THE Parable is of the uniust Steward, the Text is the con­clusion of the Para­ble: in the winding up wherof our Saviour (blessed for ever) taught his Disciples then, and doth us now, (although it be by an ill precedent) how wee [Page] may all very well provide for Eternity. For the Steward, whe­ther he was Saint Paul before his conversion, as Theophilus, Bishop of Antioch would haue him; or the Divell, abusing those great gifts hee had recei­ved from God, to others con­demnation, as Gaudentius thought; or the Iewes sitting in the Tents of Shem, as Tertul­lian would make him: Whe­ther he be only the Rich-mā, or only the States-mā, or only the Church-man, 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 [Page 3] 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 chalke us out a way to eternall happinesse. 'Tis true, what ever hee was, a filthy dunghill he was, full of cor­ruption; and yet Christ that just One scrapes a pearle out of him; a toad hee was, full of poyson, and yet the great Phy­sitian drawes a precious stone out of his head: For although his heart be not right either to­wards God, or Man, yet his braine serves his owne turne well enough; for, (if you marke [Page 4] him) though hee hath neither armes to digge, nor a face to begge, 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 hee commended in the Gos­pell, Quia prudentèr agit, non quia fraudulentèr, sithence he would live dishonestly, yet he would carry it cleanely, handsomely; and thus hee will doe it: The debtor that oweth his Master an hundred measures of oyle, shall take his bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty; and hee that oweth an hundred measures of wheate, shall write downe but fourescore, and this he will doe, verse 4, that when [Page 5] hee hath lost his office, and is cast out of his Masters doores, Recipiant, They may receive him into their houses; So I say unto you, saith our Saviour, Make you friends, Learne of him.

Had it beene, Discite à me, Matth. 11. 29. Learne of mee, it had beene an admirable prece­dent; nay had it beene but, Goe to the Pismire, Prov. 6. 6. I should never have marveiled, for she would teach us honest providence; or had it beene, Inspicite in volatilia caeli, Mat. 6. 26. Looke upon the fowles of hea­ven, for they know their seasons: or, Observate lilia agri, ver. 28. Learne of the lilies of the field, it [Page 6] had not beene strange neither, for they would teach us confi­dence; but learne of him? Can there come any thing that good is from one so evill as he? any thing worthy a childe of God, from a sonne of Belial? a­ny thing beseeming a religious imitation, from a man of this world? Yes, for I tel you, he, and such as hee, are in their genera­tion wiser than the children of light; therefore I say unto you, Learne of him. What to doe? To make you friends. How? Of the unrighteous Mammon. Why? That when you shall faile, they may re­ceive you into everlasting habita­tions.

The Text then, you see, is a [Page 7] Bill of Exchange, sent from one Country to another, an ex­change of earthly riches which we possesse here, for heavenly friends which wee make us hereafter; one whereof shall be better to us at the last, than all our pelfe: for when our bodies shall fall to dust from whence they came, these shall carry up our soules into Abrahams bo­some: or to keepe the words of my text, That when we shall faile, they may receive us into everlast­ing habitations.

The first word in my text is Quid, what you must doe; and that hath counsell full of Chri­stian policy, Facite vobis amicos, [Page 8] 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 faile, they may receive you into e­verlasting habitations.

So that what Saint Paul made the law to his Galatians, that Christ Iesus hath made this Gal. 3. 24. steward to us, a Schoolemaster to bring us to God: Make yee friends. In briefe, the Steward taketh care before hand for hereafter, that when hee hath lost his office, and is cast out of his Masters house, he may be received into other mens: so I say unto you, Learne of him, doe [Page 9] you provide whilest you may, that when, your houses of clay, your bodies shall crumble, and fall to dust, from whence they came, your soules may be recei­ved into everlasting habitati­ons. First,

And that I thinke is good counsell at anie time, I am sure it is that which you Courtiers bestow most of your time a­bout, but if ever this advice of our Saviours were more seaso­nable thē other, questionles it is now, whē charitie is growne so colde, that it is even as hard to finde true friends, as true faith on earth, because we are they, [Page 10] on whom the end of the world is come, 2 Tim. 3. 2. in which saith Saint Paul, Men shall be lovers of their owne selves; therefore, Fa­cite vobis amicos, Make you friends.

