praise and magnify him for ever: to whom, with his blessed Son, the great Mediator and Prince of peace, and with his holy Spirit, the everflowing spring of all love, joy, comfort, and peace, be all honour, glory, and praise. And, The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Futher, Son, and Holy Ghost, be among you, and remain with you for ever. Amen. SERMON XXXI.* THE DUTY AND REWARD OF BOUNTY TO PSALM CXii. 9.-He hath dispersed, he stitute him pious, and signally declareth him such: is a necessary ingredient of his piety, and a conspicuous mark thereof. But particularly they insinuate some things concerning the nature, the matter, the manner, and the object of those acts. He hath dispersed, he hath given. Those words being put indefinitely, or without determining what is dispersed and given by him, may be supposed to imply a kind of universality in the matter of his beneficence; that he bestoweth whatever he hath within compass of his possession, or his power; his τὰ ὑπάρχοντα (the things which he hath), and his rà ia (the things which he may), according to the prescriptions of our Lord in the Gospel. Every thing, I say, which he hath in substance, or can do by his endeavour, that may con duce to the support of the life, or the health, or the welfare in any kind of his ex-neighbour, to the succour or relief of his indigency, to the removal or easement of As this whole Psalm appears to have a his affliction, he may well here be underdouble intent; one to describe the proper stood to disperse and give. Feeding the actions and affections of a truly religious hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the or pious man (of a man who feareth the sick, entertaining the stranger, ransomLord, and delighteth greatly in his com- ing the captive, easing the oppressed, commandments :)" the other to declare the hap-forting the sorrowful, assisting the weak, piness of such a man's state, consequent instructing or advising the ignorant, togeupon those his affections and actions, whether with all such kinds or instances of bether in way of natural result, or of gracious recompense from God: so doth this verse particularly contain both a good part of a pious man's character, and some considerable instances of his felicity. The first words (He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor) express part of his character; the latter (his righteousness endureth for ever, his horn shall be exalted with honour) assign instances of his felicity. So that our text hath two parts, one affording us good information concerning our duty, the other yielding great encouragement to the performance thereof; for we are obliged to follow the pious man's practice, and so doing we shall assuredly partake of his condition. These parts we shall in order prosecute, endeavouring (by God's assistance) somewhat to illustrate the words themselves, to confirm the truths couched in them, and to inculcate the duties which they imply. For the first part, He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; these words in general do import the liberal bounty and mercy which a pious man is wont to exercise; doing which doth in good part con This Sermon was preached at the Spital, upon Wednesday in Easter-week, A. D. 1671. • Verse 1. neficence, may be conceived either meant directly as the matter of the good man's dispersing and giving, or by just analogy of reason reducible thereto: substantial alms, as the most sensible and obvious matter of bounty, was (it is probable) especially intended, but thence no manner of expressing it is to be excluded; for the same reasons which oblige us, the same affections which dispose us to bestow our money, or deal our bread, will equally bind and move us to contribute our endeavour and advice, for the sustenance and comfort of our poor neighbour. Answer ably our discourse will more expressly regard the principal matter, liberal communication of our goods; but it may be referred to all sorts of beneficence. Further, the word dispersed intimateth the nature of his bounty, in exclusion of practices different from it. He disperseth, and is therefore not tenacious, doth not hoard up his goods, or keep them close to himself, for the gratifying his covetous humour, or nourishing his pride, or pam pering his sensuality; but sendeth them abroad for the use and benefit of others. doth not fling them away altogether, as He disperseth his goods, and therefore b Luke xii. 33; xi. 41. if he were angry with them, or weary of them, as if he loathed or despised them; but fairly and softly with good consideration he disposeth of them here and there, as reason and need do require. He disperseth them to the poor, not dissipateth them among vain or lewd persons in wanton or wicked profusions, in riotous excesses, in idle divertisements, in expensive curiosities, in hazardous gamings, in any such courses which swallow whole all that a man hath, or do so cripple him, that he becomes unable to disperse any thing: our good man is to be understood wisely provident, honestly industrious, and soberly frugal, that he may have wherewith to be just first, and then liberal.