THE TRUE FRIEND, Or, A BILL OF EXCHANGE, EXPRESSED IN A SERMON PREACHED AT WHITEHALL: Upon Sunday the XIII. of December, Anno Domini, 1629. By JOHN DOWLE, Doctor of Divinity, and his Majesty's Chaplain. Luke 11. 40, 41. Date eleemosynam, & ecce omnia munda sunt vobis. Give alms of such things as you have, and behold all things are clean unto you. LONDON, Printed by W. I. for Nicholas Bourne, at the South Entrance of the Royal Exchange. 1630. TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE, WILLIAM, Earl of Pembroke, Lord high Steward of his Majesty's Household, and of his most Honourable Privy Council, Chancellor of the University of Oxford, Knight of the Noble Order of the Garter. ALthough I can justly challenge no interest in your Lordship's favour; yet your Lordship may claim any fruit of my studies as your due, especially this Sermon, which was at first conceived in that famous University, whereof your Lordship hath for many years been the Honourable Chancellor, and now brought forth before that most Honourable Household, of which your Honour is right worthily the high Steward. And beside, that small Inheritance which God of his goodness hath given me, for the preservation of me, and mine, I do enjoy under your Lordship, and am by that likewise obliged to do your Honour and yours all faithful service. God and men know, that both your Lordship, and your most Noble Ancestors have severally acted that charitable part, which here I advise others to do, so that this discourse of mine which shall be their direction, is Pembroke's History; which being by you continued to the end, as you have begun, your Lordship in the end of your days shall receive the end of your hope, and of this discourse, and be received into everlasting habitations. Such shall ever be the prayer of Your Lordship's most humbly devoted JOHN DOWLE. LUKE XVI. Chap. IX. Verse. Make you friends of the unrighteous Mammon, that when ye shall fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. THE Parable is of the unjust Steward, the Text is the conclusion of the Parable: in the winding up whereof our Saviour (blessed for ever) taught his Disciples then, and doth us now, (although it be by an ill precedent) how we may all very well provide for Eternity. For the Steward, whether he was Saint Paul before his conversion, as Theophilus, Bishop of Antioch would have him; or the Devil, abusing those great gifts he had received from God, to others condemnation, as Gaudentius thought; or the jews sitting in the Tents of Shem, as Tertullian would make him: Whether he be only the Richman, or only the Statesman, or only the Churchman, or rather Every man to whom any charge is committed by God, (as the Doctors have severally given their opinions) I list not here to dispute, as deeming it not much to our present purpose, to know what he was; sure I am he was bad enough, and yet not so bad neither, but that our Saviour picks good out of him; and by his care for the world, doth as it were chalk us out a way to eternal happiness. 'Tis true, what ever he was, a filthy dunghill he was, full of corruption; and yet Christ that just One scrapes a pearl out of him; a toad he was, full of poison, and yet the great Physician draws a precious stone out of his head: For although his heart be not right either towards God, or Man, yet his brain serves his own turn well enough; for, (if you mark him) though he hath neither arms to dig, nor a face to beg, yet he hath no will to want neither; live he must, and if it may be no other way, it shall be by his wit; and for this is he commended in the Gospel, Quia prudentèr agit, non quia fraudulentèr, sithence he would live dishonestly, yet he would carry it cleanly, handsomely; and thus he will do it: The debtor that oweth his Master an hundred measures of oil, shall take his bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty; and he that oweth an hundred measures of wheat, shall write down but fourscore, and this he will do, verse 4, that when he hath lost his office, and is cast out of his Master's doors, Recipiant, They may receive him into their houses; So I say unto you, saith our Saviour, Make you friends, Learn of him. Had it been, Discite à me, Matth. 11. 29. Learn of me, it had been an admirable precedent; nay had it been but, Go to the Pismire, Prov. 6. 6. I should never have marveiled, for she would teach us honest providence; or had it been, Inspicite in volatilia caeli, Mat. 6. 26. Look upon the fowls of heaven, for they know their seasons: or, Observate lilia agri, ver. 28. Learn of the lilies of the field, it had not been strange neither, for they would teach us confidence; but learn of him? Can there come any thing that good is from one so evil as he? any thing worthy a child of God, from a son of Belial? any thing beseeming a religious imitation, from a man of this world? Yes, for I tell you, he, and such as he, are in their generation wiser than the children of light; therefore I say unto you, Learn of him. What to do? To make you friends. How? Of the unrighteous Mammon. Why? That when you shall fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. The Text then, you see, is a Bill of Exchange, sent from one Country to another, an exchange of earthly riches which we possess here, for heavenly friends which we make us hereafter; one whereof shall be better to us at the last, than all our pelf: for when our bodies shall fall to dust from whence they came, these shall carry up our souls into Abraham's bosom: or to keep the words of my text, That when we shall fail, they may receive us into everlasting habitations. The first word in my text is Quid, what you must do; and that hath counsel full of Christian policy, Facite vobis amicos, Make you friends: the second is the Cuius, or the matter whereof, De Mammona iniquitatis, Of the unrighteous Mammon: the third is the Cui bono, to what end all this? That when you shall fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. So that what Saint Paul made the law to his Galatians, that Christ jesus hath made this Gal. 3. 