Now, if ever Davids Salvum Psal. 12. 1. me fac, Helpe Lord, helpe, may be sung most seasonablie, For there is scarce one godlie man left, the faithfull are all minish­ed from among the children of men, they talke of vanitie e­verie one with his neighbour; Verse 2. they flatter with their lippes, and dissemble with their dou­ble heart, saith the Translation, but that is very short; Leu veleu is the originall, they dissemble with a heart and a heart; as if [Page 11] 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 Divell first, hee is your grand Enemie, and you are oftentimes, quasi in faucibus, [...], even in the jawes of that roaring Lion, which goeth about seeking stil whom he may devoure; then Make you friends. He is the Prince of this world, able enough to doe you mischiefe, yea and Legion too, & manie waies he hath to undermine, to overthrow you: [Page 12] therefore I say, Make you friends.

Then your flesh which you beare about you, and so pam­per everie day, as if shee were one of your best friends, is your close Enemie too, take heede of her; nay there's a trai­tour at home, your owne heart, like a snake in thy bosome, is deceitfull above all things, and de­sperately wicked, who can know it? [...]. 17. 9. Jer. 17. 9. And therefore, Make you friends.

Againe, If ye love me, saith [...]. 15. 19 our Saviour, and if yee love one another, the world will hate you too; Then make you friends.

Nay there are whole armies of pettie Enemies, which serve under these grand ones, but I [Page 13] cannot stand to muster them up now; you know them your selves, [...], Look about you, Heb. 3. 12 beware of them; Make you friends.

When a mans waies please the Lord, he maketh even his Enemies to become his friends, Prov. 16. 7. Prov. 16. 7 And certainlie as it is a great argument of Gods favour, so it is an high point of Christian policie, for a man to make his enemies to become his friends. Surelie your riches, if they be the riches of unrighteousnesse, (as for the most part they are) they are your foes: For it is ve­rie hard, saith our Saviour, for a man that is laden with them, to enter into the Kingdome of [Page 14] God. Oh therefore (my deare 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 presse you downe into that bottomlesse pit, may be by you so well im­ployed now, that they may hereafter receive you into ever­lasting habitations. Facite vo­bis amicos, Make you friends.

You say verie 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. [Page 15] which shall be in our mindes, at the houre of death, for the right bestowing of the riches which God had lent us here; Vt quando pu­sillo animo simus, When wee 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 frō whence they came, these good and hap­pie thoughts of ours, as our best friends, may waite upon our soules into their everlasting habitations. To this end, Saint Chrysostome in one of his Homi­lies excellentlie compares well-doing Hom. 7. de paenitens. here, to Noahs Dove, in Gen. 8. 11. Shee goes forth from Gen. 8. 11. Noah whilest the waters are [Page 16] on the face of the whole earth; but in the Evening she returnes, and loe an Olive leafe in her mouth: Even so, saith hee, 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 dayes, at his death, his well-doing, his innocen­cy, instar columbae, like an harm­lesse dove, commeth 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 soule, 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 [Page 17] 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 bowells of compassion, we bestow any thing to relieve the necessitie of our poore brethren here belowe.

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 mercie towards our brethren: The Saints here, and the Saints above: the Saints here wee make our friends, when they, seeing our good workes, doe glorifie Mat. 5. 16. [Page 18] our Father which is in heaven; when they are led on by our good example, to doe good to others: and the Saints above likewise, who by the good they did here, have already ea­sed themselves of that heavie burthen, 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 poore on earth, quos Deus permisit egere, [Page 19] 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 charitie: And this way indeed runnes the streame of the moderne Interpreters But me thinks, without wrong to anie, wee may be bolde to joyne all these together; (and shold we leave out any of these, wee might peradventure misse our best friends when wee have most neede of them:) and certainlie by workes of mercie, by deedes of charitie to the poore, we indeare them all un­to us, wee make them all our friends; our owne Thoughts become friendlie unto us; the [Page 20] holie Angels in heaven, the blessed Saints of God, the prai­ers of the poore on earth; and, which is more than all the rest, wee make God himselfe our friend too; for He that giveth unto the poore, lendeth unto the Lord, and looke what hee layeth out, it shall bee paid him againe Pro. 19 17 Prov. 19 17. Lay up therefore thine almes in the bosome of the poore, and hee 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 sicke and needie, 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 ordinarie Exposition of [Page 21] Facite vobis amicos, Make you friends, is, Date eleemosynam, Give almes: And indeede, saith one, Christ Jesus would insinuate Lyra in loc. nothing else here, but that wee should give part of our goods to the poore. Date eleemosynam, saith our Saviour, et ecce omnia mun­da Luk. 11. 41 sunt vobis; Give almes of such things as you have, and behold all things are cleane unto you. Date e­leemosynam, Give almes? Why? that doctrine, aswell as the pra­ctise of it, is almost forgotten; the divinitie of justification by faith alone, misunderstood by the people, like one of Pharaohs leane kine, hath cleane devou­red this fat one: For who is he? and where is hee? (to our [Page 22] everlasting shame be it spoken) that so often taketh care to fill the emptie bellie of a poore 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 follie comparable to that of charity. But I say unto you, if you will be happie in heaven hereafter, Make ye friends here below, give almes, learne of the children of this world; doe not they give an hundred for a time, that they may gaine ten; and wilt not thou lend one, that thou maist gaine a thou­sand? [Page 23] Let my counsell, saith Da­niel Dan. 4. 27. to the King of Babylon, be ac­ceptable unto thee, breake off thy sinnes by righteousnesse, and thine iniquities by shewing mercie to the poore: and it is agreeable with that of Christ, Sell that yee have, and give almes, provide your selves Luk. 12. 33 bagges which waxe not olde, and a treasure, which (when you faile on earth,) shall never faile you in heaven above.