* His dispersing also (or scattering, so the Hebrew word here used is otherwhere rendered: There is, saith the Wise Man, that scattereth, and yet increaseth: where we may remark, that this word singly by itself, without any adjunct matter to limit or interpret it, is used to signify this kind of practice. This his dispersing, I say, also) denotes the extent of the pious man's bounty, that it is very large and diffusive, and in a manner unrestrained; that it reacheth to many places, and is withheld from no persons within the verge of his power and opportunity to do good. This practice commonly by a like phrase (unto which perhaps this word refers) is termed sowing: He (saith St. Paul) which soweth sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall also reap bountifully. Now, he that soweth, having chosen a good soil, and a fit season, doth not regard one particular spot, but throweth all about so much as his hand can hold, so far as the strength of his arm doth carry. It is likewise called watering: (He that watereth, saith Solomon, shall be watered himself:) which expression also seemeth to import a plentiful and promiscuous effusion of good, dropping in showers upon dry and parched places; that is, upon persons dry for want, or parched with affliction. So the good man doth not plant his bounty in one small hole, or spout it on one narrow spot, but with an open hand disseminates it, with an impartial regard distils it all about. He stints it not to his own family or relations; to his neighbours, or friends, or benefactors; to those of his own sect and opinion, or of his humour and disposition; to such as serve him, or oblige him, or please him; whom some private interest ties, or some particular affection endears him to; but scatters it indifferently and unconfinedly toward all men that need it; toward mere strangers, yea, toward known enemies; toward such who never did him any good, nor can ever be able to do any; yea, even toward them who have done evil to him, and may be presumed ready to do more.† Nothing in his neighbour but absence of need, nothing in himself but defect of ability, doth curb or limit his beneficence. In that guia (that proclivity and promptitude of mind) which St. Paul speaketh of, he doth good every where: wherever a man is, there is room for his wishing well, and doing good, if he can: he observes that rule of the Apostle, As we have opportunity, let us do good unto all men. So the pious man hath dispersed. It follows, He hath given to the poor. These words denote the freeness of his bounty, and determine the principal object thereof: he not only lendeth (though he also doth that upon reasonable occasion; for, A good man (as it is said before in this Psalm) showeth mercy, and lendeth; and otherwhere, The righteous is ever merciful, and lendeth; he, I say, not only sometimes willingly lendeth) to those who in time may repay, or requite him; but he freely giveth to the poor, that is, to those from whom he can expect no retribution back. He doth not (as good and pious, he doth not) present the rich:‡ to do so is but a cleanly way of begging, or a subtile kind of trade; it is hardly courtesy; it is surely no bounty; for such persons (if they are not very sordid or very careless, and such men are not usually much troubled with presents) will, it is likely, overdo him, or at least will be even with him in kindness. In doing this, there is little virtue; for it there will be small reward. For, If you do good to them who do good to you (or whom you conceive able and disposed to requite you,) i xas, what thanks are due to you? For that (saith our Saviour) even sinners (even men notoriously bad) do the same: And if you lend to them from whom you hope to receive, what thanks have you? For sinners even lend to sinners, to receive as much again.' All men commonly, the bad no less than Ἐὰν ἴδῃς τινὰ κακῶς πάσχοντα, μηδὲν περιεργάζου λοιπὸν ἔχει τὸ δικαίωμα της βοηθείας, τοῦ κακώς παθεῖν αὐτόν· τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐστι, καν Ελλην, και 'Loudatos.-Chrys. in Heb. Orat. 10. Qui diviti donat, petit. He that giveth to the rich shall surely come to want,-Prov. xxii. 16. 1.2 Cor. viii. 12,-Ubicunque homo est, ibi beneficio locus est. Sen. de Vit. B. cap. 24; Gal. vi. 10; 2 Cor. ix. 13. Psal. cxii. 5. h Psal. xxxvii. 26. Luke vi. 33, 34. the good, are apt to be superfluously kind in heaping favours on those whom fortune befriends, and whose condition requires not their courtesy; every one almost is ready to adopt himself into the kindred, or to screw himself into the friendship of the wealthy and prosperous: but where kindred is of use, there it is seldom found; it is commonly so deaf, as not to hear when it is called; so blind, as not to discern its proper object and natural season (the time of adversity, for which a brother is born.) Men disclaim alliance with the needy, and shun his acquaintance; so the Wise Man observed, All the brethren of the poor do hate him; how much more do his friends go fur from him ? k Thus it is in vulgar practice: but the pious man is more judicious, more just, and more generous, in the placing of his favours; he is courteous to purpose, he is good to those who need.† He, as such, doth not make large entertainments for his friends, his brethren, his kindred, his rich neighbours; but observes that precept of our Lord, When thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee; thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.' Thus the pious man giveth, that is, with a free heart and pure intention bestoweth his goods on the indigent, without designing any benefit, or hoping for any requital to himself; except from God, in conscience, respect, and love to whom he doeth it. It may be also material to observe the form of speech here used in reference to the time: He hath dispersed, and he hath given; or, He doth disperse, he doth give (for in the Hebrew language the past and present times are not distinguished:) which manner of speaking may seem to intimate the reality, or the certainty, and the constancy of his practice in this kind; for what is past or present, we are infallibly secure of; and in morals, what one is said to have done, or to do, is always understood according to habit or custom. It is not, He will disperse, he will give; that were no fit description of a good man; to pretend to, would be no argument of piety; those words might import uncertainty, and delay in his practice. He that saith, I will give, may be fallacious in his professions, may be inconsistent with his resolutions, may wilfully or negligently let slip the due season • Όταν δ' ὁ δαίμων εὖ διδῶ, τι καὶ ὅλων, Ἀρχεῖ γὰς αὐτὸς ὁ Θεὸς ὠφελεῖν θέλων. Eur v. in Orest. Τῶν εὐτυχούντων πάντες εἰσὶ συγγενείς. † Εὖ πράσσι· τὰ φίλων δ' οὐδὲν, ἤν τις δυστυχῇ Eurip. Prov. xix. 7, 4. J Prov. xvii. 17. 