Page images
PDF
EPUB

nourished, but to be cut down. It's the great mercy of God, if poverty and want do not follow floth and idleness, He becometh poor that dealeth with a flack Hand; but the Hand of the diligent maketh rich, Prov. 10. 4. Slothfulness cafteth into a deep fleep,and an idle Soul fhall fuffer bunger, Prov. 19. 15. Love not fleep, left thou come to poverty; open thine Eyes and thou shalt be Satisfied with Bread, Prov. 20. 13. Droufinefs fhall cover a Man with Rags, Prov. 23. 21. The defire of the flothful killeth him; for bis Hands refuse to labour, Prov. 21.25. The fluggard will not Plow by reaSon of the cold, therefore Jhall be beg in Harveft and have nothing, Prov. 20.4. The Soul of the fluggard defireth, and bath nothing; but the Soul of the diligent (hall be made fat, Prov. 13. 4. Go to the Ant, thou fluggard, confider her ways, and be wife: She provideth ber meat in the Summer, and gathereth ber food in the Harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O fluggard? When wilt thou arife out of thy fleep? Yet a little fleep, a little flumber, a little folding of thy Hands to fleep. So fhall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed Man, Prov. 6. 6, &c.

Let the poor confider again, if he have not made himself poor by faring too fumptuously every Day, whilft he had it to do fo withal. Vain and finful Expences in a little time, may exhauft and empty a large and full Purse. And he that waftes what he hath, and throws away prodigally and riotously that which he should live upon, hath no body but himself to blame for his want, and if he find none to pity him, or to fuccour him in his need, he must acknowledge it God's righteous judgment upon him for his Sin. The

drunkard

drunkard and the glutton fhall come to poverty, Prov. 23.21. Therefore be not amongst Wine-bibbers, amongst riotous eaters of Flesh, V. 20. Let not thy lufts devour as much at a meal, as would fuftain thee alive, and in good health a whole Month. It is very juft, he should faft two Days, that eats and drinks up the allowance for three Days in one. A mean Estate is enough for a moderate and fober Perfon to live on both long and comfertably. Temperance is very rarely fenfible of any want, and he that will rather come to want, than live temperately, deferves to be punished with his own choice. He that will will wafte bis fubftance with riotous living, deferves to be Tantalized at the Swine-trough.

Was it not thy neglecting the Works of thy honeft calling, to lead a merry and a jovial Life amongst thy vain Companions, that hath reduced thee to want and beggery? Was it not thy profufe Spending what was given thee for the fupport of thy felf and Family, and for the relief of fuch as ftood in need; in vain Pleasures, and foolish Delights, on thine own and other Men's Sins and Wantonnefs? Hath not the Wealth thou once waft Master of, help'd thee rather to opprefs the poor, than to relieve them; to bribe the rich, rather than to fuccour the Fatherless; to feed the lufts of thy Companions, rather than to maintain the Cause of the Widow? And is it not then just with God to leave thee now to eat of the Fruit of thine own way, and to be filled with thine own Devices? He that loveth pleasure, fhall be a poor Man; be that loveth Wine and Oil, fhall not be rich, Prov. 21. 17. And he that tilleth his Land, fhall have plenty of Bread; but he that fol

loweth

loweth after vain Persons, shall have poverty enough, Prov. 28. 19. He that oppreffeth the poor to encrease his riches, and giveth to the rich, fhall furely come to want, Prov. 22. 16. There is that Scattereth, and yet encréafeth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal Soul fhall be made fat; and he that watereth, fhall be watered alfo himself. He that withholdetb Corn, the People fhall curfe him; but blessing shall be upon the head of him that felleth it, Prov. 11. 24, &c.

Have we not neglected God, whilft we had enough? Did we depend upon him, and pray unto him for his Bleffing daily, and praise him for all his Gifts? Did we trust to him only, and caft all our care upon him, and in every thing by prayer and fupplication, with thanksgiving, make our requests known unto him? Phil. 4. 6. Were we contented with God's Allowance? Were we not greedy and covetous of more than enough? Made we not an idol of our wealth? And did we not love it more than God? If we pray'd to God for a fupply of our Wants, did we not therefore ask, and not receive, Because we asked amiss, that we might confume it upon our lufts? Jam. 4. 3. Did we not use evil and vain Arts to make our felves Rich? Wealth gotten by vanity, shall be diminifhed: but he that gathereth by labour shall encreafe, Prov. 13.11. Treasures of wickedness profit nothing, Prov. 10. 2. An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning; but the end thereof shall not be bleffed, Prov. 20. 21. He that hafteth to be rich, bath an evil Eye; and confidereth not that poverty hall come upon him, Prov. 28. 22.

It well becometh every poor Man to examine himself, whether or no he have been the cause of

his own poverty by any fuch ways as thefe,before he comfort himself with thoughts of his being in God's favour, and entitled by his poverty to God's protection. For he that hath by vain and wicked courses brought himself into, or becaufe of the fame, continueth in that Condition, is as little favoured by God, as he is usually pitied by Men.

What then was it in Lazarus that commended him to God? Why, Lazarus had heard Mofes and the Prophets, he believed and obeyed the word of God, which he spake by them; he attained through the grace of God to fincere Piety, and became devoted to God's worship and fervice, and formed his Life and Converfation according to the will of God. Had the rich Man done fo too, his riches had not hurt him. And the poor Man's doing fo fanctified his Poverty, and made him rich towards God, and fure of God's Bleffing. He fought firft the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness, and left it freely to God to add other Things, when and in what measure he pleased: Knowing well, that the needy fhall not alway be forgetton, the expectation of the poor fhall not perish for ever, Pfal. 9. 19. He heareth the cry of the afflicted, Job 34. 28. He delivereth the poor in his Affliction, and openeth their Ears in Oppreffion, Job 36. 15. Thou, O God, haft of thy goodness prepared for the poor, Pfal. 68. 10. God hath chofen the poor of this World, rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom, which he hath promised to them that love him, Fam. 11. 5. It was his love to God, that made all things work together for his good, Rom. 8. 28. So that his light Affliction, which was but for a mo

ment,

ment, wrought for him a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. 2 Cor. 4. 17.

Lazarus was as humble, as he was poor; as lowly in his own eyes, as he was defpicable in the rich Man's. He lay with patience, and a contented mind at the rich man's gate. His foul was as bumble, as his eftate was low, or his body afflicted. He envied not the rich Man's plenteous and glorious condition, nor longed for his sumptuous fare, nor was ambitious to be fet at his Table. We hear not from him the least murmuring at God's Providence, nor any complaining of hard measure, in that God had not provided as plentifully for him, as for werfe men. He was not of the Temper of those sturdy and stomachful Vagrants too common amongst us, to the reproach of any Government, wherein they are fuffer'd, who fwear, and curfe, and rail at all who do not give them whatsoever they crave. He neither bates the rich man, nor wisheth him the leaft bart, no Paffion arifeth in his heart against him, nor doth an angry word proceed out of his Mouth. All that he defired was no more, but to have fome share of thofe crumbs to affwage his prefent Hunger, which were ordinarily thrown to the rich man's dogs.

.

Let all poor People imitate Lazarus in thefe things. Let them fee that they be truly pious, and ferve God faithfully in their low eftate. Let them labour to be rich in faith, and the genuine Children of faithful Abraham, who at God's call, left all to follow him, as did the holy Apoftles of Christ, and as our bleffed Jefus hath commanded all Men to be ready to do. Let them trust to God's promifes made unto the Godly poor, and in fincere piety wait patiently and con

[ocr errors]

tentedly

« PreviousContinue »