do good, and to communicate forget not, for with such sa­crifices God is well pleased.

Do good, that is, to others that need your assist­ance; as far as you can, endeavour to be beneficial to them. And communicate, that is more particularly, let those that want partake of your plenty, for the relief of their necessities. For with such sacrifices God is well pleased, that is, this is a Duty which God par­ticularly requires of you under the Gospel; the per­formance of which will be more acceptable to him, than any Sacrifices under the Law.

The subject of my ensuing Discourse from these words shall be to shew,

1. That acts of Beneficence and Charity are in a more peculiar way Duties of the Gospel.

2. Shew what further Encouragements there are for the performance of them, from the very nature of these Duties themselves in some particulars.

3. The Duty of those that are relieved by others Charity, in way of a more particular Application to this present occasion.

I shall begin with the first particular propo­sed.

1. That acts of Beneficence and Charity are in a more peculiar and eminent way Duties of the Go­spel.

If we consider the History of the Life of our Bles­sed Saviour, and the Precepts he delivers to the world in his holy Gospel, we may find it to be one of the principal Designs of his Incarnation, to mollifie [Page 6]the rough and churlish Dispositions of men; and in­stead thereof to restore the decayed Principles of Humanity and Goodness to their first perfecti­on.

And therefore he made choice of that mean and humble form in which he appeared when he was here upon earth, as that wherein he was most like­ly, with the best advantage to recommend those Principles, by which he designed to reform the cor­rupted manners of the world. And so though it was in his power, yet he took not upon him the State and Majesty of a King, he affected not Power and Empire, the great Idols of this world, but took upon him the form of a Servant, that so in that Dis­guise conversing familiarly with the meanest of the people, he might the better put in practice those Doctrines of Goodness and Charity he was to deli­ver to the world, and by his example also teach Mankind this Lesson, That men are born not for themselves, but for the benefit of others; and that it is much more desirable to be good than to be great.

And though the Jews were generally blinded with a false notion they had entertained, of a glori­ous and triumphant Messiah, who they fancied was to go out before them to Battel, (like Moses or Jo­shua) and subdue and conquer all their Enemies, Yet we find our Saviour himself laid down a quite different Character of the true Messiah, in the 11th. Chapter of Matthew, Verse 5. where after John the Baptist in Verse 3. had sent two of his Disciples to him to know, Whether he were the same that should come, or whether they should expect another; that is, whe­ther [Page 7]he were the Christ or no: he returns him one­ly this Answer in that 5th. Verse, Tell him (said he) what ye hear and see, that the blind receive their sight, that the lame walk, that the lepers are cleansed, that the deas hear, that the dead are raised, and the poor have the Gospel preached unto them. Thereby giving the true marks by which Christ the Messiah was to be known, viz. not by his Power and outward Greatness, but by the offices of Goodness and Kindness he was to do in the world, particularly to the Poor, to whom he was in an especial manner to preach the glad tidings of the Gospel.

The Son of man came not to be ministred unto, (as he says himself, Matth. 20.28.) but to minister, and to condescend to the meanest offices of Humanity and Kindness to the poor and the abject, which he per­formed with great compassion thoroughout the whole course of his Life.

This was his constant practice, as we find in the History of the Gospel, to which his Doctrine was exactly suitable. His Sermons and Discourses to the people were all to the same purpose: he did not en­tertain his Disciples with nice and high-flown Specu­lations, (according to the vain way of the Gentile Philosophers) which should onely amuse their minds with unprofitable and impracticable Notions, that tended to no real and substantial good: But his Do­ctrines were purely for the use and real benefit of mankind, for the establishment of Peace, and Love, and Kindness in the world; and for the restraining and curbing those immoderate Passions, which made men mischievous, or at best very uneasie to one ano­ther. His Law was the perfect Law of Love and [Page 8]Charity, according to the utmost extent in the great­est Comprehension that ever yet it was proposed to the world.

He commands us not onely to love our Neigh­bours and Friends, with whom we peaceably and amicably live in the same civil Society, but also that we love our enemies, and those that hate us. He com­mands us not onely not to revenge an injury (which was the highest strain any Philosophers ever reach'd to in their Principles, few so high in their Practice) but instead of evil to return good, to bless those that curse us, and to shew kindness to those that despitefully use us. He commands us to bestow our Charity, not at large to any persons we may have a fancy and in­clination to, but he particularly determines it to our very Enemies; If thine enemy hunger give him bread, if he thirst give him drink.