Well, the truth is, I could be contented to be more charita­ble then I am, and to give more almes then I doe, but that I see my charity many times abused, and my pennie that I give with a good meaning, misimploied; I pray you therefore, How shall [Page 24] I give almes, and to whom? The Wiseman hath given thee admirable direction for this dutie in few words, Mitte pa­nem Eccles. 11. 1 tuum super aquas transeun­tes, &c. Cast thy bread upon the waters, and after many dayes thou shalt finde it: Marke it well, for every word beareth his weight. 1 First, it is not Da, but Mitte; not Da, a thing utterlie given a­way, but Mitte, a thing sent a­broad, like an adventure at Sea, which shall another day returne to thee againe with great advantage. 2 Secondlie, when thou givest, it must be Panis, Bread, saith Salomon, not a stone; when thy brother askes, thou shouldest give him [Page 25] an almes to fill his bellie, not a reproach to breake his heart. My Sonne, make not an hungry soule sorrowfull, neither vexe a man in his necessitie, take heede thou trou­ble not the heart of him that is Ecclesiast. 4. 2, 3. grieved already, Ecclesiast. 4. 2, 3. 3 Thirdly, when thou givest bread, it must be De pane tuo, of thine owne bread; Cast thy bread upon the waters, and Break to the hungrie of thine owne bread, and bring the poore that wanders home to thine owne house, Esay 58. 7. Esay 58. 7. Thou must not undoe an hun­dred men, their wives and children, by briberie, usurie, or extortion, and then build a poore Hospitall to keepe seven. 4 Fourthly, Cast thy bread super a­quas [Page 26] transeuntes, upon the waters that passe by; that is in the next verse; Give thy portion to seven, and to eight, that is, to manie; For as the tree falls, so it lyes, if to Verse 3. the North, then to the North; If thine heart (when thou givest an almes) points towards cha­ritie, however the beggar im­ploy thy pennie, surelie thou shalt not lose thy reward: Super aquas transeuntes, Ʋpon the wa­ters that passe by; Ne scrutare pau­perē, say not thou in thine heart, indeede this beggar is to be re­lieved, but that other is not; for in the forme of a stranger thou maist receive an Angel, and in the habit of a beggar, bestow somewhat on that [Page 27] God, who gave thee All. And so I have done with the first word of the Text, the Quid, What Christ would have you doe, 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,

Mammon in the Syrian lan­guage, saith Saint Jerome, is the same that Riches are in ours; and riches are called unrighte­ous for manie reasons; whereof these are some of the chiefest:

1 First, because, When wee once have them, wee doe, saith Theo­phylact, uniustly make our selves Lords of that, whereof in truth we are but Stewards: Every one of us (if once growne rich) being apt enough to crie out with that clownish lonne of Mam­mon in the 12 of this Gospell, Luk 12. 17 Omnia mea, (at verse 17) All's mine owne; without so much as casting an eye upon the mise­rie of our poore brethren, for whose sakes, it may be, his barnes were the fuller; nay in­deede, whose owne, the super­fluitie of all we possesse, is.

2 Or they are the riches of unrigh­teousnes, saith Saint Ambrose, be­cause they make us more unrighte­ous [Page 29] than otherwise wee would be, still tempting us to Covetousnesse, and the more we have of them, the more still doe we desire.

3 Or they be called the riches of iniquitie, because they are so unjustlie gotten by us, or our predecessours. Aut iniquus, aut iniqui haeres? The world (in the proverbe) accounting that Sonne happie, whose Father went to the Divell, to make him rich.

4 Or they be the riches of iniqui­tie, because they are so unjust­lie divided amongst the sonnes of men, some having too much for their excesse and riot others nothing at all.

5 Or they be the riches of un­righteousnes, [Page 30] because, although some few men may come just lie by them, yet (as anon you shall heare) it is too hard for a­nie (the best man) to say, hee will not put his trust in them.

