'Non est in carendo difficultas, nisi cum fuerit in possidendo cupiditas.' Et alibi, Pauperiorem se judicat abundans; quia sibi deesse arbitratur, quicquid ab aliis possidetur: toto mundo eget, cujus non capit mundus cupiditatem.'

6. If you are crucified to the world, let us see it by your improving all for God, and not employing it to the pleasing of your flesh.

Use all that you have as men that must be accountable for them. Remember that you receive them from your master for his use. Resolve therefore so to expend and employ them, as may most further his service. Look about you, and see what good is to be done, and then consider, how far you are furnished and enabled to do it; and accordingly lay out the talents which you are entrusted with. Seek after such work; and do not stay till it be brought to your hand. If you love Christ indeed, methinks you should not stay for an invitation to do him service, nor should you need that men come begging to you to awaken your charity, when you know before that it is a charitable and necessary work that is before you.

Two sorts of persons I would especially direct this advice to: First, To the rich and powerful in the world. Secondly, To all that are professors of religion.

For the first sort, let them consider, that their riches are snares to them, and will prove a certain means of their damnation if they devote them not to God. Tithes, and oblations, and first fruits were devoted to God under the law; but all is expressly devoted to him under the Gospel: which was expressed by the primitive Christians selling all, and laying down at the apostles' feet: for as immortality is brought to light more abundantly in the Gospel; so also is the means of obtaining it, and the duty which we owe to him that giveth it. And as grace and truth came by Jesus Christ, and the greatest mercies are revealed by the Gospel; so the greatest holiness comes by Christ, and the greatest obligations are laid on us in the Gospel; especially to selfdenial, and a hearty devoting ourselves and all we have to God. I beseech you observe the distinction which Christ useth, (Luke xii. 21.) between laying up riches to yourselves, and being rich to God, and how dreadful the application is. If almost all your riches be expended on yourselves and yours, or laid up in store as for provision for your flesh, it is plain

then that you"lay up riches for yourselves," and so are concluded by the sentence of Christ among the miserable fools that are there described. But if you are rich to God, you will study to improve your riches for God, and often bethink yourselves which way they may be employed to his greatest service. He that cannot spare his wealth for the service of his Redeemer, and the good of his brother, and the furthering of his own salvation, is very far from being crucified to the world.

2. And it is not only the great ones that have need of this advice, but all in their places that are entrusted with God's mercies. Think not yourselves excused from the works of charity, because you have but one talent: for one talent must be proportionably improved as well as ten, or else you will be condemned as unprofitable servants. People of the lower rank do commonly think that God requireth nothing of them, but to receive what others give them, and to labour for themselves; and when they have reviled sufficiently at rich men for worldliness, they often shew themselves as worldly, by denying their mites, and by unmercifulness to those that are poorer than themselves, as the richer do by denying their larger proportions.

The scarcity and defectiveness of charitable works with all sorts of men, from the highest to the lowest, even those that seem more forward in verbal devotions, do shew us too evidently how common hypocrisy is, and how few are entirely devoted to God, and what a bewitching and blinding thing the world is. They that think a man utterly ungodly that doth not in the length and life of his duties go much beyond the common sort of men, do never judge themselves ungodly for not exceeding them in works of charity. In acts of piety and worship, they (justly) think, that they should not only set apart one day in seven to be wholly employed herein, but also a considerable part of every day in the week, besides their holy meditations which they mix with their common works. But how few are they that will allow God such a proportion of their estates, as besides their daily works of charity upon ordinary occasions, to devote also a seventh part entirely to his service! Though all cannot do this, yet many shall see when their eyes are opened, that they should have done more. For aught I see, the charitable works of the richest, and of too many professors of the

greatest piety, are too like the pious actions of the ungodly; even seldom, and by the halves, and lifeless, and to little purpose. As the ungodly will drop, morning and night, a formal, seeming, heartless prayer, upon the by, while their minds are another way; and if you urge them to any higher and costlier devotion, instead of obeying they will cavil against it, and put it off with vain excuses, and say, 'God doth not require this of us, because we are not learned, and because we have our necessary labours to look after.' Even so many rich men, and seemingly religious, will drop now and then a penny or an alms to the poor, and give upon the by some inconsiderable pittance, which costeth them but little, and doth no great good; but if you urge them to any greater works, you will have excuses enough, and reasonings against their duty, but little of performance. Then they have families to provide for, and their estates are but small, and God doth not require this at their hands. I wonder when God will speak so plain, for abounding in good works, as that hypocrites and worldlings will be able to understand him. This voluntary deafness is not remedied by speaking loud; nor will the common eye-salve cure him that is wilfully blind he is always an unprofitable scholar that hateth his book. If God had spoken but the hundredth part as much in favour of their worldliness and tenacity, as he hath done against it, they could soon have heard, and easily understood it. If Paul do but tell some covetous persons, that cast their poor widows on the church for maintenance, that were of their near kindred, that "they are worse than infidels, if they will not provide for their own families, or kindred;" (1 Tim. v. 8.) these worldlings can find an excuse for their tenacity from such a text as this, which was meant to rebuke it: and when they have driven on a trade of worldliness, and scraped for themselves and children all their lives, and never done any considerable works of charity, they can quiet their consciences by the misapplication and abuse of such a text. They that have money to feed their pride, and revenge, and lusts, have little for God, in any good work: they will sooner spend sixpence in an alehouse than give a groat to the poor. They that have ten, or twenty, or a hundred pounds to spend in a lawsuit for revenge or covetousness, have not half so much to give to charitable uses. They will see all supposed conve