24. steward to us, a Schoolmaster to bring us to God: Make ye friends. In brief, the Steward taketh care before hand for hereafter, that when he hath lost his office, and is cast out of his Master's house, he may be received into other men's: so I say unto you, Learn of him, do you provide whilst you may, that when, your houses of clay, your bodies shall crumble, and fall to dust, from whence they came, your souls may be received into everlasting habitations. First, Facite vobis amicos, Make you friends. And that I think is good counsel at any time, I am sure it is that which you Courtiers bestow most of your time about, but if ever this advice of our Saviour's were more seasonable than other, questionless it is now, when charity is grown so cold, that it is even as hard to find true friends, as true faith on earth, because we are they, on whom the end of the world is come, 2 Tim. 3. 2. in which saith Saint Paul, Men shall be lovers of their own selves; therefore, Facite vobis amicos, Make you friends. Now, if ever david's Salvum Psal. 12. 1. me fac, Help Lord, help, may be sung most seasonably, For there is scarce one godly man left, the faithful are all minished from among the children of men, they talk of vanity every one with his neighbour; Verse 2. they flatter with their lips, and dissemble with their double heart, saith the Translation, but that is very short; Leu veleu is the original, they dissemble with a heart and a heart; as if now men had two hearts, one in their bodies to treasure up their meanings for themselves, and another in their tongues, to deceive others: & therefore I say unto you, Make you friends. I am sure you have Enemies enough, you should make you friends. The Devil first, he is your grand Enemy, and you are oftentimes, quasi in faucibus, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, even in the jaws of that roaring Lion, which goeth about seeking still whom he may devour; then Make you friends. He is the Prince of this world, able enough to do you mischief, yea and Legion too, & many ways he hath to undermine, to overthrow you: therefore I say, Make you friends. Then your flesh which you bear about you, and so pamper every day, as if she were one of your best friends, is your close Enemy too, take heed of her; nay there's a traitor at home, your own heart, like a snake in thy bosom, is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can know it? 〈…〉. 17. 9 Jer. 17. 9 And therefore, Make you friends. Again, If ye love me, saith 〈…〉. 15. 19 our Saviour, and if ye love one another, the world will hate you too; Then make you friends. Nay there are whole armies of petty Enemies, which serve under these grand ones, but I cannot stand to muster them up now; you know them yourselves, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Look about you, Heb. 3. 12 beware of them; Make you friends. When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his Enemies to become his friends, Prov. 16. 7. Prov. 16. 7 And certainly as it is a great argument of God's favour, so it is an high point of Christian policy, for a man to make his enemies to become his friends. Surely your riches, if they be the riches of unrighteousness, (as for the most part they are) they are your foes: For it is very hard, saith our Saviour, for a man that is laden with them, to enter into the Kingdom of God. Oh therefore (my dear brethren) I say unto you, now be wise, even when you may: Make you friends of the unrighteous Mammon, that your enemies, even they which of themselves would press you down into that bottomless pit, may be by you so well employed now, that they may hereafter receive you into everlasting habitations. Facite vobis amicos, Make you friends. You say very well, it is very good counsel that you give, & we are willing to follow it; but who are those friends you so commend unto us? These friends of ours, saith one, are the comfortable thoughts Theophylact in loc. which shall be in our minds, at the hour of death, for the right bestowing of the riches which God had lent us here; quando pusillo animo simus, When we should with the terror of death be amazed, or, as the word is in the Text, Quum defecerimus, when our bodies are even now falling to the earth from whence they came, these good and happy thoughts of ours, as our best friends, may wait upon our souls into their everlasting habitations. To this end, Saint chrysostom in one of his Homilies excellently compares well-doing Hom. 7. de paenitens. here, to Noah's Dove, in Gen. 8. 11. She goes forth from Gen. 8. 11. Noah whilst the waters are on the face of the whole earth; but in the Evening she returns, and lo an Olive leaf in her mouth: Even so, saith he, while a man lives here, he is tumbled and tossed in the Sea of this world, veluti dolorum diluvio circundatum, even ready to be swallowed up; but yet in the end of his days, at his death, his well-doing, his innocency, instar columbae, like an harmless dove, cometh home to him with an Olive branch in her mouth, bringing the peace of God, and the peace of a good conscience, cheering up his drooping soul, with some such friendly and comfortable thought as this, Thou hast kept thine Innocency, and taken heed to the thing that was right; and I have brought thee peace at the Psa 37. 