6 But lastly, Saint Augustine go­eth farthest of all in this point, who tells us, that to speake tru­ly, all riches are the riches of ini­quitie, because they deale uniustly with us in every point; for wee get them with labour, keepe them with feare, and lose them with griefe; so that to speake truly, saith he, all riches are the riches of iniquitie, unlesse they be those unestimable riches of grace here, and of glorie hereafter.

And doubtlesse it was (as [Page 31] the Disciples called it) an hard saying of our Saviours in the Gospell, that it was as easie for a Camell to goe through the eye of a needle, as for a rich man to en­ter into the Kingdome Heaven; and yet so it is, because, In eis constituunt spem, atque coptam suae beatitudinis, When men are growne rich, they thinke of no other happinesse at all, but say in their hearts, Tush, wee shall never doe amisse Will you see how this conceit transports a good man, a Saint, a man after Gods owne heart, King David himselfe is carried away with this consideration; Ego dixi, I said, Non movebor in aeternum, I shall never be moved; but marke [Page 32] when it was that he said so, In abundantiâ meâ, I said in my pro­sperity I shall never be mooved, Psal. 30. 7. Most excellentlie Psal. 30. 7. therefore doth our Leiturgie teach us to pray, In all time of our wealth, in the houre of death, and in the day of Judgement, good Lord deliver us. In our wealth a man would think there were not so much neede of prayer, but Call upon mee in the time of trouble: O yes, in our wealth speciallie are wee 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 thinke heaven and earth shall sooner perish, [Page 33] than they want anie thing. And if good men bee manie times so carried away, it is no marvell to heare the Foole in the 12. of this Gospell, thus cheering up himselfe, with Eate, drinke, be merrie, and live Luke 12. 20. at ease. Why so? Thou hast enough laid up in store for many yeares.

Riches, unrighteous riches, are deceivable, and draw away the mindes of the best, since man is apt to say to his golde, Thou art my hope, and to his wedge, In thee is my confi­dence; But what is this, saith holie Job, than by setting up a god below, to denie that God Iob 31. 28. who is above? Admirable there­fore is the counsell of King Da­vid, [Page 34] Psal. 62. 10. Trust not in oppression, and if Riches increase, set not your hearts upon them. And verie agreeable is it with this advice of our Saviours here, Make ye friends of your unrighte­ous Mammon.

Well, the counsell is good that you give, but how must I doe it?

In briefe, Thou must first competentlie provide for thine owne; Hee that provideth not for his owne, and namelie, for them of his familie, is (saith Saint Paul) worse than an Infidel, and he hath denied the faith. Then give almes to thy poore Bre­thren, not onelie of thy super­fluitie, but even borrowing [Page 35] somewhat of thy necessitie; vi­site the fatherles and the wid­dowes in their adversitie, cloathe the naked, give meate to the hungrie, drinke to the thirstie, comfort the sicke, har­bour the harbourlesse, do good to all, speciallie to those that are of the houshold of faith.

There are some, saith Hay­mo, who fouly mistaking the meaning of this Text, thinke they are here by our Saviour Christ advised onely to give almes of that part of their sub­stance, which they know they have unjustlie gotten; and this, thinke they, must needes bee the readie way to make them friends of their unrigh­teous [Page 36] 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 owne. Indeede an almes of another mans goods, is even as accep­table to God, as the price of an harlot, or a dead dogge If therfore thou hast wronged anie man, if thou bee able, make him restitution; Non dimittitur peccatum, nisi restituatur ablatum: [...]. Otherwise your corrupt riches, your moth-eaten garments, your cankered golde and silver, nay the verie rust of them shall one day witnesse against you, Jam. 5. Iam. 5. 2, 3. 2, 3. If I have done any man [Page 37] wrong, saith the good Convert, I will restore him fourefold: but that is not all; See, saith Saint Augustine, how he runnes, how he speedes to make him friends of his unrighteous Mammon: Festinans descendit, he comes downe quickly; Verse 5. & dimidia substantiarum mea­rum, and one halfe of my goods I give to the poore; it was good Zaccheus the Arch-Publican, in the 19. of this Gospell, verse Verse 8. 8.

But what? Would you have mee give away my riches to make me friends? will the man of this world say: Surelie that is an ill exchange, and I like it not; I know well enough, that so long as I have riches, I shall [Page 38] have friends, or, if I have not, the matter is not great; for so long as I keepe my riches by mee, they who would be mine enemies, shall bee able to doe me no hurt. Wise Salomon saith, That Riches gather many friends, when the poore is separated from Prov. 19. 4. his neighbour, Prov. 19. 4. And againe, Riches are a strong (it­ty to the owners of them, Prov. 18. 11. What neede I then goe 18. 11. about to make mee better friends of my riches, who me­thinkes are my good friends al­readie?

