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give according to that little for thou layest up a good treasure for thyself against the day of necessity a." The reason and foundation of the whole thing lies here: the principal end and design of almsgiving looks not so much at the relief of the indigent, (whom God could have provided for a thousand other ways,) as at the training men up to mutual love, charity, and friendliness, to qualify them for heaven. It is upon this account chiefly, that God has appointed and ordered the distinctions of rich and poor; and has so contrived, that we have the poor always with us, and when we will we may do them good. And as the rich are obliged to relieve the poor, so even the poor also, in proportion to their circumstances, are bound to help one another. It is not only their duty, but their privilege; and if they understand it rightly, they will look upon it as such. What an advantage and an honour was it to the poor widow, that she, by bringing her mite only into the treasury, could therein exercise a nobler charity than the greatest of all there had done; and should at length gain the prize of liberality from them all, God himself being judge of it.

Let no man therefore think himself too poor to be charitable, upon pressing exigencies or upon some solemn occasions. Why should not the poor, as well as rich, have the privilege of doing what they can do, to inure their minds to the practice of virtue, and to fit themselves for heaven? Have they but little to give? Charity does not consist in much or in little, but in doing the best we can, and doing it with a willing mind. The single instance of the poor widow is enough to shew, that even a beggar, in proportion, may be as generous as a prince; and that sometimes the smallest present imaginable may be the greatest bounty: and if, by the smallness of it, it proves but of little service to the receiver, whoever he be; yet it will be of inestimable use and benefit to the giver, which is most to be considered in all acts of charity. And if, while the rich and affluent contribute somewhat out of their superfluities, a day-labourer, suppose, contributes a day's work, or the value of an ordinary meal, denying himself for it in the mean while; such a charity as this will weigh more than large sums from others, and will be "in the sight of God of great "price."

5. But having sufficiently considered the case of the inferior

a Tobit iv. 8, 9.

sort, I come now, in the fifth place, to observe what concerns the rich and wealthy.

The use which they are to make of the instance of the text is, to be charitable and generous according to their circumstances; and in so much greater proportion than others, as they are more able to do it.

It may be asked then, how shall they, if inclined to it, contrive to come up to the generosity of the poor widow in the text? What! must they strip themselves of all they have, and reserve nothing to subsist on, as she did? No, by no means. Different circumstances require different management; and there is a way of coming up to the poor widow's attainments, without doing exactly as she did. If a rich man were to give away his whole estate, and reduce himself to poverty, or to hard labour; this would not only be doing as much, but a great deal more than the poor widow did: for she did not make any such great change in her circumstances, nor did she sink her state or condition at all lower than before. Her example therefore, or our Lord's applauding it, is of no force as to obliging any one to throw himself out of that rank, station, or condition of life wherein God has placed him. If he has been born to an estate, or by honest industry has acquired one, let him live and enjoy it. But further: neither does the instance of the text oblige a man, when in a thriving way, to dispose of all the overplus, all the clear gains, at the year's end; for how then could he go on to support that rank and station he is in, and to provide for his family? The poor widow might, by what she did, straiten herself for a day or two, and after that be in as good a condition as she was before but were any trading or thriving men to give away all their increase, they would soon find their affairs running backwards, and would not be able to recover them. Well then, how must we state the case with a rich man, to make it answer to this in the text? The rule of proportion, I conceive, is this; that the richer sort, in order to give the more away in charity, should be content to practise some degree of self-denial, in like manner as the poor widow did. Let them retrench unnecessary expenses at least, abridge their pleasures, shorten their diversions, cut off as much as possible from the pomp and pride of life, to spend upon the poor. Besides this, let them not be over solicitous as to futurities, providing handsomely (as they will call it) for their children, or raising their families. The poor widow trusted God

for her own necessary subsistence, rather than make no offering at all to the treasury. And thus much at least may be expected of every man; that he contribute according to his present circumstances; and that no anxiety, either for himself or his children after him, ever hinder him from doing in proportion to what he at present enjoys. Be content with a moderate provision, rather than grow covetous, and defraud the poor: for, after all, God's providence is the best security, and his friendship the richest treasure we can have.