38 last. Saint Ambrose makes the Lib. 7. in Luc. cap. ult tom. 5. friends that are here commended unto us, to be the holy Angels of God in Heaven; for those we make our friends too, (saith he) when out of the bowels of compassion, we bestow any thing to relieve the necessity of our poor brethren here below. Saint Augustine will have De Verb. Dom. Ser. 14. these friends of ours to be Sancti Dei, the Saints of God, who are made our friends likewise by works of mercy towards our brethren: The Saints here, and the Saints above: the Saints here we make our friends, when they, seeing our good works, do glorify Mat. 5. 16. our Father which is in heaven; when they are led on by our good example, to do good to others: and the Saints above likewise, who by the good they did here, have already eased themselves of that heavy burden, which might have pressed them downwards and velut pennati, with the silver wings of faith and devotion, are gone up to heaven, where they expect, and desire us, the members of the Church militant, to dwell with them in everlasting habitations. Lastlie, Amici, the friends spoken of here in the Text, are, saith Haymo, Pauperes, the poor on earth, quos Deus permisit egere, ad illorum purgationem, et nostram probationem; Whom almighty God hath suffered to be in want here, for the trial of their patience, and the exercise of our charity: And this way indeed runs the stream of the modern Interpreters But me thinks, without wrong to any, we may be bold to join all these together; (and should we leave out any of these, we might peradventure miss our best friends when we have most need of them:) and certainly by works of mercy, by deeds of charity to the poor, we endear them all unto us, we make them all our friends; our own Thoughts become friendly unto us; the holy Angels in heaven, the blessed Saints of God, the prayers of the poor on earth; and, which is more than all the rest, we make God himself our friend too; for He that giveth unto the poor, dareth unto the Lord, and look what he layeth out, it shall be paid him again Pro. 19 17 Prov. 19 17. Lay up therefore thine alms in the bosom of the poor, and he shall pray for thee, Ecclesiast. 29. 15. Ecclesiast. 29. But that's Apocrypha: Is it so? then, Blessed be the man that provideth for the sick and needy, the Lord shall deliver him in the time of trouble: I Psal 41. 1 am sure that's no Apocrypha; that is Psal 41. verse 1. The ordinary Exposition of Facite vobis amicos, Make you friends, is, Date eleemosynam, Give alms: And indeed, saith one, Christ Jesus would insinuate Lyra in loc. nothing else here, but that we should give part of our goods to the poor. Date eleemosynam, saith our Saviour, et ecce omnia munda Luk. 11. 41 sunt vobis; Give alms of such things as you have, and behold all things are clean unto you. Date eleemosynam, Give alms? Why? that doctrine, aswell as the practice of it, is almost forgotten; the divinity of justification by faith alone, misunderstood by the people, like one of Pharaohs lean kine, hath clean devoured this fat one: For who is he? and where is he? (to our everlasting shame be it spoken) that so often taketh care to fill the empty belly of a poor Brother, as he makes preparation to feast his rich Neighbour? No: Hospitality the Mother, and Almes-giving the Daughter, left the world both together; Now there is no plague to that of giving, nor any folly comparable to that of charity. But I say unto you, if you will be happy in heaven hereafter, Make ye friends here below, give alms, learn of the children of this world; do not they give an hundred for a time, that they may gain ten; and wilt not thou lend one, that thou mayst gain a thousand? Let my counsel, saith Daniel Dan. 4. 27. to the King of Babylon, be acceptable unto thee, break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor: and it is agreeable with that of Christ, Sell that ye have, and give alms, provide yourselves Luk. 12. 33 bags which wax not old, and a treasure, which (when you fail on earth,) shall never fail you in heaven above. Well, the truth is, I could be contented to be more charitable than I am, and to give more alms than I do, but that I see my charity many times abused, and my penny that I give with a good meaning, misimploied; I pray you therefore, How shall I give alms, and to whom? The Wiseman hath given thee admirable direction for this duty in few words, Mitte panem Eccles. 11. 1 tuum super aquas transeuntes, etc. Cast thy bread upon the waters, and after many days thou shalt find it: Mark it well, for every word beareth his weight. First, it is not Da, but Mitte; not Da, a thing utterly given away, but Mitte, a thing sent abroad, like an adventure at Sea, which shall another day return to thee again with great advantage. secondly, when thou givest, it must be Panis, Bread, saith Solomon, not a stone; when thy brother asks, thou shouldest give him an alms to fill his belly, not a reproach to break his heart. My Son, make not an hungry soul sorrowful, neither vex a man in his necessity, take heed thou trouble not the heart of him that is Ecclesiast. 4. 2, 3. grieved already, Ecclesiast. 4. 2, 3. Thirdly, when thou givest bread, it must be De pane tuo, of thine own bread; Cast thy bread upon the waters, and Break to the hungry of thine own bread, and bring the poor that wanders home to thine own house, Esay 58. 7. Esay 58. 