mon, He that giveth unto the poor fhall never want. Men suppose that by hoarding and laying up ftill, they fhall at length be rich, and that by diftributing and laying out, although it be for moft neceffary and godly uses, they fhall be brought to poverty. But the Holy Ghoft, which knoweth all truth, teacheth us another leffon, contrary to this. He teacheth us that there is a kind of difpending that shall never diminish the stock, and a kind of faving that fhall bring a man to extreme poverty. For where he faith, that the good alms-man fhall never have Scarcity, he addeth, but he that turneth away his eyes from fuch as be in neceffity, shall fuffer great poverty himfelf. How far different then is the judgment of man from the judgment of the Holy Ghoft! The holy Apoftle Paul, a man full of the Holy Ghoft, and made privy even of the secret will of God, teacheth, that the liberal alms-giver fhall not thereby be impoverished. He that 2 Cor. ix. miniftereth, faith he, feed unto the fower, will minister alfo bread unto you for food; yea, he will multiply your feed, and increafe the fruits of your righteousness. He is not content here to advertise them that they fhall not lack, but he fheweth them alfo in what fort God will provide for them. Even as he provided feed for the fower in multiplying it, and giving great increase; fo will he multiply their goods, and increase them, that there shall be great abundance. And left we should think his sayings to be but words, and not truth, we have an example thereof in the first Book of Kings, which doth confirm and feal it up as moft certain truth. The poor widow that received the banished Prophet of God, Elias, when as fhe had but a handful of meal in a veffel, and a little oil in a crufe, whereof fhe would make a cake for herself and her fon, that after they had eaten that, they might die, because in that great famine there was no more food to be gotten: yet when he gave part thereof to Elias, and defrauded her own hungry belly, mercifully to relieve him, fhe was fo bleffed of God, that neither the meal nor the oil was confumed all the time while that famine did laft, but thereof both the Prophet Elias, fhe, and her fon, were fufficiently nourished and had enough. O confider this example, ye unbelieving and faithlefs covetous perfons, who difcredit God's word, and think his power diminished! This poor woman, in the time of an extreme and long dearth, had but one handful of meal and a little crufe of oil; her only fon was ready to perish before her face for hunger, and the herfelf like to pinę away: away: and yet when the poor Prophet came, and asked part, fhe was fo mindful of mercifulness, that the forgot her own mifery; and rather than fhe would omit the occafion given to give alms, and work a work of righteoufnefs, fhe was content presently to hazard her own and her fon's life. And you, who have great plenty of meats and drinks, great ftore of moth-eaten apparel, yea, many of you great heaps of gold and filver, and he that hath leaft hath more than fufficient, now in this time, when, thanks be to God, no great famine doth oppress you, your children being well clothed and well fed, and no danger of death for famine to be feared, will rather caft doubts and perils of unlikely penury, than you will part with any piece of your fuperfluities, to help, feed, and fuccour the poor, hungry, and naked Chrift, that cometh to your doors a begging. This poor and filly widow never caft doubts in all her mifery what wants the herself should have, she never diftrufted the promise that God had made to her by the Prophet, but ftraightway went about to relieve the hungry Prophet of God, yea, preferring his neceffity before her own. But we, like unbelieving wretches, before we will give one mite, we will caft a thousand doubts of danger, whether that will ftand us in any ftead, that we give to the poor, whether we should not have need of it at any other time, and whether here it would not have been more profitably beftowed. So that it is more hard to wrench a ftrong nail (as the proverb faith) out of a poft, than to wring a farthing out of our fingers. There is neither the fear nor the love of God before our eyes; we will more esteem a mite, than we either defire God's kingdom, or fear the Devil's dungeon. Hearken, therefore, ye mercilefs mifers, what will be the end of this your unmerciful dealing. As certainly as God nourished this poor widow in the time of famine, and increased her little store, so that she had enough, and felt no penury, when other pined away; fo certainly fhall God plague you with poverty in the midst of plenty. Then, when other have abundance and be fed at full, you fhall utterly wafte and confume away yourselves, your ftore shall be destroyed, your goods plucked from you, all your glory and wealth fhall perish; and that which when you had you might have enjoyed yourselves in peace, and might have bestowed upon other moft godly, ye fhall feek with forrow and fighs, and no where thall find it. For your unmercifulnefs towards other, ye fhall find no man that will fhew mercy towards you. You that had ftony hearts towards towards other, fhall find all the creatures of God to you ward as hard as brafs and iron. Alas! what fury and madness doth poffefs our minds, that in a matter of truth and certainty we will not give credit to the truth, testifying unto that which is moft certain! Chrift faith, that if we will firft feek the kingdom of God, and do the works of righteousness thereof, we shall not be left deftitute, all other things fhall be given to us plenteously. Nay, fay we, I will first look that I be able to live myfelf, and be