1 Luke xiv. 12, 13, 14. | of performing it. Our good man is not a Doson, or Will-give (like that king of Macedon, who got that name from often signifying an intention of giving, but never giving in effect;) he not only purposes well, and promises fairly for the future, but he hath effectually done it, and perse veres doing it upon every fit occasion. He puts not his neighbour into tedious expectations, nor puts him off with frivolous excuses, saying to him (as it is in the Proverbs) Go, and come again, and to-morrow I will give," when he hath it by him: he bids him not have patience, or says unto him, Depart in peace," when his need is urgent, and his pain impatient, when hunger or cold do then pinch him, when sickness incessantly vexeth him, when present straits and burdens oppress him; but he affordeth a ready, quick, and seasonable relief. He hath dispersed, and given, while he lives, not reserving the disposal of all at once upon his death, or by his last will; that unwilling will, whereby men would seem to give somewhat, when they can keep nothing; drawing to themselves those commendations and thanks, which are only due to their mortality; whenas were they immortal, they would never be liberal: No; it is, he hath freely dispersed; not an inevitable necessity will extort it from him; it cannot be said of him, that he never does well, but when he dies; so he hath done it really and surely. He also doth it constantly, through all the course of his life, whenever good opportunity presents itself. He doth it not by fits, or by accident, according to unstable causes or circumstances moving him (when bodily temper or humour inclineth him, when a sad object makes vehement impression on him, when shame obligeth him to comply with the practice of others, when he may thereby promote some design, or procure some glory to himself), but his practice is constant and uniform, being drawn from steady principles, and guided by certain rules, proceeding from reverence to God, and good-will toward man, following the clear dictates and immutable laws of conscience. Thus hath the pious man dispersed, and given to the poor: and let thus much suffice for explicatory reflection upon the first words. The main drift and purport of which is, and mercy to be the necessary duty, the to represent the liberal exercising of bounty † Επεκλήθη δὲ Δώσαν ὡς ἐταγγελτικὸς μὲν οὐ τελεσιους γὰς δὲ τῶν ὑποσχέσεων.—Plut. in Paulo Emil. Avarus, nisi cum moritur, nil recte facit.— Laber. Prov. iii. 28. "James ii. 16. ordinary practice, and the proper charac- | he thus speaks: Wherefore, O king, let my ter of a truly pious man; so that perform-counsel be acceptable unto thee; break off ing such acts is a good sign of true piety; and omitting them is a certain argument of ungodliness. For the demonstration of which points, and for exciting us to a practice answerable, I shall propound several considerations, whereby the plain reasonableness, the great weight, the high worth and excellency of this duty, together with its strict connection with other principal duties of piety, will appear. And first, I will show with what advantage the holy scripture represents it to us, or presses it upon us. thy sins by righteousness, and thy iniquities by showing mercy to the poor."* This he culled out as of all pious acts chiefly grateful to God, and clearly testifying repentance; and, so very impious a person was alms able to justify, says the Father thereupon.† So also, when God himself would declare what those acts are which render penitential devotions most agreeable to him, and most effectual, he thus expresseth his mind: Is not this the fast which I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thine house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Of so great consideration and moment was this sort of duties, even under that old dispensation of weakness, servility, and fear; so much tenderness of compassion and benignity did God exact even from that hard-hearted and worldly people, who were so little capable of the best rules, and had encou ragements, in comparison, so mean toward performances of this nature. The same we may well conceive, under the more perfect discipline of universal amity, of ingenuity, of spiritual grace and goodness, in a higher strain, with more force and greater obligation to be imposed on us, who have so much stronger engagements, and immensely greater encouragements to them. And so indeed it is: for those precepts delivered by our Lord, Sell all that you have, and give alms; If thou wilt be perfect, sell all that thou hust, and give to the poor; Give to every man that asketh thee; Treasure not up to yourselves treasures upon the earth,' do indeed sound high, but are not so insig nificant or impertinent. They cannot sig nify or design less, than that we should be always, in affection and disposition of mind, ready to part with any thing we have for the succour of our poor brethren; that to the utmost of our ability (according to moral estimation prudently rated) upon all occasions we should really express that disposition in our practice; that we are exceedingly obliged to the continual exercise of these duties in a very eminent de* Τὰ; ἁμαρτίας σου ἐλεημοσύναις λύτρωσει so the 1st Head of Discourse.