7. Thou must not undo an hundred men, their wives and children, by bribery, usury, or extortion, and then build a poor Hospital to keep seven. Fourthly, Cast thy bread super aquas transeuntes, upon the waters that pass by; that is in the next verse; Give thy portion to seven, and to eight, that is, to many; For as the tree falls, so it lies, if to Verse 3. the North, then to the North; If thine heart (when thou givest an alms) points towards charity, however the beggar employ thy penny, surely thou shalt not lose thy reward: Super aquas transeuntes, Upon the waters that pass by; Ne scrutare pauperen, say not thou in thine heart, indeed this beggar is to be relieved, but that other is not; for in the form of a stranger thou mayst receive an Angel, and in the habit of a beggar, bestow somewhat on that God, who gave thee All. And so I have done with the first word of the Text, the Quid, What Christ would have you do, which was, Make you friends: And now we are come to the second, and that is the Cuius, or the Matter whereof they are to be made, and that is, De Mammona iniquitatis, Of your unrighteous Mammon. Make you friends of your unrighteous Mammon. Mammon in the Syrian language, saith Saint Jerome, is the same that Riches are in ours; and riches are called unrighteous for many reasons; whereof these are some of the chiefest: First, because, When we once have them, we do, saith Theophylact, unjustly make ourselves Lords of that, whereof in truth we are but Stewards: Every one of us (if once grown rich) being apt enough to cry out with that clownish lonne of Mammon in the 12 of this Gospel, Luk 12. 17 Omnia mea, (at verse 17) All's mine own; without so much as casting an eye upon the misery of our poor brethren, for whose sakes, it may be, his barns were the fuller; nay indeed, whose own, the superfluity of all we possess, is. Or they are the riches of unrighteousness, saith Saint Ambrose, because they make us more unrighteous than otherwise we would be, still tempting us to Covetousness, and the more we have of them, the more still do we desire. Or they be called the riches of iniquity, because they are so unjustly gotten by us, or our predecessors. Aut iniquus, aut iniqui haeres? The world (in the proverb) accounting that Son happy, whose Father went to the Devil, to make him rich. Or they be the riches of iniquity, because they are so unjustly divided amongst the sons of men, some having too much for their excess and riot others nothing at all. Or they be the riches of unrighteousness, because, although some few men may come just lie by them, yet (as anon you shall hear) it is too hard for any (the best man) to say, he will not put his trust in them. But lastly, Saint Augustine goeth farthest of all in this point, who tells us, that to speak truly, all riches are the riches of iniquity, because they deal unjustly with us in every point; for we get them with labour, keep them with fear, and lose them with grief; so that to speak truly, saith he, all riches are the riches of iniquity, unless they be those unestimable riches of grace here, and of glory hereafter. And doubtless it was (as the Disciples called it) an hard saying of our Saviour's in the Gospel, that it was as easy for a Camel to go through the eye of a needle, as for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom Heaven; and yet so it is, because, In eyes constituunt spem, atque coptam suae beatitudinis, When men are grown rich, they think of no other happiness at all, but say in their hearts, Tush, we shall never do amiss Will you see how this conceit transports a good man, a Saint, a man after Gods own heart, King David himself is carried away with this consideration; Ego dixi, I said, Non movebor in aeternum, I shall never be moved; but mark when it was that he said so, In abundantiâ meâ, I said in my prosperity I shall never be moved, Psal. 30. 7. Most excellently Psal. 30. 7. therefore doth our Liturgy teach us to pray, In all time of our wealth, in the hour of death, and in the day of Judgement, good Lord deliver us. In our wealth a man would think there were not so much need of prayer, but Call upon me in the time of trouble: O yes, in our wealth specially are we to pray to God, that we be not puffed up, In all time of our wealth, good Lord deliver us. When men are underpropt (as it were) with wealth, they think heaven and earth shall sooner perish, than they want any thing. And if good men be many times so carried away, it is no marvel to hear the Fool in the 12. of this Gospel, thus cheering up himself, with Eat, drink, be merry, and live Luke 12. 20. at ease. Why so? Thou hast enough laid up in store for many years. Riches, unrighteous riches, are deceivable, and draw away the minds of the best, since man is apt to say to his gold, Thou art my hope, and to his wedge, In thee is my confidence; But what is this, saith holy Job, than by setting up a god below, to deny that God job 31. 28. who is above? Admirable therefore is the counsel of King David, Psal. 62. 10. Trust not in oppression, and if Riches increase, set not your hearts upon them. And very agreeable is it with this advice of our Saviour's here, Make ye friends of your unrighteous Mammon. Well, the counsel is good that you give, but how must I do it? In brief, Thou must first competently provide for thine own; He that provideth not for his own, and namely, for them of his family, is (saith Saint Paul) worse than an Infidel, and he hath denied the faith. Then give alms to thy poor Brethren, not only of thy superfluity, but even borrowing somewhat of thy necessity; visit the fatherless and the widows in their adversity, clothe the naked, give meat to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, comfort the sick, harbour the harbourless, do good to all, specially to those that are of the household of faith. There are some, saith Haymo, who foully mistaking the meaning of this Text, think they are here by our Saviour Christ advised only to give alms of that part of their substance, which they know they have unjustly gotten; and this, think they, must needs be the ready way to make them friends of their unrighteous Mammon, as if God would ever endure the taking away from others to give unto him, who hath so strictly commanded us to give to others nothing but what is our own. Indeed an alms of another man's goods, is even as acceptable to God, as the price of an harlot, or a dead dog If therefore thou hast wronged any man, if thou be able, make him restitution; Non dimittitur peccatum, nisi restituatur ablatum: 〈◊〉. Otherwise your corrupt riches, your motheaten garments, your cankered gold and silver, nay the very rust of them shall one day witness against you, Jam. 5. jam. 5. 