May not a man safelie (thinke you) say unto this wise world­ling, as once Joab did unto Da­vid, Thou lovest thine enemies, [Page 39] and hatest thy friends? 2 Sam 19. 2 Sam. 19 6. 6. Thy riches, thinke as thou wilt, they are thine enemies. I have seene, saith the Preacher, Eccles. 5. 12, Riches reserved to Eccles. 5. 1 [...] the owner thereof for his hurt: So reserved, that they perish by evill travaile; for hee getteth a sonne, and in his hand is no­thing: As if hee should have said; I have observed a world­lie man, to wearie himselfe and his thoughts, to rise earlie, and goe to bed late, and eate the bread of care all his dayes, to scrape Riches together, and when all is done, leave them to a sonne, that through excesse and riot, dies a beggar, and there's an end. Had it not beene [Page 40] farre 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 poore, 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 iniquitie, I beseech you (Brethren) doe you your selves judge, whither these men are transported, who ad­venture their honours, their re­putations, their honesties, their lives, nay their verie soules too, that they may be rich: Si pos­sunt rectè, si non, quocun (que) modo [Page 41] rem: If they may be rich faire­lie, well and good; if not, they will doe, or suffer anie thing, swallow a bribe, cozen a wid­dow, defraud orphanes, drinke the verie blood of the labou­rers for their wine, and the teares of the oppressed for their drinke, deteine the hirelings wages; and, as the Prophets phrase is, Sell the poore for shooes, and the needy for a peece of bread. Is not this, thinke you, farre from, Facite vobis amicos, Make you friends of your unrighteous Mammon?

Iudge againe, I pray you, your selves, how they follow Christs sweete counsell here in my text, who Ahab-like, are [Page 42] ever sicke of the next field, and have never elbow roome e­nough so long as anie poore Naboth dwelleth neere them; nothing they possesse is worth the having, if they have not all. But above all, thinke what shal become of those men, who insteede of releeving the poore, robbe the Spittle, taking from them what others have alrea­die given them. Of this sort, are those Executours, and Over­seers, who being put in trust with the estates and portions of poore widdowes, and father­lesse children, doe by some tricke in law, or craftie distin­ction of their owne, cozen and deceive them. Such againe are [Page 43] they, who take away from the poore, what the law hath gi­ven in pios usus, and mingle it with their owne; Doe not these, and such as they, pur­chase to themselves the feare­full curses of the afflicted poore, insteede of making them friends of the Mammon of i­niquity?

I beseech you men of the world; you that leane so strong­lie on your God Mammon; What is he in whom you trust? Is he anie other, than (as Para­celsus saith of the Divell) a beggarly spirit? What can hee doe for you? Can he make you honest, wise, healthie? Can he make you live more merrilie, [Page 44] feede more heartilie, sleepe more quietlie? Can he prevent care, sicknesse, sorrow, death, and th [...] paines of hell after death? Or rather doth he not bring, and cause all these? If hee could be friend you so, I should not blame you much to fall downe and worship him; but if (as the truth is) hee ra­ther bring all then otherwise, then mee thinkes admirable is our Saviours counsell in my Text here, Facite vobis amicos, Make ye other friends, make ye friends of your riches of ini­quitie; Bestow the superflui­tie of your goods on the poore, Honour the Lord with your sub­stance, Prov. 3. 9: And great shall Prov. 3. 9. [Page 45] be your reward in heaven, Matth. Mat. 6. 6. 6. 6.

That good Martyr Saint Lau­renie, being asked by Decius Caesar, saith Lyra, what hee had Lyra. done with the great treasure of the Church, which was left by Sixtus his Predecessour, made him this answere, That it was safe enough, for hee had sent it to heaven above, by the hands of the poore on earth. And our owne Warrham, once Arch-bishop of Canterbury, be­ing on his death-bed, sent his steward to see what store of coyne was remaining in his coffers; he returning brought him word, that there was ei­ther verie little, or none at all; [Page 46] (for indeede the good man, be­ing a most charitable Prelate, had given all away before) the Bishop tolde his servant, Ni­mirum sic oportuit; When could I die better, than when I am so even with the world? Oh couldest thou doe so! Lay up thy golde, thy treasures, thy garments there, neither could theeves steale them from thee, nor rust, nor vermine consume them; And thus thou maist doe, if thou bestow them on the poore, they will carrie them to heaven for thee, and there thou shalt be sure one day to finde them againe. Had that foolish rich man, in the 12: of this Gospell, found out this Luke 12. 18. [Page 47] way, hee would have had roome enough to bestow his corne, had his croppe beene farre greater than it was; for of everie emptie bellie of his poore neighbour, hee might have made a new little Barne, wherein hee might have laid up part of his store.