These are the Principles of Humanity and Good­ness, he has recommended to the practice of the world, refined and sublimated to the highest degree of Perfection, that Humane Nature is capable of. And thus we see how this Divine Law of Love and Cha­rity is pressed upon all Christians, both by the ex­ample and particular commands of our Saviour; so that the observance of it is not left to our liberty for a Free-will Offering, whereby we may superero­gate; but it is essential to true Christianity, without which we can in no wise pretend to be the Disciples of Christ.

We are not therefore to think (to apply this Dis­course more particularly to Charity, which I mainly design) with the selfish and churlish Worldlings, that whatsoever we can scrape together, (provided it be [Page 9]by means allowable by the Law) is presently all our own; and that when once we have got it into our clutches, we may dispose of it as we please. No man in this World is a Free-holder, and an absolute Proprietor, in respect of the Worldly Estate, which he possesses, but he has it from God, under some certain terms and limitations, who has made some Reserves, and allotted some Pensions that are to be paid out to the Poor and the Distressed.

The Rich are only Gods Stewards and Almoners, with whom he intrusts the Relief of their Necessitous Brethren. Now, if they spend the Portion of the Poor in Riot and Superfluity, or any other way di­vert it from the use it was designed, they are false to the Trust Almighty God has reposed in them; they oppress and defraud the Poor, and are upon the matter as Criminal as those that pick their Pockets, and rifle their Houses, for which their Great Lord will one day call them to a severe account.

And indeed, if the Gospel were silent, the com­mon Principles of Natural Reason and Equity would in great measure enforce this Duty. For can we suppose, that God, the Wise Creator and Go­vernour of all things, who regardeth not the high looks of the Proud, and is no Respecter of Persons, should be so favourable and partial to the Rich, and to the Great, as to bestow upon them such Plenty and Superfluity, without some Reservation, for the necessary Support, at least, of those who have the same Common Principles of Nature, and are equally the Workmanship of his own Hands.

Or, if Societies of men were joyned together meerly by compact, can we reasonably think that [Page 10]the meaner and lower sort of People should ever willingly consent, or quietly submit to so unequal, nay, so unjust an Establishment, as that which rai­seth some to so vast a height and greatness, whilst they themselves are destitute of the necessary sup­ports of Life, without remedy? Is it reasonable that the Head, and some other of the more Honou­rable Parts of the Body, should be filled with preti­ous Ointments and Perfumes, decked and adorned in the most costly and extravagant manner, while no care or regard should be had to the Feet and other viler Parts, which do the common drudgery of the Body, and are the chief support of the whole? No, there ought certainly to be a proportionable care for all the Members, because they partake of the same Nature, and perform their distinct functi­ons in the common offices of Life.

And so ought it also to be in Societies of men, the Rich, and the Powerful, and the Honourable, who are maintained and supported in their Great­ness by the Services of Meaner Persons, are obliged in way of just Recompence to take such under their care and protection, and out of their Superfluities, as often as occasion requires, make the low and mean Estate, to which the others quietly submit, for the sake of Order and Peace, to be as supportable and comfortable as is possible.

Now, if it be demanded in what way, or after what proportion this Charitable Relief is to be distri­buted to Persons in Want and Distress; I answer, it is to be done without any bounds or limitation, both for the Manner and the Measure, but such as Christian Prudence shall direct and determine. We [Page 11]ought, out of our greater Experience and Knowledge, to counsel and advise the Ignorant, with our Power to defend and protect the Innocent from Oppression, and with our Riches and Abundance to relieve the Wants and Necessities of the Poor and Indigent, with­out any determinate stint; but according to our Abilities, and according to what the Exigence of others may require. And in this Latitude and Ex­tent are these Acts of Beneficence and Charity, in a more peculiar way, Duties of Gospel: which was the first Particular.

But, besides this obligation of Duty, I shall, as I proposed, shew,

Secondly, The farther Encouragements we have to the Performance of these Acts of Beneficence and Charity, from their own nature: in that,

First, They are agreeable to the Principles of Hu­manity, and highly grateful to a Generous temper in the very Performance.

Secondly, They give us great satisfaction of Mind at the time of our Death.

Thirdly, They make us live in the World after Death, by perpetuating our Names and Memo­ries.

