truest prudence, the most active zeal, and the tenderest humanity.

I proceed therefore now, with great satisfaction, from the duty of managing these charities well, to that of supporting them. And one way of supporting them is, by speaking of them with the esteem which they deserve. These public institutions, and some of them more especially, have had vehement accusations brought against them by many persons. But stay to enquire, and hear, before you condemn. You may possibly judge wrong, concerning what ought to be done: and you may very probably be misinformed, concerning what is done. Things which have happened very seldom, if at all, may be told as happening frequently. Mistakes corrected long ago, may be charged as continuing still. Inconveniences may be unjustly heightened: advantages unjustly depreciated. Should this be so; and should the things, against which you are declaiming, be all the while excellently good ones: think only, what harm you are doing to mankind. Perhaps indeed, nay certainly, they are not perfect. But are they not highly useful? Or if not, cannot they be made so? If they can, use your endeavours that they may. Shew a good meaning, and you will acquire an influence. But even should you after all be unsuccessful; still reflect a second time: is it not more eligible, that these institutions should continue as they are, than fall to ruin? For, supposing some better way might be contrived; is there any certainty, is there any prospect, of this better way being taken? And if not; never pull down, till you are likely to build again.

But affording good words alone to charity, is very

insufficient. As faithful stewards of the divine bounty, you must communicate of the wealth also, which is placed in your hands for that purpose; and minister, as of the ability which God giveth*. The importance of supporting these methods of doing good, so far as it appears from their general nature, you have already heard. But when you are acquainted also with their large and increasing extent, and their necessary dependence on new benefactions every year; these things will be weighty additional motives to your liberality: and I intreat your compassionate attention to the following report of them.

Here the report was read.

You have now heard the most forcible arguments, that you well can hear, for contributing plentifully to the charities before you. Eight hundred vagrants and disorderly persons, confined and employed, relieved and corrected, for their own reformation, and' your security: thirteen hundred poor children maintained, taught their duty to God and man, and qualified for usefulness to the public: thirteen thousand sick persons, of whom care hath been taken in their sickness. And these excellent establishments, you perceive at the same time, cannot subsist without continual help: though, would but your bounty af ford the means for it, they are capable of being greatly enlarged. Still a provision is wanted for multitudes of poor children: and no small part of them are either taught, or reduced, to get a livelihood by wickedness and dishonesty. Still too many offenders, of more advanced years, infest your streets. And a very large proportion of the sick, that apply to

1 Pet. iv. 11.

your hospitals, are forced to be rejected, and left in their misery, for want of room to receive them, or income to support them. 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 covetousness makes them unwilling; or expensiveness makes them imagine they are unable.

If the former influences you; consider 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 yourselves to it, enjoy great satisfaction in doing good. But what felicity can you possibly find, either in the consciousness of having, or the vanity of being known to have, ever so much wealth more than you have any occasion for? And besides, if the enjoyment of man's life did consist in the abundance of the things which he possessed*: charity may often be so contrived by prudence, as not to diminish wealth; and is often so blessed by Heaven, as greatly to increase it. I am sensible, that you have heard these things, till some of you perhaps have brought yourselves by degrees to be very little moved by them: but remember, God will expect, that having been reminded of them so frequently, you should regard them the more.

And if it be expensiveness, that withholds you from charity; in this case also think with yourselves for which purpose is it, that your Maker hath intrusted you? for vices and follies, or for pity. and mercy? You may indeed plead, that luxury, by the numbers it employs, is perhaps the most exten

* Luke xii. 15.

sive beneficence. But this is a poor pretence, evidently calculated to make yourselves easy in acting wrong. Undoubtedly the wisdom of Providence hath contrived, that many, who will do no good in any other way, shall however do some in this. But then it is usually done to those who need it least. A number of persons, well able to take care of themselves otherwise, are maintained, part in idleness, part in professions of no manner of use; whilst the true objects of compassion, the infirm and helpless, are left unregarded to suffer and perish. Luxury therefore contributes nothing to answer the intent of the charities before us. And even those, for whom it doth provide, it teaches at the same time to ruin themselves by the imitation of it. And in proportion as it prevails, it destroys every where, both virtue and happiness, public and private. But the numberless evils of this most fatal vice cannot be enlarged on now and if the very little good, which it doth, were very much more; yet, as no one will pretend to say, that this good was the motive to his expensiveness; it can never be a defence of it. We must not therefore think to make our extravagance an excuse for the defect of our alms; or hope in the least to mend our plea, by calling those things necessaries of life, which are indeed very blamable superfluities.

Let therefore both the frugal and the expensive man seriously consider, one, what proportion his charity bears to his increase: the other, to his profusions and each think of justifying themselves, not to the world, but to God.

Possibly it may seem a good reason to some, for their own neglect of the poor, that the law makes provision for them. And it is certainly an honour to the law, that it doth: but no honour to us, that it

needs do it. Besides, there are very many cases of great distress, to which legal provision is neither easily nor properly extended: nor can it give by any means so plentiful relief, as should be given to the greater part of those, to whom it may extend. But suppose the law capable of doing every thing that needs be done: what would be the consequence of leaving every thing to it? That we should lose entirely the means, which now we have, 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. Persons of bad minds may indeed take occasion to neglect the poor, from our willingness to relieve them ; and thus, by their fault, the burden may fall heavier upon us than it ought. But then God, who hath intrusted us, not only in conjunction with others to do our share, but separately by ourselves to do what we can, is not unrighteous to forget this our labour of love but will take abundant care, that whatever we bear cheerfully on his account, far from giving. us cause of complaint, shall assuredly be matter of great joy to us in the end.

Think then attentively of these considerations. They are not proposed to you, for raising a sudden warmth of affection, and serving a present turn it is to your coolest reason, that this address is made. Reflect in retirement on what you have heard. Act upon deliberate conviction, act from a settled principle, in what you do: from that sublime principle, to which St. Peter directs in the next verse after the text; that God may be glorified in all things, through Jesus Christ: that you may express to him your sense of the duty and gratitude, which you owe him;

* Heb. vi. 10.