In one word, If thou wantest earthly riches, saith Saint Jerome, seeke not to get them by evill meanes; if God hath already blessed thee with them, send them before thee to heaven by thy good deedes. The Saints of God are, like Dor­cas, Acts 9. 36. Rich in good workes, and almes which they doe; not which they talke of, not which they intend to doe, not which they [Page 48] leave to be done by others but which they doe themselves, they be their owne Executors. Hee that gives nothing in his life time, because hee meanes to leave all to good uses at his death, is much like to him in the Poet, that threw his apples to the hogges because he could not eate them himselfe. I would not be mistaken, I doe not, I dare not (speciallie in such an age as this) speake against cha­ritable deedes, be they done in what kinde soever; but I presse this point the rather, to call to your remembrance, how ma­nie well intended great gifts thus given, have miscarried, and come to nothing: See our [Page 49] owne Annales, and you shall finde them onely recorded, and passed over with this colde Close; It was an ample and a large gift, had it beene performed accordingly. But I goe on.

Saint Gregorie in an Homilie of his, (as if he would directlie crosse that of holie Job: No­thing brought wee into this world, neither shall wee carrie anie thing out of it) falleth upon this medi­tation, That although wee brought nothing into the world, yet it is possible for us to carrie something out of it. How so? Thus, saith he, If we hearken to the voice of the poore, whilest we live, and faile not to re­lieve them when they aske, we car­rie [Page 50] so much of our wealth with us hence, as we gave away here. Lar­giendo servamus, quae servando a­mittimus: What we give away so, we keepe for our selves; and what with a close hand wee keepe, that wee lose for ever. And another of the Ancients tells us, (but I tremble to re­peate it) that the purple glutton in this Gospell is in hell, Non quia abstulerat aliena, sed quia non donarat sua, Not for taking anie thing from the poore, but because hee relieved not their wants. He would not heare the crie of the poore beggar on earth, & how should he look to be heard himself being below? How could he that was merci­lesse [Page 51] to others, expect to receive mercie? or thinke that Abra­ham, or the Saints could be his friends in another world, who had never taken anie, the least care, whilest he was in this, to make him friends of his Mam­mon of iniquitie? To con­clude this point: Oh let not those that drinke wine in bowles, and stretch themselves on beds of y­vorie, forget the afflictions of poore Joseph, Amos 6. 6. It is Amos 6. 6. yours that are rich, (and for my part I come not hither to denie it you) to eate the fat, and drinke the sweete, but then you must remember also to send part to them, for whom nothing is pre­pared, Nehem. 8. 10. And this is Nehem. 8. 10. [Page 52] the verie next way, I know for you, in the midst of your mirth to make you friends of your unrighteous Mammon. But the sonnes of men, although they be manie times most un­reasonable themselves, yet they will alwayes expect to have a reason for what God requireth at their hands; and here in my Text so they shall. Take his counsell, and bee of courage, and doe it, and the third and last part of my Text will tell you Why.

Because a time shall come, when you your selves shall faile, and want, and these friends of yours, shall receive you into ever­lasting habitations. And there is [Page 53] the Cui bono, the end and pur­pose, for which all this is to be done; 3 Ʋt quum defecerîtis, That when you shall faile, They may re­ceive you into everlasting habita­tions. [...], When you shall faile; that is, saith Caie­tan, è presenti vitâ, out of this present life, Ʋt cùm defecerîtis, When you shal want, that is, when you shall want breath, in plaine English, when wee shall dye. As if our Saviour, by this verie forme of speech would teach us, That our studie and over­much care for the increase of those earthlie treasures here, is an evill disease under the Sun, indeede a verie consumption of our selves, for even whilest [Page 54] we labour and vexe our selves, and our soules to gather them, we our selves consume, want, faile, and die.

Cùm defecerîtis, When you shall faile, when is that?