As to the proportion to be observed in charitable contributions, no one certain rule has been or can be set, which shall indifferently suit with all circumstances. Should we say a tenth, or a twentieth, or a thirtieth part of every one's increase, that might be too much for some persons to give, and too little for others, as their circumstances might ridely differ. The proportion therefore, or quota, must be left to every man's private judgment and conscience, upon a careful consideration of his ordinary expenses and incomes, and the occasions he may have to provide for. One thing is certain, that God demands of us some part of our substance, in proportion to what he has blessed us with; and he expects that it should be paid to the poor on his account; not sparingly nor grudgingly, but liberally and generously; for he loveth a cheerful giver. The two great obstacles to acts of charity are the two extremes of prodigality on one hand, and covetousness on the other. The prodigal who wastes his substance has nothing left to lay out in charity; and the miser who sets his heart upon wealth, or is greedy of gain, has no inclination to acts of beneficence. Both are in extremes, and both are very much to blame. The middle way is the best; so to be frugal, as not to be covetous; and so to be generous, as not to be lavish. Frugal we must be, if we mean to be charitable for if we know not how to save money, where we decently and properly may, we shall have little to spare either for charity or any thing else. The growing folly of these times is luxury and extravagance; many affecting to live above their circumstances, and to vie with their superiors. This is not the way to do good with what we have, or to be instrumental in relieving and supporting the poor. Know the value of money, without valuing it too much and learn first how to save, if you would have wherewith to spend. But I have said enough of the general rules and measures to be observed in the duty. I proceed now briefly,

II.

There

To apply the whole to the present occasion. The objects now before us are the charity-children. No question at all can be made as to the usefulness of this charity, or of our obligations to support and encourage it as far as lies in our power. are all the reasons to be pleaded for it, as for any other poor; and besides those, there are many other very considerable arguments to be urged, which are peculiar to this, beyond other charities. I shall not enter into a detail of them: they have been often repeated, and are abundantly known and understood. All I need do is, to endeavour to stir you up to bear a part in this excellent charity, from such considerations as the instance of the text may naturally suggest to us.

From this instance of the poor widow, high and low, rich and poor, in proportion to their circumstances, are concerned to bring in their charitable contributions.

1. As to the inferior sort, I cannot too often repeat, that it is both their duty and privilege to contribute with others: for it is not so much for the sake of the receivers that God demands this service of us, as for the sake of the contributors. It is to give them an opportunity of doing a thing acceptable to him, whereby to purchase to themselves an everlasting reward. The poor man's penny is, in this case, as valuable an offering as the rich man's pound; while it carries in it as much love to God, and as hearty and fervent a zeal for the blessed work which we are engaged in. Whoever rightly considers it, will be ambitious to bear a share in this "labour of love," that he may also put in his claim to the reward it brings with it. And since this does not at all depend upon our having plentiful fortunes, (for a little out of a little is as great a charity as the greatest,) he must be very unwise, who, because of his low circumstances, excuses himself from bearing a part in this duty, and thereby forfeits his claim and title to the rewards of it.

2. As to the richer sort, I have the less need to say any thing, because no one can make a question of their obligations to contribute largely and liberally. They enjoy what they have by this very tenure and upon these conditions, that they pay to Almighty God their pension and tribute out of it. And it is a favour and blessing of Almighty God towards them, that he has been pleased to appoint them his stewards and almoners, to distribute his bounties among the poor charged upon them. The

design is, to give them an opportunity of being kind, as God is kind, and of being merciful, as he is merciful. And the end and aim of that is, that being hereby improved and perfected, and becoming like unto God in good works, they may at length have the honour of being admitted into his presence, and be meet partakers of eternal glory.

And now, to draw to a conclusion, give me leave only to add, that if ever there was a time when it concerned us to be more than ordinary zealous for our schools of charity, it is now. Numbers are falling off from the faith of Christ; and meanly, as well as impiously, apostatizing from their most holy religion: and this they do, for the sake of their lusts, and, like Demas in the apostolical times," having loved this present world." The greater care should be taken to promote the knowledge and practice of the Christian religion amongst us: and no care is so effectual, or so well answers the purpose, as the training up children in the fear of God. If we cannot altogether reform the present generation, provide at least that the next may be better, or may not proceed from bad to worse. There is none so likely a method of doing it, as the encouraging these charity-schools, which (God be thanked) are now become numerous, and are spread over the three kingdoms. Let every man, according to his abilities, give a helping hand for their support. It is a slight and small thing, in comparison, only to throw in our quota of money towards it, when many both of clergy and laity (who have large hearts and generous minds) do not only lay out their substance, but their time also, and labours, and their hourly thoughts and cares upon it. May God give a blessing to their pious endeavours, and stir up others also to follow their bright examples; that so religion may yet thrive and flourish amongst us, and we may be daily improving "in every good word and "work."