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niences provided for themselves, before they will supply the necessities of others. And what thanks is it to them to shew their poor brethren the charity of a swine, that will leave that to others which he cannot eat himself. And yet there are multitudes that will not use this bestial charity, because their own flesh and posterity are an insatiable gulf, that swallow up all. And what they cannot use, they will lay up for provision, lest their lust should be extinguished for want of fuel; and when their flesh hath had its fill, they may leave the rest behind them, that their children may live in golden fetters, and be gulled of their salvation, and enticed from God as well as they. Is not that man's belly his god, that will bestow a more costly sacrifice on his belly than he will do on God? If God command, and his ministers request, they are most frequently denied. If Christ require it, and his members need, and perhaps crave it, they are denied; but if the back and the belly crave, they are seldom denied. God saith, "To do good and to communicate forget not; for with such sacrifices I am well pleased;" Heb. xiii. 16. And he cannot be heard, nor will they please him at such rates. The flesh saith, To pamper and provide for me forget not; for with such sacrifices I am well pleased;' and it is quickly heard, and no cost or labour seems too dear. We may see where men's hopes and hearts are, by their adventures. Surely you take that for the chiefest pearl, which you are willing to give the most for! When you can lay out so little upon heaven, and so much upon your flesh, it appears which it is that indeed you most esteem. A pack of belly-gods there be in the world, that will spend more in one year in excess upon themselves, even in gluttony and drunkenness, than they will give in two years to the relief of them that need. Yea, some that would be loath to give in a twelvemonth so much to the poor, as they will spend at one feast in the entertainment of their like; or so much as they will venture on one horse-race, or one game at dice, or cards, or bowls. But these are not they that I have now to deal with; and therefore I shall speak to them in the preface more fully. It is those that confess they have all from God, and that have verbally devoted all to him again, and profess themselves entirely his servants, that I have now in hand. And with such, one would think a few words might serve, to persuade them to

lay down all at his feet, and to give to God the things that are God's. I do not urge you to pine your flesh, nor starve your children, nor to deal unmercifully with either. But consider impartially in the fear of God, whether you make an equal distribution; and when you have cast up what your flesh hath by the year, and what is laid up for the like uses for the future for yourselves and yours, and then what God hath in pious and charitable works, bethink yourselves whether you deal wisely or honestly with him; and whether this which you allow, be all that he this way requireth or expecteth.

But I suppose some ungodly, malicious hearts will make an ill use of all that I say, and will think with themselves, 'This toucheth the professors of religion. They are as covetous as any, and under pretence of long prayers do devour widow's houses; after all their preaching and praying, there are none that are more cruel and close-handed, or ready to overreach and deceive than they; nor any that are more greedy for the things of the world.'

In answer to this objection, I shall first say somewhat to the professors of religion, and then shall speak to the objectors themselves.

1. You that profess the fear of God, take notice I beseech you of this accusation, and though it may shew you cause to pity malicious slanderers, yet let it provoke you to search your hearts and lives, and see that you give not cause for this reproach. As for those worldly, time-serving hypocrites, which in all places creep in among the saints, and do but serve themselves of Christ, let them know that God will one day require an account at their hands, of all these scandals which they have caused in the church, and the ruin of poor ungodly souls that are dashed in pieces, and cast themselves into hell, by stumbling at this stone which their worldly practices have laid before them. If you would needs be worldlings, you were better have kept in the world among worldlings, than to have crept into the church of Christ, and brought thither your scandalous, worldly lives, to the dishonour of that religion which condemneth your practices and you. Did not Christ warn you to count your costs, and never to dream of being his disciples, unless you could forsake all and follow him under the cross, in expectation of a promised treasure in heaven? Is there any thing

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