An infallible vvay to farewell in our bodies, names, estates, precious souls, posterities : together with, mens great losse of happinesse, for not paying, the small quitrent of thankfulness : whereunto is added remaines of the P.A., a subject also of great concernment for such as would enjoy the blessed promises of this life, and of that ot come / by R. Younge ...

CHAP. L. (Book 50)

GOod deeds flow from good men (such as know themselves deputed Stewards, not Inde∣pendent Lords of their wealth) as naturally as springs out of Rocks: But with the covetous Cormo∣rant it is far otherwise; as good perswade a Caniball, as the covetous to shew mercy: To wrest any good deeds out of the Dive's of these dayes, (though there be millions in the case of Lazarus) is far more hard then to wring Verjuice out of a Crab; yea, you may as wel press water out of a stone. We read 1 Sam. 25. that churlish Laban (Nabal I should say, though the dif∣ference bee so smal, that these two infamous Churls spel each other's Name backwards) when distressed David askt him victuals, he reviled him, when he should have relieved him. No∣thing more cheape then good Words▪ these he

might have given, and been never the poorer▪ but his foul mouth doth not onely deny, and give him nothing, but that which was worse then no∣thing, bad▪ Language; So fares it with these Churls, when any David is driven to ask them Bread, they give him stones instead thereof; let them be moved by some one to give an Alms, or do some charitable deed, they cannot hear on that ear.

Or if this Wretch for his credit sake, does speak fair, all his good deeds be onely good words; and he may be answered as that Beggar did the Bishop, when instead of an Alms he gave him his blessing, That if his blessing had been worth a penny, he would not have been so bountiful. So that if e∣very house were of his profession, Charities Hand would no longer hold up Poverties head.

Words from a dead man, and deeds of Charity from a covetous man, are both alike rare, and hard to come by. The Mountains are not more barren of fruit, then he of goodness; The Rocks are not so hard as his heart; he is a friend to none but himself; His Charity begins at home, and there it ends. To urge or perswade him to be liberal, is all one, as to intreat a Tyger to be tame and gentle, or a Wolf to be pittiful and mercifull.

There is such an antipathy between his heart, and one that is in distress, that he hath not the patience to hear a poor man speake; yea out of a desperate resolution to give him nothing, he wil not vouchsafe to look upon him, but turn his face or eyes another way, as though the poore man were such an eye-sore, as might not be en∣dured. And this he does for fear of being infect∣ed with the contagion of the poor mans misery;

or lest it should cause a spmpathy, and scllow-fee∣ling of his calamity; or lest his conscious eyes should check his churlish heart, and put him in mind of his barbarous inhumanity.

But let all such be assured, that as they turn a∣way their eyes from the poor in the day of their mi∣sery, so the Lord wil turn away his face from them in the day of their calamity: And as they have stopped their ears at the cry of the poor, so they themselves shall cry, and God will not hear them, as it is Prov. 21. 13. And just it is, that as the unmerciful wil not hear others when they stand in need, so God should not regard them when they shal stand in need: Blessed are the merciful (saith our Saviour) but that stands not with his disposition; for the penny which comes out of his purse, is like a drop of blood drawn from his heart; and his reward shall be answerable.

The covetous man's heart is like his Chest, ever close shut, except it be to receive. He is sparing & niggardly in giving, but open handed to receive what∣soever is brought; like an Hog or Medler, he never does good to any til he be dead and rotten, He is like a Butlers earthen box, out of which nothing can be drawn til it be broken; Or some kinde of Vermine, which is of no use til uncased. He resembles a spunge that soaks up excessively; but til Death comes with his Iron grasp to squeeze him, he will not yeild one drop; Onely then some good comes of his Goods.

Indeed it is gteat pity the State does not by him, as Epaminondas did by such another, who ha∣ving notice of a rich man that had no care of the poor, (but would answer them like churlish Nabal, Shall I give my meat and drink unto men whom I know not? Or like Cardan Doctor of Physick in Rome, who when Out-landish Schollars came to him, would an∣swer

them, What have I to do with Forraigners? I am Cardan, I care for no man except he brings me money) sent a poor man to him, and commanded him under great penalty to give him presently six hundred Crowns; who hearing it, came to Epa∣minondas, and asked him the cause thereof; Who replyed, This man is poor and honest; and thou who hast cruelly robbed the Commonwealth, art rich; and so compelled him to be liberal in spight of his teeth: Howbeit if they hanged him up (as Atillus a good King of this Land, did all oppressors of the poor, and distributed their Goods to those they had impoverished) they did him no wrong: But for want of this, like Horse-Leeches, or a sort of Ver∣min too homely to name, that have no place for voidance of their excrements, being neverthe∣less very insatiable, they swell with sucking of blood, and so burst.

O the wretched and sad condition of a sordid, sensual self-lover, of a covetous miserly muck-worm, and the small hope there is of his being better▪

The salvage creatures, as Lyons, Tygers, Bears, &c. by Gods appointment and instinct, came to seek the Ark; men did not onely slight it, but scorn∣ed and scoffed at it. Nebuchadnezzar was more a Beast before he grazed in the Forrest, then while he did, or afterward.

The death of Christ darkned the Sun; shoke the earth, clave the Rocks, opened the Graves, and raised the dead; all could not put faith into the Jews hearts, bru∣tish, yea even senseless Creatures, are more sensible then corrupted reason. And of all the rest of the Jews, the Scribes and Pharisees who were covetous, were the least sensible, because they did shut their eyes,

stopt their ears, and barrocado their hearts against all our Saviour did or said; which is just the case of these men.

All objects to a meditating Solomon, (a wise and holy Christian) are like wings, to reare and m••••nt up his thoughts to Heaven. But these sit like sots, under the sound of Gods Word, and are not at all sensible; yea, though they feel his Ax at the root of their consciences, & be smitten with some remorse, yet they go on in sin: But what be∣came of Pharoah that would not hearken to Moses, though he came with a Message from God? Of the rich Glutton, that made no more reckoning of Moses and the Prophets? Of Lot's sons in Law, that coun∣ted their Fathers fore-warnings a meer mockage?

The Birds of the Ayre seem to be wiser then we; for when they know the Gin, they will avoid it: But we knowing the Devils illusions, yet wilfully run into them. Sin blinded Sampson so, that find∣ing Dallilah's treachery three times, could not be warned, although he never found her true in any thing, Judg. 16. The case of all impenitent sinners, but especially of the covetous, as hereaf∣ter they wil acknowledge when Hell Flames hath opened their eyes, which Covetousness hitherto hath blinded, and made meer Atheists; for they ac∣knowledge no other God but Mammon: Every co∣vetous man is a close Atheist, as thinking it weak∣ness to believe, wisdom to profess any Religion: The Children of Israel would not believe Samuel before they saw a miracle, 1 Sam. 12. 16. &c. should the covetous man see as many miracles as Moses wrought before Pharoah, he would be the same man stil, and a rare miracle it wil be if ever he be sa∣ved, as our Saviour shews, Mar. 10, 25.