Fourthly, They lay a good and sure foundation for Everlasting Life in the World that is to come.

First, These Acts of Kindness and Charity are agreeable to the Principles of Nature, and highly grateful to a Generous Temper in the Perfor­mance.

However, Atheistical Persons, to make way for their false and impious Principles, think fit to scan­dalize Humane Nature, representing Men as Wolves [Page 12]and Tygres, and Beasts of Prey, prone to tear and devour one another, and at liberty to do it by their Natural Principles; yet this is an impudent and ma­licious Slander of their own and the Devils devi­sing, whereby God is dishonoured and Mankind abused.

The Law of Love and Charity, and Compassion, is the first and most Ancient Law, and has a direct foundation in Nature it self, being interwoven in the very frame and contexture of our Bodies; We are not hewn out of a Rock that is obdurate and insensible, but are made up of the softer and more relenting Principles of Flesh and Blood, which would incline us to be kind, merciful, and compassi­onate, were it not that Pride, Ambition, Lust, and Worldly-mindeclness (Creatures of the Devil) did by degrees corrupt and vitiate the true Principles and Inclinations of Nature, and choak those seeds of Humanity (which though oppressed) lye deeply rooted in every mans heart.

But to a good and generous Temper nothing is so grateful and voluptuous as to do Good, and discharge its Pity in some kind and charitable Office. Nature it self is powerful within, who with great Zeal in­tercedes in the behalf of the Poor and Afflicted, and to be sure, pleads heartily upon that Argument, be­cause she then pleads for Self, that she may thereby allay the Pain of her Compassion, and ease the di­stress of her own Bowels.

And surely any ingenious Person, that has been exercised in the Practice of this delightful Duty of Charity, will not esteem his Obligation to it to be any burden or heavy Imposition; but will chearfully [Page 13]and joyfully take the advantage of every Opportu­nity of performing it, for the very Pleasure and Sa­tisfaction of mind that attends it.

Now though this is an Entertainment with which few Worldlings and ill natur'd men are acquainted, yet to well affected Minds it is most pleasant, and the parting with Riches in such a way is much more delightful than either the getting or spending of them upon themselves.

The Pleasure of thus doing Good is far greater than that of receiving it. To relieve a Poor afflicted man in his Distress, and to rescue him from the Evils with which he was oppressed, is a God-like act, re­sembling that of the Creation, a Prerogative Roy­al of the Almighty communicated to poor mortal Creatures, whereby they become (what our first Pa­rents vainly affected by their Disobedience) even as Gods.

For he that is thus enabled to raise a poor forlorn Creature, that is destitute of Help, and give him Comfort (a new and an unknown thing to him) does, as it were, create such a man, and bring him out of Nothing, and he that relieves one faln from a prosperous State into Misery and Distress, raises him in a manner from the Dead, and endues him with a second Life.

Now what greater Dignity and Honour than this can Humane Nature be capable of? or what should more reasonably satisfie the utmost Ambition of men, than to be thus put in the Place of God himself, to be clothed with the Robes of his Royalty, and have the Signature of that Power, which is Divine, im­printed upon them? And thus we see how the Pra­ctice [Page 14]of this Duty of Charity, is both Delightful and Honourable, and every way agreeable to the Incli­nations of a great and generous Mind: which was the first Encouragement proposed, from the Nature of the Duty it self.

Secondly, as the Performance of these Duties of Kindness and Charity is highly agreeable and grate­ful to our Natures, so will the Reflection upon it give us great Consolation at the hour of Death.

And certainly there is nothing a man ought more to labour after, than that he may so frame his Life, that he may with Quiet and Confidence leave this World when God shall call him hence; and if he cannot attain to this, he can never esteem himself happy in any Condition whatsoever, because those sad apprehensions he will have at that last and dread­ful hour, if he be not thus prepared, will deface and utterly blot out the Remembrance of all the Joyes and the Pleasures of his former Life.

Now there is nothing does so cheer and revive a mans Spirit at his Death, (except the interest he ap­prehends in the merits of Christ) as the Reflection upon the Good he has done in the World in his Life time; then will his Alms and Oblations, and all the Offices of Kindness he has done, present themselves before him to his unspeakable comfort, and support his fainting and drooping Spirit, in that time of Na­tures great Distress. When the Remembrance of all worldly Felicity and Greatness will bring nothing along with it, but Torment and Vexation of Spirit. The Epicure will find then but little Comfort when he shall consider with himself, how he has spent the Portion of the Poor in Riot and Luxury, and [Page 15]pampered his Lusts with that which should have re­freshed their hungry Bowels.