2, 3. 2, 3. If I have done any man wrong, saith the good Convert, I will restore him fourfold: but that is not all; See, saith Saint Augustine, how he runs, how he speeds to make him friends of his unrighteous Mammon: Festinans descendit, he comes down quickly; Verse 5. & dimidia substantiarum mearum, and one half of my goods I give to the poor; it was good Zaccheus the Arch-Publican, in the 19 of this Gospel, verse Verse 8. 8. But what? Would you have me give away my riches to make me friends? will the man of this world say: Surely that is an ill exchange, and I like it not; I know well enough, that so long as I have riches, I shall have friends, or, if I have not, the matter is not great; for so long as I keep my riches by me, they who would be mine enemies, shall be able to do me no hurt. Wise Solomon saith, That Riches gather many friends, when the poor is separated from Prov. 19 4. his neighbour, Prov. 19 4. And again, Riches are a strong (itty to the owners of them, Prov. 18. 11. What need I then go 18. 11. about to make me better friends of my riches, who methinks are my good friends already? May not a man safely (think you) say unto this wise worldling, as once Joab did unto David, Thou lovest thine enemies, and hatest thy friends? 2 Sam 19 2 Sam. 19 6. 6. Thy riches, think as thou wilt, they are thine enemies. I have seen, saith the Preacher, Eccles. 5. 12, Riches reserved to Eccles. 5. 1● the owner thereof for his hurt: So reserved, that they perish by evil travail; for he getteth a son, and in his hand is nothing: As if he should have said; I have observed a worldly man, to weary himself and his thoughts, to rise early, and go to bed late, and eat the bread of care all his days, to scrape Riches together, and when all is done, leave them to a son, that through excess and riot, dies a beggar, and there's an end. Had it not been fare better for this man, to have made him friends of his riches, and with part of his riches have purchased for him and his, the prayers of the poor, which would have followed him, to everlasting habitations? For one word of instruction: If the Mammon of this world be so unrighteous, if Riches be so full of iniquity, I beseech you (Brethren) do you yourselves judge, whither these men are transported, who adventure their honours, their reputations, their honesties, their lives, nay their very souls too, that they may be rich: Si possunt rectè, si non, quocunque modo rem: If they may be rich fairly, well and good; if not, they will do, or suffer any thing, swallow a bribe, cousin a widow, defraud orphans, drink the very blood of the labourers for their wine, and the tears of the oppressed for their drink, detain the hirelings wages; and, as the Prophet's phrase is, Sell the poor for shoes, and the needy for a piece of bread. Is not this, think you, fare from, Facite vobis amicos, Make you friends of your unrighteous Mammon? judge again, I pray you, yourselves, how they follow Christ's sweet counsel here in my text, who Ahab-like, are ever sick of the next field, and have never elbow room enough so long as any poor Naboth dwelleth near them; nothing they possess is worth the having, if they have not all. But above all, think what shall become of those men, who instead of relieving the poor, rob the Spittle, taking from them what others have already given them. Of this sort, are those Executours, and Overseers, who being put in trust with the estates and portions of poor widows, and fatherless children, do by some trick in law, or crafty distinction of their own, cousin and deceive them. Such again are they, who take away from the poor, what the law hath given in pios usus, and mingle it with their own; Do not these, and such as they, purchase to themselves the fearful curses of the afflicted poor, instead of making them friends of the Mammon of iniquity? I beseech you men of the world; you that lean so strongly on your God Mammon; What is he in whom you trust? Is he any other, than (as Paracelsus saith of the Devil) a beggarly spirit? What can he do for you? Can he make you honest, wise, healthy? Can he make you live more merrily, feed more heartily, sleep more quietly? Can he prevent care, sickness, sorrow, death, and th● pains of hell after death? Or rather doth he not bring, and cause all these? If he could be friend you so, I should not blame you much to fall down and worship him; but if (as the truth is) he rather bring all then otherwise, then me thinks admirable is our Saviour's counsel in my Text here, Facite vobis amicos, Make ye other friends, make ye friends of your riches of iniquity; Bestow the superfluity of your goods on the poor, Honour the Lord with your substance, Prov. 3. 9: And great shall Prov. 3. 9 be your reward in heaven, Matth. Mat. 6. 6. 6. 