-1. We may consider, that there is no sort of duties which God hath more expressly commanded, or more earnestly inculcated, than these of bounty and mercy toward our brethren: whence evidently the great moment of them, and their high value in God's esteem, may be inferred. Even in the ancient law, we may observe very careful provisions made for engaging men to works of this kind, and the performance of them is with huge life and urgency prescribed: Thou shalt not harden thy heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother.—Thou shalt open thy hand wide unto thy brother, unto thy poor, and to thy needy in the land. So did Moses, in God's name, with language very significant and emphatical, enjoin to the children of Israel. The holy prophets also do commonly with an especial heat and vigour press these duties, most smartly reproving the transgression or neglect of them; especially when they reclaim men from their wicked courses, urging them seriously to return unto God and goodness, they propose this practice as a singular instance most expressive of their conversion, most apt to appease God's wrath, most effectual to the recovery of his favour. Wash you, saith God in Isaiah, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do well. So in general he exhorts to repentance: then immediately he subjoins these choice instances thereof: Seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, then he adds, let us reason together: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. When Daniel would prescribe to king Nebuchadnezzar the best way of amendment, and the surest means of avert-p ing God's judgments impendent on him, Isa. i. 16, 17. 4 Isa. i. 17. • Deut. xv. 7. 11. 18; Jer. vii. 5, 6. LXX. render those words, reading, it seems, for † Ναβουχοδονόσος τὸν τοιοῦτον ἀσεβῆ. ἴσχυσεν ἡ ἐπεν μα Gun dizainoa.- Athan. ad Antioch. Quæst. 87. Dan. iv. 27. Isa. lviii. 6, 7. Luke xii 33: vi. 30; xi. 41; Matt. xix. 21; vi. 19. gree. These indeed were the duties which ་ 2. It is indeed observable, that as in every kind that which is most excellent doth commonly assume to itself the name of the whole kind; so among the parts of righteousness (which word is used to comprehend all virtue and goodness) this of exercising bounty and mercy is peculiarly called righteousness; so that righteousness and mercifulness (or alms-deeds), the right. eous and bountiful person, are in scripture expression ordinarily confounded, as it were, or undistinguishably put one for the other; it being often, when commendations are given to righteousness, and rewards promised to righteous persons, hard to discern, whether the general observance of God's law, or the special practice of these duties, are concerned in them. Likewise works of this nature are in way of peculiar excellency termed good works; and to perform them is usually styled, to " 2 Cor. vi. 10. Rom. xii. 13; Gal. vi. 10; Heb. xlii. 16; Coloss. iii. 12; Eph. iv. 32; 2 Cor. viii. 7. Tim. vi. 17, 18. * Tit. iii. 8. | do good, and to do well; (áyatòv igyáḥsotaı, καλὸν ποιεῖν, ἀγαθοεργεῖν, ἀγαθοποιεῖν, εὐποιεῖν, gys are words applied to this pur pose ;) which manners of expression do argue the eminent dignity of these perfor mances. 3. We may also consequently mark, that in those places of scripture where the divine law is abridged, and religion summed up into a few particulars of main importance, these duties constantly make a part: so when the prophet Micah briefly reckons up those things which are best in the law, and chiefly required by God, the whole catalogue of them consisting but of three particulars, mercy comes in for one: He that showed thee, O man (saith he), what is good: and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Likewise of those (Barige vou, those) more substantial and weighty things of God's law, the neglect of which our Saviour objecteth as an argument of impiety, and a cause of wo, to those pretending zealots, this is one· Wo unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; for ye pay tithe of mint and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith. The sum of St. John the Baptist's instruction of the people is by St. Luke reduced to this point: The people asked him, saying, What shall we do? He answering saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise, St. James's system of religion is this: Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this; to visit the fatherless and widʊw in their affliction (that is, to comfort and relieve all distressed and helpless persons), and to keep himself unspotted from the world. St. Paul seems to be yet more compendious and close: Bear ye (saith he) one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." Yea, God himself compriseth all the substantial part of religion herein, when, comparing it with the circumstantial part, he saith, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice. 4. It is in like manner considerable, that in the general descriptions of piety and goodness, the practice of these duties is specified as a grand ingredient of them. In this Psalm, where such a description is intended, it is almost the only particular instance; and it is not only mentioned, but Acts ix. 36; 1 Tim. v. 10; vi. 18; Tit. iii. 8, 14; 2 Cor. ix. 8; Gal. vi. 9, 10; Luke vi. 35; Heb. xiii. 16 James i. 27. |