The most Magnificent and Stately Monarch will not then be at all affected with the Pomp and Great­ness of his former Life, nor be pleased with the Re­membrance of those great and bloody Exploits, whereby he has made himself terrible to the Neigh­bouring Nations. Though he has conquered and subdued Kingdomes, and set up the Trophies of his Victories in every Place, yet what Comfort will all this give him, when he is at the point to die? Will the Plains strowed with the dead Bodies of his van­quished Enemies be a Scene of Delight to his distur­bed and disordered Fancy? or the Lamentation of Widows and Orphans, which his Sword has made, be musick in his Eares, and drive away the Melan­choly from his Heart, at that uncomfortable hour? No, the Memory of his former Oppressions and Cru­elties will then torment him, the frightful Ghosts of those thousands, which for his Lust, or his Ambiti­on, or his Avarice, he has murder'd and destroy'd, will stare him in the Face, and make dreadful Im­pressions upon his guilty and troubled Mind; and so he must needs leave the World in great Horrour and Confusion. But the good Deeds of the just Com­fort and refresh his Spirit, when he lies upon his bed of languishing, and so he surrenders up his Soul with Considence into the hands of God the Just and Righteous Judge. It pleases him then to think, that he has not been hurtful, nor altogether unprofitable to the World, having done something for the good of it before he left it; especially if he have contri­ved the settlement of his Charity to succeeding ages [Page 16]he may then be content and well pleased to put off mortality, and live in those Works of Piety he leaves behind; for the Design and End of his Life, having been only to do Good, he will easily be disposed to die willingly, when he knows he shall continue his doing of Good after his Death; he will without any Trouble part with Life, because he is to enjoy the true benefits of it, when he is dead, living more de­sireably this way, than in a natural Off-spring, where­by most men fondly imagine they perpetuate them­selves.

For the Affinity of Blood will soon be worn out, and what Concern and Interest has a man in a di­stant Posterity? besides, he knows not how soon it may degenerate and prove unworthy to inherit his labours; and this very Consideration cast a damp upon Solomon the wisest of men, in the midst of his Greatness, 2 Eccles. 18.19. I hated, said he, all the Labour I had taken under the Sun, because I must leave it to the man that shall be after me, and who knoweth whither he shall be a Wise man or a Fool? yet shall he have Rule over all my Labour wherein I have la­houred, and wherein I have shew'd my self Wise under the Sun.

But a man that does what good he can in his Life time, and then leaves the remainder of his Substance for an Inheritance to the Poor when he dies, satisfies himself, that what he leaves behind is disposed of to Pious uses, according to his hearts desire, and by this means he makes the most of this World, that is possible, enjoying it as much and as far as is consi­stent with this State of Mortality, and perpetuates his Memory to the best Advantage to succeeding [Page 17]Generations; which leads me to the third Encou­ragement proposed.

Thirdly, Acts of Beneficence and Charity do after the best and most honourable way perpetuate our Names and Memories to Posterity.

A good Name (says Solomon) is as precious Oyntment; and there is nothing which the more Ingenious part of mankind more earnestly affect, than a good Repu­tation, and to leave a fair remembrance of themselves and their Actions, to the Ages that are to come: but the greater part of men being blinded with Ambiti­on and Vain-glory, court a false Reputation, and pro­ject rather to leave a great than a good Name behind them.

In vain do great Princes think to perpetuate their Memories, by magnificent and stately Buildings of Stone or Marble, for Posterity to gaze on, which add nothing to their true Honour, but are rather Records and Monuments of their Pride and Vanity.

In vain do the great Troublers of the world en­deavour to be magnified in Story for their mighty Conquests, (a Gentile word in use amongst the great, whereby Murder and Robbery are expressed in a more civil and courtly manner;) for instead of that Glory and Renown they think to get, they bring (in the opinion of all good and vertuous men) a scandal and an everlasting infamy upon themselves.