6. That good Martyr Saint Laurenie, being asked by Decius Caesar, saith Lyra, what he had Lyra. done with the great treasure of the Church, which was left by Sixtus his Predecessor, made him this answer, That it was safe enough, for he had sent it to heaven above, by the hands of the poor on earth. And our own Warrham, once Archbishop of Canterbury, being on his deathbed, sent his steward to see what store of coin was remaining in his coffers; he returning brought him word, that there was either very little, or none at all; (for indeed the good man, being a most charitable Prelate, had given all away before) the Bishop told his servant, Nimirum sic oportuit; When could I die better, than when I am so even with the world? Oh couldst thou do so! Lay up thy gold, thy treasures, thy garments there, neither could thiefs steal them from thee, nor rust, nor vermin consume them; And thus thou mayst do, if thou bestow them on the poor, they will carry them to heaven for thee, and there thou shalt be sure one day to find them again. Had that foolish rich man, in the 12: of this Gospel, found out this Luke 12. 18. way, he would have had room enough to bestow his corn, had his crop been fare greater than it was; for of every empty belly of his poor neighbour, he might have made a new little Barn, wherein he might have laid up part of his store. In one word, If thou wantest earthly riches, saith Saint Jerome, seek not to get them by evil means; if God hath already blessed thee with them, send them before thee to heaven by thy good deeds. The Saints of God are, like Dorcas, Acts 9 36. Rich in good works, and alms which they do; not which they talk of, not which they intent to do, not which they leave to be done by others but which they do themselves, they be their own Executors. He that gives nothing in his life time, because he means to leave all to good uses at his death, is much like to him in the Poet, that threw his apples to the hogs because he could not eat them himself. I would not be mistaken, I do not, I dare not (specially in such an age as this) speak against charitable deeds, be they done in what kind soever; but I press this point the rather, to call to your remembrance, how many well intended great gifts thus given, have miscarried, and come to nothing: See our own Annals, and you shall find them only recorded, and passed over with this cold Close; It was an ample and a large gift, had it been performed accordingly. But I go on. Saint Gregory in an Homily of his, (as if he would directly cross that of holy Job: Nothing brought we into this world, neither shall we carry any thing out of it) falleth upon this meditation, That although we brought nothing into the world, yet it is possible for us to carry something out of it. How so? Thus, saith he, If we harken to the voice of the poor, whilst we live, and fail not to relieve them when they ask, we carry so much of our wealth with us hence, as we gave away here. Largiendo servamus, quae servando amittimus: What we give away so, we keep for ourselves; and what with a close hand we keep, that we lose for ever. And another of the Ancients tells us, (but I tremble to repeat it) that the purple glutton in this Gospel is in hell, Non quia abstulerat aliena, sed quia non donarat sua, Not for taking any thing from the poor, but because he relieved not their wants. He would not hear the cry of the poor beggar on earth, & how should he look to be heard himself being below? How could he that was merciless to others, expect to receive mercy? or think that Abraham, or the Saints could be his friends in another world, who had never taken any, the least care, whilst he was in this, to make him friends of his Mammon of iniquity? To conclude this point: Oh let not those that drink wine in bowls, and stretch themselves on beds of ivory, forget the afflictions of poor Joseph, Amos 6. 6. It is Amos 6. 6. yours that are rich, (and for my part I come not hither to deny it you) to eat the fat, and drink the sweet, but than you must remember also to send part to them, for whom nothing is prepared, Nehem. 8. 10. And this is Nehem. 8. 10. the very next way, I know for you, in the midst of your mirth to make you friends of your unrighteous Mammon. But the sons of men, although they be many times most unreasonable themselves, yet they will always expect to have a reason for what God requireth at their hands; and here in my Text so they shall. Take his counsel, and be of courage, and do it, and the third and last part of my Text will tell you Why. Because a time shall come, when you yourselves shall fail, and want, and these friends of yours, shall receive you into everlasting habitations. And there is the Cui bono, the end and purpose, for which all this is to be done; quum defecerîtis, That when you shall fail, They may receive you into everlasting habitations. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, When you shall fail; that is, saith Caietan, è presenti vitâ, out of this present life, cùm defecerîtis, When you shall want, that is, when you shall want breath, in plain English, when we shall dye. As if our Saviour, by this very form of speech would teach us, That our study and overmuch care for the increase of those earthly treasures here, is an evil disease under the Sun, indeed a very consumption of ourselves, for even whilst we labour and vex ourselves, and our souls to gather them, we ourselves consume, want, fail, and die. Cùm defecerîtis, When you shall fail, when is that? Briefly, when the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars shall be darkened, when the keepers of the house shall tremble, the strong men bow themselves, the grinders cease, and they shall be darkened that look out of the windows; as it is, Eccles. 12. 3, 4. That is, Eccles. 12. 3, 4. when all the powers and faculties of our souls and bodies, shall fail, and cease; then, lo then, the remembrance of one deed of charity which thou hast done, shall do thee more good, than the possession (if thou hadst it) of both the Indies. Then, and in that hour, it shall more glad thy soul, that thou canst say with meek Moses, Whose Ass have I taken? Num. 16. 15. Num 16. 15: or with righteous Samuel, Whose Ox have I taken? 