Brieflie, when the Sunne, the Moone, and the Starres shall be darkened, when the keepers of the house shall tremble, the strong men bow themselves, the grinders cease, and they shall bee darkened that looke out of the windowes; as it is, Eccles. 12. 3, 4. That is, Eccles. 12. 3, 4. when all the powers and facul­ties of our soules and bodies, shall faile, and cease; then, loe then, the remembrance of one deede of charitie which thou hast done, shall doe thee more [Page 55] good, than the possession (if thou hadst it) of both the In­dies. Then, and in that houre, it shall more glad thy soule, that thou canst say with meeke Moses, Whose Asse haue I taken? Num. 16. 15. Num 16. 15: or with righteous Samuel, Whose Oxe have I ta­ken? 1 Sam. 12. 3. 1 Sam. 12. 3; than if thou couldest say, All the sheepe and oxen upon a thousand moun­taines were thine owne, by op­pression and wrong. Then, then, when thine eyes shall waxe dimme, thy feete (as the Text is) faile under thee, when thine owne children are pre­sentlie to be fatherlesse, and the wife of thy bosome a wid­dow, oh what an unspeakable [Page 56] comfort shall it be to thee, that thine owne conscience shall then cheare up thy drooping soule, with the sweete remem­brance of what thou hast beene unto others! I have beene eyes to the blinde, and feete was I to the lame, I was a father to the poore, and I ever caused the wid­dowes heart to reioyce, Job 29. Iob 29. 15 15.

Pericles, an Heathen, (as Plu­tarch hath it in his life) although hee knew not what should be­come of his soule, when his bodie failed, yet hee could re­joyce on his death bed, for that he had never given any of the men of Athens, (for there he li­ved) any cause to goe from [Page 57] him sorrowfull. Could such a consideration as this, comfort a dying Heathen? and shall it not much more rejoyce a Christian, that he can in his dying bed say truelie to his soule, I have done no man wrong, I have taken away no mans oxe, I have oppressed no man? I have laboured with my hands, I have eaten mine owne bread, I have now finished my course, I am readie 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 crowne of righteousnesse, which the Lord the righteous Judge shall give unto mee, and not to me onely, but unto [Page 58] 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. Beautie shall wither, knowledge decay, strength faile; and therefore dum bodié, whil'st it is yet called to day, before you faile too, Re­member thy last end, & non peccabis in aeternum, and thou shalt not doe amisse for ever; Thou maist doe amisse againe and a­gaine, but not for ever; the end of such a man is peace at the last A time there shall be when Riches, Beautie, Knowledge, Strength, yea your selves shall faile; and in that day, and that houre, shall the rich man say of [Page 59] his golde, his silver, & his store, as Iob did of his friends, Misera­ble Comforters are ye all; then shal the wiseman say of his know­ledge, his Arts, his skill, as Iob did of his friends, Miserable Com­forters are ye all; Then shall the Minion say of her Beautie, her cropping, her curling, and her painting, as Iob did of his friends Miserable Comforters are ye all, Iob 16 2. Then shall the consi­deration Iob 16. 2. of one houre spent in devotion be more worth than all the golde 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 depart, Then shall the [Page 60] Saint be comforted, then shall he despise this thicke clay, and treade the Moone under his feete; then cries he in his heart, Woe is me that I am constrained to dwell in Mesek, and to inhabite 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 Iesus, come quickly. Cùm defecerîtis,

When you shall faile; If you faile thus, your failing is no faile; for although your legges faile under you, your tongues faile in your mouthes, your eye­sight faile, your strength faile, your friends faile, your selves faile, all faile you at once; yet all this is no faile, but a retreate, [Page 61] that by such going backward, you may gather strength to gaine eternitie 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 faile al earthly things which have depended on us, And on the other side, all those things faile 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; onely our charitie, she followes us still, in death wee take our leave of all our friends, but onely our good works, and they will follow us: so saith the voice from heaven, [Page 62] 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 manie Harbin­gers, they goe 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 shal receive you, In aeterna taberna­cula, Into everlasting habitations.

They? Which they? Your friends which you had before gotten, by your charitie, you [Page 63] heard before who they were, the blessed Saints, the holie An­gels, they shall receive you, car­rie you into Abrahams bosome: The Poore, they shall receive you; poore friends God wot, yet such as shall another day doe you rich favours; for they shall receive you. They: The Poore: Either Pauperes spiritu, saith Bona venture, The poore in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdome of Mat. 5. 3. God, Mat. 5. 3. Or, Pauperes in August. sacculo, The poore who live in want here, their praiers shall receive thee. Orabit pauper prote, The poore shall pray for thee, Ecclesiast. 29. But is that all? Ecclesiast. 29. That is but colde comfort; for alas! how shall he, who whilest [Page 64] hee lived here could not helpe himselfe, and which is worse, it may be, went to hell himselfe after his death, be able to re­ceive mee into everlasting ha­bitations? Why? he shall send up his praiers to heaven for thee; and although perhaps hee doe it not, or not as he ought, it matters not. Thine almes are ever had in remembrance in the sight of God, Acts 10. 31. It is the sweete meditation of the bles­sed Psalmist on this point; Psal. Psal. 16. 2. 16. 2: Tobathi bal gnaléka: Li­kedoshim asher baaretz. My goods, and my goodnes, O Lord, are no­thing unto thee, thou art in hea­ven, and they cannot reach up to thee; therefore they shall be [Page 68] extended to the poore Saints which are on the earth; and why to them? It may be, thou wilt take it as done to thy selfe, so thou shalt receive us thy selfe, but according to all the kind­nesse wee have shewed unto them. Christus recipiet, Christ Jesus, saith Haymo, shall receive us for that good which wee have done unto others. Such, if you marke it well, is the proporti­on of the last doome, when the Saints are received into glorie: Matth. 25, Come ye blessed Mat. 25. of my Father, inherite the King­dome prepared for you. Come, I say, I know you all: Thou ga­vest me once in such a place a cheerefull pennie, else had I [Page 66] gone supperlesse to bed, Come, receive a Crowne for it, now thou shalt sup with the Lambe. At another time thou gavest mee a garment, else had I star­ved for colde, Come, receive thou a wedding garment. Thou gavest me meate when I was hungrie, drinke when I was thirstie, 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 hun­grie, 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, inhe­rite the Kingdome prepared for Mat. 25. you.