For what are the great things they would have re­corded of them to posterity? that they have brought great Ruines and Desolations upon Mankind, depo­pulated great Kingdoms and Countries, and commit­ted Crimes and Barbarieties too great for Justice to take notice of. These are the worthy Atchievements they [Page 18]desire to have related, which are so far from doing them any Honour, that they are an eternal reproach to their Memories.

But the Actions of the just and good man, who en­deavours in his life-time to be beneficial to Man­kind, are as a sweet-smelling savour, his beneficence and charity perfume his memory to all Generations; he is remembred by the tokens of Goodness he has left behind him.

All good men will do him honour, as a great Benefactor to the World, rehearsing with praise and admiration the noble and generous Acts he did in his life-time; how kind, how good, how courteous, how bountiful he was; how he relieved the poor, protected the innocent, comforted the afflicted, and according to the utmost of his power advanced the happiness and prosperity of mankind.

Now such a Memorial as this is worthy to be re­corded to posterity, (much to be preferred before a long and vain Inscription in Marble or Brass, rela­ting a pompous story of bloudy Slaughters that have been committed.) This is the good Name that is the true and proper Portion and Inheritance of the Just, whereby he lives in the minds of the good and the vertuous, with whom his Memory is precious, and his Name honourable; which was the third En­couragement to this sort of good works.

Fourthly and lastly, these works of Charity lay a good and firm foundation for eternal life in the world to come, as the Apostle particularly declares in 1 Tim. 6. v. 17, 18, 19. Charge them (says he) that are rich in this world, that they be not high minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us [Page 19]all things richly to enjoy, that they do good, and that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to com­municate, laying up in store for themselves a good foun­dation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. Where S. Paul gives counsel and dire­ction, how the rich should lay out their wealth to-the best advantage and improvement, viz. that they should give it to the poor, and that thereby they would make the best sort of purchase, even a purchase of eternal life, and secure a Treasure in Heaven, where moths do not corrupt, and where thieves do not break tho­rough and steal; an Inheritance that is everlasting, that fadeth not away, that is eternal in the Heavens. So that we see the onely way to preserve our Riches is thus, to part with them; for what we keep we are forced to leave behind, but what we give away we carry along with us.

When Princes die, they cannot carry away their wealth, neither does any of their Pomp and their Glory follow them; Naked came they into this world, and naked must they return; they brought nothing with them, and 'tis certain they can carry nothing out.

But the good deeds of the just and compassionate man follow him into the other world; nay, rather they go before to prepare a place for him; and therefore our Saviour himself in Luke 16.9. gives us this advice, that in our life-time whilest we have op­portunity, we should make us friends of our unrighteous mammon, (so he calls the riches of this World) that so when we fail they may receive us into everlasting habita­tions.

By which we see, that the poor which we relieve if they belong to the houshold of saith, are so many [Page 20]Harbingers sent before, to open the Gates of Heaven, and to prepare a Place for us. They will then bear Testimonie of our Deeds of Charity towards them in their Distress, before God and his Holy Angels; upon which Deposition of Theirs our Saviour, the Just and Righteous Judge, will pronounce that com­fortable Sentence, in the 15 Mat. v. 35. Come ye blessed of my Father, and inherit the Kingdom prepared for you before the Foundation of the World, for I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a Stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in Prison, and ye came unto me. For verily I say unto you, in as much as you have done it to these, you have done it unto me; enter therefore into the Joy of your Master.

And thus have I dispatched also the second gene­ral Head proposed, the Encouragements that are for the Performance of this Duty of Charity from its Nature and Effects, thorough the whole Course and Progress of it. The Practice of it is pleasant to us whilst we live; the Remembrance of it comfortable when we die; the History of it is honourable to our Me­mories after Death; and besides all this, it layes a firm Foundation for everlasting Life in the World that is to come.

It now only remains that I proceed to the third and last thing proposed, briefly to shew what are the Duties of those that are or have been relieved by others Charity, as a more particular Application to this Assembly. I shall instance in these two fol­lowing Particulars.

[Page 21]1. There is required Commemoration of the Kindness thus received.

2. An hearty Endeavour to answer the Designs and Intentions of it.

1. There is required a grateful Commemoration of the Kindness and the Charity thus received.

And this is a return which Nature it self and the common Principles of Gratitude dictate to all men: He that can receive a Kindness, and not be at all sen­sible of it, is a Monster of Barbarity, unfit to con­verse with Mankind, and unworthy to receive any Offices of Humanity. And therefore the least and lowest Degree of Acknowledgment we can make is to be heartily [...]ffected with it, and upon all Occasi­ons endeavour to preserve and revive the memory of our Benefactors, and that charitable Assistance we have received from them.