1 Sam. 12. 3. 1 Sam. 12. 3; than if thou couldst say, All the sheep and oxen upon a thousand mountains were thine own, by oppression and wrong. Then, then, when thine eyes shall wax dim, thy feet (as the Text is) fail under thee, when thine own children are presently to be fatherless, and the wife of thy bosom a widow, oh what an unspeakable comfort shall it be to thee, that thine own conscience shall then cheer up thy drooping soul, with the sweet remembrance of what thou hast been unto others! I have been eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame, I was a father to the poor, and I ever caused the widow's heart to rejoice, Job 29. job 29. 15 15. Pericles, an Heathen, (as Plutarch hath it in his life) although he knew not what should become of his soul, when his body failed, yet he could rejoice on his death bed, for that he had never given any of the men of Athens, (for there he lived) any cause to go from him sorrowful. Can such a consideration as this, comfort a dying Heathen? and shall it not much more rejoice a Christian, that he can in his dying bed say truly to his soul, I have done no man wrong, I have taken away no man's ox, I have oppressed no man? I have laboured with my hands, I have eaten mine own bread, I have now finished my course, I am ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand, I have fought a good fight, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous Judge shall give unto me, and not to me only, but unto them also who love his appearing, 2 Tim. 4 5, 6. Cupio dissolve, I desire 2 Tim. 4. 5, 6. therefore to be dissolved, and to be with Christ. Come Lord Jesus, come quickly. Beauty shall whither, knowledge decay, strength fail; and therefore dumb bodié, whilst it is yet called to day, before you fail too, Remember thy last end, & non peccabis in aeternum, and thou shalt not do amiss for ever; Thou mayst do amiss again and again, but not for ever; the end of such a man is peace at the last A time there shall be when Riches, Beauty, Knowledge, Strength, yea yourselves shall fail; and in that day, and that hour, shall the rich man say of his gold, his silver, & his store, as job did of his friends, Miserable Comforters are ye all; then shall the wiseman say of his knowledge, his Arts, his skill, as job did of his friends, Miserable Comforters are ye all; Then shall the Minion say of her Beauty, her cropping, her curling, and her painting, as job did of his friends Miserable Comforters are ye all, job 16 2. Then shall the consideration job 16. 2. of one hour spent in devotion be more worth than all the gold of Ophir So let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like unto his. The worldling who had his hope here below, shall sing Loath to departed, Then shall the Saint be comforted, then shall he despise this thick clay, and tread the Moon under his feet; then cries he in his heart, Woe is me that I am constrained to dwell in Mesek, and to inhabit in the Tents of Kedar. Cupio dissolvi, I desire to be dissolved, and to be with Christ, for that is best of all; and therefore, Come Lord jesus, come quickly. Cùm defecerîtis, When you shall fail; If you fail thus, your failing is no fail; for although your legs fail under you, your tongues fail in your mouths, your eyesight fail, your strength fail, your friends fail, yourselves fail, all fail you at once; yet all this is no fail, but a retreat, that by such going backward, you may gather strength to gain eternity in heaven, where there shall be no more decaying, no more failing, no more disease, no more death. To conclude this point, when we die, we fail all earthly things which have depended on us, And on the other side, all those things fail us, in which we have trusted; we then part with all our goods, our wives, our children, nay with our very faith and hope too; only our charity, she follows us still, in death we take our leave of all our friends, but only our good works, and they will follow us: so saith the voice from heaven, Rev. 14. 15, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, for they rest Rev. 14. 15 from their labours, and their works follow them: Or, as our Text is, they are like so many Harbingers, they go before to receive us into everlasting habitations; and that is the last word of the last part of my Text. And of that together, for that I cannot now take it asunder. They, there is the parties; Shall receive, there is the action; Into everlasting habitations, there is the place. They shall receive you, In aeterna tabernacula, Into everlasting habitations. They shall receive you. They? Which they? Your friends which you had before gotten, by your charity, you heard before who they were, the blessed Saints, the holy Angels, they shall receive you, carry you into Abraham's bosom: The Poor, they shall receive you; poor friends God wots, yet such as shall another day do you rich favours; for they shall receive you. They: The Poor: Either Pauperes spiritu, saith Bona venture, The poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Mat. 5. 3. God, Mat. 5. 3. Or, Pauperes in August. sacculo, The poor who live in want here, their prayers shall receive thee. Orabit pauper prote, The poor shall pray for thee, Ecclesiast. 29. But is that all? Ecclesiast. 29. That is but cold comfort; for alas! how shall he, who whilst he lived here could not help himself, and which is worse, it may be, went to hell himself after his death, be able to receive me into everlasting habitations? Why? he shall send up his prayers to heaven for thee; and although perhaps he do it not, or not as he ought, it matters not. Thine alms are ever had in remembrance in the sight of God, Acts 10. 31. It is the sweet meditation of the blessed Psalmist on this point; Psal. Psal. 16. 