fure that I have enough for me and mine; and if I have any thing over, I will beftow it to get God's favour, and the poor fhall then have part with me. na. See, I pray you, the perverfe judgment of men; we have more care to nourish the carcafe, than we have fear to see our foul perish. And, as Cyprian faith, whilst we stand in Sermon. de doubt left our goods fail in being over liberal, we put it Eleemofyout of doubt, that our life and health faileth in not being liberal at all. Whilft we are careful for diminishing of our stock, we are altogether careless to diminish ourfelves. We love Mammon, and lofe our fouls. We fear left our patrimony fhould perish from us; but we fear not left we should perish for it. Thus do we perversely love that we fhould hate, and hate that we should love; we be negligent where we should be careful, and careful where we need not. This vain fear to lack ourselves, if we give to the poor, is much like the fear of children and fools, which when they see the bright glimmering of a glass, they do imagine ftraightway that it is the lightning, and yet the brightness of a glafs never was the lightning. Even fo, when we imagine that by spending upon the poor, a man may come to poverty, we are caft into a vain fear; for we never heard or knew, that by that means any man came to mifery, and was left deftitute, and not confidered of God. Nay, we read to the contrary in the Scripture, (as I have before fhewed, and as by infinite teftimonies and examples may be proved,) that whofoever ferveth God faithfully and unfeignedly in any vocation, God will not fuffer him to decay, much lefs to perifh. The Holy Ghoft teacheth us by Solomon, that the Lord will not fuffer the foul of the Prov. x. righteous to perifh for hunger. And therefore David faith unto all them that are merciful, O fear the Lord, ye that be his faints, for they that fear him lack nothing. The lions do lack and fuffer hunger; but they which feek the Lord shall want no manner of thing that is good. When Elias was in Kings the defert, God fed him by the ministry of a raven, that evening xvii. evening and morning brought him fufficient victuals. When Daniel was fhut up in the lions' den, God prepared meat for him, and fent it thither to him. And there was the faying of David fulfilled, The lions do lack and fuffer hunger; but they which feek the Lord fhall want no good thing. For while the lions, which fhould have been fed with his flesh, roared for hunger and defire of their prey, whereof they had no power, although it were prefent before them, he in the mean time was fresh fed from God, that should with his flesh have filled the lions. So mightily doth God work to preserve and maintain those whom he loveth; fo careful is he also to feed them who in any state or vocation do unfeignedly ferve him. And fhall we now think that he will be unmindful of us, if we be obedient to his word, and according to his will have pity on the poor? He giveth us all wealth before we do any service for it: and will he fee us lack neceffaries when we do him true fervice? Can a man think that he that feedeth Chrift, can be forfaken of Christ, and left without food? or will Chrift deny earthly things unto them, whom he promiseth heavenly things for his true fervice? It cannot be therefore, dear brethren, that by giv ing of alms we fhould at any time want ourselves; or that we, which relieve other men's need, fhould ourselves be oppreffed with penury. It is contrary to God's word, it repugneth with his promife, it is against Christ's property and nature to fuffer it, it is the crafty furmife of the Devil to perfuade us it. Wherefore ftick not to give alms freely, and truft notwithstanding, that God's goodnefs will minifter unto us fufficiency and plenty, fo long as we shall live in this tranfitory life, and after our days here well spent in his fervice, and the love of our brethren, we fhall be crowned with everlasting glory, to reign with Chrift our Saviour in heaven: to whom with the Father and the Holy Ghoft be all honour and glory for ever. Amen, AN AN HOMILY OR SERMON CONCERNING The Nativity and Birth of our Saviour Jefus Chrift. AMONG all the creatures that God made in the beginning of the world most excellent and wonderful in their kind, there was none, as the Scripture beareth witness, to be compared almoft in any point unto Man, who as well in body as foul exceeded all other, no lefs than the Sun in brightness and light exceedeth every fmall and little ftar in the firmament. He was made according to the image and fimilitude of God, he was endued with all kind of heavenly gifts, he had no spot of uncleanness in him, he was found and perfect in all parts, both outwardly and inwardly, his reafon was uncorrupt, his understanding was pure and good, his will was obedient and godly, he was made altogether like unto God in righteoufnefs, and holiness, in wifdom, in truth; to be fhort, in all kind of perfection. When he was thus created and made, Almighty God, in token of his great love towards him, chofe out a fpecial place of the earth for him, namely, Paradise, where he lived in all tranquillity and pleasure, having great abundance of worldly goods, and lacking nothing that he might justly require, or defire to have. For, as it is faid, God Pfalm viii. made him lord and ruler over all the works of his hands, that he fhould have under his feet all sheep and oxen, all beafts of the field, all fowls of the air, all fishes of the fea, and use them always at his own pleafure, according as he should have need. Was not this a mirror of perfection? Was not this a full, perfect, and bleffed eftate? Could any thing else be well |