And certainly in a more special manner all that any way relate to this noble and ample Foundation, have abundant Reason to magnify the Goodness of God, for that plentiful Provision he has made for them by the pious Charity of our munificent Foun­der, whose Memory we this Day celebrate, upon which occasion our hearts ought to be enlarged with a grateful Sense of those great Mercies God has conveyed to us by his means.

You that are of the younger sort are to consider with your selves, how great Obligations you have to a Pious Gratitude upon the account of those great Blessings you receive in this Place; here are you nourished and bred up with that care, as if you were in your own Fathers Houses; with that Indulgence to your tender Age, as if you were still under the [Page 22]wings of your Mothers: Here are many of you re­scued from the sad and grievous pressures of Pover­ty, and the dreadful effects of it; and delivered from the Calamities of a low and a base Fortune, and the Temptations to which it usually exposes men to. All things are here provided for your comfortable Sub­sistence, without any Care or Pains of your own; you are fed as the Young Ravens to which our Savi­our alludes, Luke 12. v. 24. you only open your Mouths, call upon God, and are filled with good Things. You neither spin nor toil, but are clothed as the Lillies of the Field, and what is far more valu­able than all this, you have means afforded you of an ingenious and virtuous Education.

Your tender natures are seasoned with early Prin­ciples of Piety and good Literature, whereby (if you are not wanting to your selves) you may be fitted for future Imployment, in your several wayes, to the Honour of God, the Credit of the Founder, the Comfort of your Parents, the good of the Church, and the Service of your King and Country. All which great and signal Mercies cry aloud to you for a grateful Acknowledgment.

And you that are old and Gray-headed, are un­der no less Obligations.

Consider with your selves how happily you may pass your declining age in this Place, if you duly im­prove those Opportunities you do enjoy. You have here a safe and quiet Retreat, from the Cares and and the Troubles of Life, being free from the noise and Buzzle of the World, and at perfect leasure to compose your minds and fit your selves for your ap­proaching end. Death many times comes upon [Page 23] other men at unawares, whilst they are in the hurry of business, and engaged in a hot and eager pursuit after Worldly projects, which makes him more dread­ful when he appears; but certainly, those in your state of Life can never be surprized by Death, be­cause you have nothing else to do, but to expect him; and by staring him continually in the face, his visage must needs become less terrible unto you. In the mean while, you have nothing to di­sturb your minds or distract your thoughts, but are at liberty wholly to apply your selves to the Service of God, to make your peace with him, and pa­tiently expect and wait till your great change come.

You are passed over the troublesome and tempe­stuous Sea of this World, and are arrived at an har­bour of Rest, where all things are calm and quiet, from whence you may look out and see the World round about you in Confusion and Distraction, and every one (as in a great storm) tumbling and tossing up and down, not knowing where to find any Secure and Resting Place; whilst You enjoy Peace, and Ease, and Retirement; a state of Life which the greatest Monarehs have envied, and have resigned their Crowns and Empires, and stript them­selves of all their Worldly glory, that they might only secure to themselves before their death, some few such happy and quiet hours as you enjoy: and therefore ought you also be seriously and thankfully affected for all those Advantages you receive from the hand of God, let your hearts be filled with Thanksgiving, and your mouths with his Praise; Yea, let all both Young and Old joyn together in [Page 24]consort, singing Hallelujah and Anthems of Praise to the Name of the most High, whose Goodness is infi­nite, and whose Mercies are over all his Works. But,

Secondly, A bare Acknowledgment is not suffici­ent; there is a farther duty required of those that live upon Charity, which is, that they answer the designs and intentions of their Benefactors, by living according to the Rules prescribed them, and by ma­king Improvements answerable to the Encourage­ments they do receive.

And therefore (to apply this more particularly) the younger sort here ought with all possible dili­gence and industry, to endeavour to improve them­selves in Learning, and Piety, and Good manners; for which purpose so Liberal a Maintenance is al­lowed.

And the Aged ought to sequester themselves from the World, at least from the Cares, the Lusts, and the Vanities of it, and attend carefully and constant­ly upon the Service of God and all holy Duties, that so living soberly, godlily, and circumspectly, they may be in a continual readiness and prepara­tion to expect the summons of Death, which they are daily to look for.