2. 16. 2: Tobathi bal gnaléka: Likedoshim asher baaretz. My goods, and my goodness, O Lord, are nothing unto thee, thou art in heaven, and they cannot reach up to thee; therefore they shall be extended to the poor Saints which are on the earth; and why to them? It may be, thou wilt take it as done to thyself, so thou shalt receive us thyself, but according to all the kindness we have showed unto them. Christus recipiet, Christ Jesus, saith Haymo, shall receive us for that good which we have done unto others. Such, if you mark it well, is the proportion of the last doom, when the Saints are received into glory: Matth. 25, Come ye blessed Mat. 25. of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you. Come, I say, I know you all: Thou gavest me once in such a place a cheerful penny, else had I gone supperless to bed, Come, receive a Crown for it, now thou shalt sup with the Lamb. At another time thou gavest me a garment, else had I starved for cold, Come, receive thou a wedding garment. Thou gavest me meat when I was hungry, drink when I was thirsty, Come, thou shalt have the bread of life, and the water of life, of which whosoeever eateth and drinketh shall hunger and thirst no more. Lord, when saw we thee hungry, naked, or in want? I say unto you, In as much, as you did it to one of these little ones, you did it unto me: Come ye blessed, inherit the Kingdom prepared for Mat. 25. you. Object. But if almes-giving, and our other deeds of charity be able to reconcile us to God at first, and shall afterwards receive us into everlasting habitations, then by our good works may we obtain heaven, and merit eternal life; and, if that be so, in vain do we believe that Christ's death and passion was all-sufficient for us; or, as Saint Paul saith, That he died for our sins, and rose again for our justification. Answ. But in one word to wipe away this doubt, and to clear the doctrine of our Mother the Church of England, in which we live, which in the Homily of alms deeds teacheth us expressly thus. That Our good works are not the original cause of our acceptation before God, but consequents, fruits and signs of our Justification. Neither do those Fathers of Trent any more, (for any thing I could ever see) after all their traversing this point in their sixth Session, but propose the Exercise of good works to the just, to those who are justified before; which if our Church did not likewise, in vain have I been preaching unto you all this while, who at this present, meant to do nothing else. For although we like not the Rhemists' doctrine, who teach, That the kingdom of heaven is to be had for money, (the very words of their note upon my Text) nor their Mother the Church of Rome, who putteth the same in practice, as it appeareth by that Catalogue not long since printed at Bolonia in Italian, wherein every Ecclesiastical preferment and office, is valued at so much to be purchased; (Oh new way to heaven!) yet we teach, that after our first justification, which is by faith, (Vivit iustus ex fide) that good works are prepared for us to walk in; they are, as the Ancients taught, Via regni, not causa regnan●i: we show the fruits of that in our sanctification, growing from strength to strength, from one degree of grace unto another, until we appear perfect before our God in Zion, Psal. 84. 7. And so at last God Psal. 84. 7. looking upon these fruits of our righteousness, being Tincta sanguine Christi, died in Christ's blood, as Bellarmine's phrase is, at last is pleased to grant them a recompense, and to crown them with a reward of victory. And thus in my Text, are they said to receive those that do them into everlasting habitations, into the joys of heaven above; and when they are there, no doubt, all of them are fulfilled with glory, yet as one star differing from another; The twelve Apostles sitting upon twelve seats, Elias and john Baptist shining as greater lights; For in my Father's Kingdom, saith our Saviour, are many dwelling places, joh. 14. 2. There shall be paritas gaudii, disparitas gloriae, parity of joy, disparity of glory, yet every vessel shall be full according to the measure of its own capacity. Lastly, as they shall be habitations, not one, but many, so, saith the text, they shall be everlasting also: For we know (saith the Apostle, 2 Cor. 5. 1.) that if 2 Cor. 5. 1 our earthly house of this Tabernacle shall be destroyed, we have a building given of God, an house not made with hands, but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, everlasting in the heavens. Unwise men that we be, let us give over labouring for those things which perish, and wearying ourselves & our thoughts to gain those flitting riches, which on a sudden take the wings of the morning, and forsake us; and at last learn to build for eternity. Let us no longer vex ourselves to compass transitory pleasures, and momentany delights, which for the most part are gone from us, before we can truly say they are come; and now at the last by our good deeds of charity, lay up for ourselves true treasures in heaven above, which can never be taken away from us, nor we from them, seeing they be everlasting habitations. Let us lose all, that we may gain these, let us sell all that we may buy these: Let us never think ourselves at home, but ever Pilgrims and strangers, until we possess these, these everlasting habitations. In one word, let us make us friends of our unrighteous Mammon, that when we ourselves shall fail, they may receive us into everlasting habitations, in which we shall dwell forever, and for ever sing, Halleluiah: Glory, honour and praise be unto God the Father, to the Lamb, that sitteth upon the Throne, and to the holy Ghost, world without end. Amen. FINIS.