Object. But if almes-giving, and our other deedes of charitie be able to reconcile us to God at first, and shall afterwards receive us into everlasting habitations, then by our good workes may we obtaine heaven, and merit eternall life; and, if that be so, in vaine doe wee beleeve that Christs death and passion was all-sufficient for us; or, as Saint Paul saith, That he died for our sinnes, and rose againe for our iusti­fication.

Answ. But in one word to wipe a­way this doubt, and to cleare the doctrine of our Mother the Church of England, in which we live, which in the Homilie of almes deedes teacheth us ex­preslie [Page 65] thus. That Our good works are not the originall cause of our acceptation before God, but conse­quents, fruits and signes of our Ju­stification. Neither doe those Fa­thers of Trent anie more, (for anie thing I could ever see) af­ter al their traversing this point in their sixth Session, but pro­pose the Exercise of good workes to the just, to those who are justified before; which if our Church did not likewise, in vaine have I beene preach­ing unto you all this while, who at this present, meant to doe nothing else. For although wee like not the Rhemists doctrine, who teach, That the kingdome of heaven is to bee [Page 69] had for monie, (the very words of their note upon my Text) nor their Mother the Church of Rome, who putteth the same in practise, as it appeareth by that Catalogue not long since printed at Bolonia in Italian, wherein everie Ecclesiasticall 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, (Ʋivit iustus ex fide) that good workes are prepared for us to walke in; they are, as the Anci­ents taught, Via regni, not causa regnan [...]i: we shew the fruits of that in our sanctificatiō, grow­ing from strength to strength, [Page 70] from one degree of grace unto another, untill we appeare per­fect before our God in Zion, Psal. 84. 7. And so at last God Psal. 84. 7. looking upon these fruites of our righteousnesse, being Tin­cta sanguine Christi, dyed in Christs blood, as Bellarmines phrase is, at last is pleased to grant them a recompence, and to crowne them with a reward of victo­rie. And thus in my Text, are they said to receive those that doe them into everlasting ha­bitations, into the joyes of hea­ven above; and when they are there, no doubt, all of them are fulfilled with glorie, yet as one starre differing from ano­ther; The twelve Apostles sit­ting [Page 71] upon twelve seates, Elias and Iohn Baptist shining as grea­ter lights; For in my Fathers Kingdome, saith our Saviour, are many dwelling places, Ioh. 14. 2. There shall bee paritas gaudii, disparitas gloriae, parity of ioy, dis­parity of glory, yet everie vessell shall bee full according to the measure of its owne capacitie.

Lastly, as they shall be habi­tations, not one, but manie, 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.

Vnwise men that we be, let us give over labouring for those things which perish, and wea rying our selves & our thoughts to gaine those flitting riches, which on a sudden take the wings of the morning, and forsake us; and at last learne to build for eternitie. Let us no longer vexe our selves to com­passe transitorie pleasures, and momentanie delights, which for the most part are gone frō us, before wee can truely say they are come; and now at the last by our good deedes of cha­ritie, lay up for our selves true treasures in heavē above, which can never be taken away from us, nor wee from them, seeing [Page 73] they be everlasting habitations.

Let us lose all, that we may gaine these, let us sell all that we may buy these: Let us never thinke our selves at home, but ever Pilgrimes and strangers, untill we possesse these, these e­verlasting habitations. In one word, let us make us friends of our unrighteous Māmon, that when we our selves shall faile, 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 Lambe, that sitteth upon the Throne, and to the holy Ghost, world with­out end. Amen.