And all others of us, who have at any time par­took of the same Bounty, ought to esteem our selves as great Debtors to the Publick for what we have this way received; we are not to think we are at our own disposal, but that we are bought with a Price and purchased, to be a People zealous and studious of good works. Which if we neglect, we are high­ly ungrateful and unjust to our Founder; none of [Page 25] his Children, but Usurpers upon others rights, and who have robbed the Heirs of his Family of their In­heritance.

Let us therefore all of us labour by all means pos­sible to discharge our selves of this Obligation, by being some way more than ordinary serviceable to God and the Publick, that so we may give encou­ragement to persons piously disposed, by the good effects of other mens Charity, to the like practise of it themselves.

This is our Duty in general, more particularly we that have been bred up upon the same common stock of Charity ought, first, to preserve love and union amongst our selves; secondly, we ought to be humble; thirdly, we ought to be charitable to o­thers.

1. We are more particularly obliged to preserve love and union amongst our selves.

For our pious and charitable Founder having pas­sed by his own Family, and adopted us for his Chil­dren, we thereby become Brethren, as being the joynt Heirs of our common Father; and therefore we ought to retain the Memory of this Relation: and however we may be disposed of, and dispersed a­bout in the World, we ought to carry the Sense of it about with us where ever we are, as a Character and Impression that is indeleble, the effects of which we ought to manifest upon all occasions, as opportu­nity offers it self, by all expressions of kindness and good will one to another.

Secondly, The remembrance of that charitable Re­lief we have received ought to keep us humble.

Be ye clothed with humility, saith S. Peter, 1 Pet. 5. v. 5. Where he recommends Humility to all Christians, not as a loose thing, which they may take up, and lay aside again at pleasure, but as their clothing, which is always to be upon them, as a necessary Co­vering to their Nakedness. Now if every Christian ought to be clad with humility as a garment, we must wear it as a Livery, as a signal and peculiar Badge, whereby we are to be distinguished from all others, and known to belong to the Houshold of Cha­rity.

Men that have been born to great Honours and Ti­tles, and have had all along a continued and uninter­rupted stream of Prosperity flowing in upon them, without being beholding to others for it, are per­haps under a temptation sometimes, (though it ill become them) to despise others, and overvalue them­selves: but when men of low and mean beginnings, who have been lifted up by degrees to a higher sta­tion, by the charitable assistances of others, shall for­get themselves and their Benefactors, and with the rest of the vain world be puffed up with high and arrogant conceits of themselves, they expose them­selves to the scorn and derision of Mankind: For as Pride is not seemly in any, so in them is it con­temptible and ridiculous. They ought to look down into the Pit from whence they were taken, and re­member that their Foundation was in the dust, the reflection upon which ought to keep them low in their own eyes, and check their lofty Imaginations and teach them the more proper Lessons of Modesty and Humility; which was the second particular.

Thirdly, And lastly (to bring this discourse back [Page 27]again to the immediate Subject of the Text) Having been relieved by Charity our selves, we are theerby more particularly obliged to be charitable to others, as God shall enable us.

For as Charity is a Duty in all, so in us it is a debt, and what we have received in our need from others, we are to refund in some measure to those that are in the like Condition.

How can we turn away our Faces from the Poor, and shut up the Bowels of our Compassion against them, when we consider what plentiful Almes we have received our selves, without which, perhaps, many might have been in as low and forlorn a Con­dition as these that implore their Pity. Such a re­flection upon our selves, and our former Condition, ought to encline us to Commiserate the Distresses of others; and this is an argument God urges upon the Israelites, in a case not unlike this, Levit. 19.34. Re­member, (sayes he) to be kind to the Stranger that dwells among you, and love and cherish him as your own People, for ye were also Strangers in the Land of Aegypt.

To conclude, therefore considering what we have received, we ought to abound in every good Work, especially those of Kindness and Charity, which are expected at our Hands as an offering of Thankful­ness, for the Mercies we have by the same means en­joyed. And so let us take the Advice of my Text and the Words immediately preceding to our selves Verse, 15.16. Let us offer up the Sacrifice of Praise to God continually, the fruit of our Lips giving Thanks to his Name; And to do Good and communicate, let us not forget, for with such Sacrifices God is well pleased.