Now the rule is very plain and easy, and fuch as is common to every other virtue, or good temper, as well as to charity. Who is the humble, or meek, or devout, or juft, or faithful man? Is it he that has feeveral times done acts of humility, meeknefs, devotion, juftice, or fidelity? No. But it is he that lives in the habitual exercife of thefe virtues. In like manner, he only can be faid to have performed thefe works of charity, who lives in the habitual exercife of them to the utmost of his power. He only has performed the duty of divine love, who loves God with all his heart, and with all his mind, and with all his ftrength. And he only has performed the duty of these good works, who has done them with all his heart, and with all his mind, and with all his ftrength. For there is no other measure of our doing good, than our power of doing it.

Mat. xviii. 22.

THE Apoftle St. Peter puts this question to our bleffed Saviour, Lord, how oft fhall my brother fin against me, and I forgive him, till ferven times? Jefus faith unto him, I fay not unto thee, until feven times; but until feventy times ferven. Not as if after this number of offences, a man might then cease to forgive; but the expreffion of feventy times seven, is to fhew us, that we are not to bound our forgiveness by any number of offences, but are to continue forgiving he most repeated offences against us. Thus our Saviour faith in another place, if he trefpafs against thee feven times in a day, and feven times in a day turn again to thee, faying, I repent, thou fhalt forgive him. If, therefore, a man ceafes to forgive his brother, because he has forgiven him often already; if he excufes himself from forgiv ing this man, because he has forgiven feveral others; fuch a one breaks this law of Chrift, concerning the forgiving one's brother.

Luke xvii. 4.

Now the rule of forgiving, is alfo the rule of giving you are not to give, or do good to feven, but to feventy times feven. You are not to ceafe from giving,

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because you have given often to the fame perfon, or to other perfons; but muft look upon yourself as much obliged to continue relieving those that continue in wants, as you was obliged to relieve them once, or twice. Had it not been in your power, you had been Excufed from relieving any perfon once; but if it is in your power to relieve people often, it is as much your duty to do it often, as it is the duty of others to do it but feldom, because they are but feldom able. He that is not ready to forgive every brother, as often as he wants to be forgiven, does not forgive like a disciple of Chrift. And he that is not ready to give to every brother, that wants to have fomething given him, does not give like a Disciple of Chrift. For it is as neceffary to give to seventy times feven, to live in the continual exercise of all good works to the utmost of our power, as it is neceffary to forgive until feventy times feven, and live in the habitual exercise of this forgiving. temper towards all that want it.

AND the reafon of all this is very plain, because there is the fame goodness, the fame excellency, and the fame neceffity of being thus charitable at one time, as at another. It is as much the best use of our money,. to be always doing good with it, as it is the best use, of it at any particular time; fo that that which is a reafon for a charitable action, is as good a reason for a charitable life. That which is a reafon for forgiving one offence, is the fame reafon for forgiving all offences. For fuch charity has nothing to recommend it to day, but what will be the fame recommendation of it to morrow; and you cannot neglect it at one time, without being guilty of the fame fin, as if you neglected it at another time.

As fure, therefore, as these works of charity are neceffary to falvation, fo fure is it, that we are to do them to the utmost of our power; not to day, or to morrow, but through the whole courfe of our life. If therefore it be our duty at any time to deny our felves any, needless expences, to be moderate and frugal, that

we

we may have to give to those that want, it is as much our duty to do fo at all times, that we may be farther able to do more good: For if it is at any time a fin to prefer needlefs vain expence to works of charity, it is fo at all times: because charity as much excels all needlefs and vain expences at one time as at another. So that if it is ever neceffary to our falva-tion, to take care of these works of charity, and to fee that we make our felves in fome degree capable of doing them; it is as neceffary to our falvation, to take care to make our felves as capable as we can be, of performing them in all the parts of our life.

EITHER therefore you must so far renounce your Christianity, as to fay, that you need never perform any of thefe good works; or you must own, that you are to perform them all your life in as high a degree as you are able. There is no middle way to be taken, any more than there is a middle way betwixt pride and humility, or temperance and intemperance. If you do not ftrive to fulfil all charitable works, if you neglect any of them that are in your power, and deny affiitance to thofe that want what you can give, let it be when it will, or where it will, you number yourself amongst those that want Chriftian charity.. Because it is as much your duty to do good with all that you have, and to live in the continual exercise of good works, as it is your duty to be temperate in all that you eat and drink.

HENCE alfo appears the neceffity of renouncing all thofe foolish and unreasonable expences, which the pride and folly of mankind has made fo common and fafhionable in the world. For if it is neceffary to do good works as far as you are able, it must be as neceffary to renounce thofe needlefs ways of fpending money, which render you unable to do works of charity.

You must therefore no more conform to these ways of the world, than you must conform to the vices of the world; you muit no more spend with those that

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idly wafte their money as their own humour leads them, than you must drink with the drunken, or indulge your felf with the Epicure; because a course of fuch expences is no more confiftent with a life of charity, than excess in drinking is confiftent with a life of fobriety. When therefore any one tells you of the lawfulness of expenfive apparel, or the innocency of pleafing your felf with coitly fatisfactions, only imagine that the fame perfon was to tell you, that you need not do works of charity, that Chrift does not require you to do good unto your poor brethren, as unto him, and then you will fee the wickedness of fuch advice; for to tell you, that you may live in fuch expences, as make it impoffible for you to live in the exercife of good works, is the fame thing as telling you, that you need not have any care about fuch good works themselves.

CHAP. VII.

How the imprudent use of an estate corrupts all the tempers of the mind, and fills the heart with poor and ridiculous paffions through the whole courfe of life; reprefented in the character of Flavia.

I'

T has already been observed, that a prudent and religious care is to be used, in the manner of spending our money or eftate, because the manner of spending our eftate makes fo great a part of our common life, and is fo much the bufinefs of every day, that according as we are wife, or imprudent, in this refpect, the whole courfe of our lives, will be render'd either very wife, or very full of folly.

PERSONS, that are well affected to Religion, that receive inftructions of piety with pleafure and fatisfac tion, often wonder how it comes to pafs, that they make no greater progrefs in that Religion which they fo much admire.

Now

Now the reason of it is this; it is because Religion lives only in their head, but fomething else has poffeffion of their hearts; and therefore they continue from year to year mere admirers, and praisers of piety, without ever coming up to the reality and perfection of its precepts..

If it be ask'd, why Religion does not get poffeffion of their hearts, the reafon is this. It is not because they live in grofs fins, or debaucheries, for their regard to religion preferves them from fuch disorders.

BUT it is because their hearts are conftantly employed, perverted, and kept in a wrong ftate, by the indifcreet ufe of fuch things as are lawful to be us'd.

THE ufe and enjoyment of their eftates is lawful, and therefore it never comes into their heads to imagine any great danger from that quarter. They never reflect, that there is a vain, and imprudent ufe of their eftates, which though it does not destroy like grofs fins, yet fo diforders the heart, and fupports it in fuch fenfuality and dulnefs, fuch pride and vanity; as makes it incapable of receiving the life and spirit of piety.

FOR Our fouls may receive an infinite hurt, and be render'd incapable of all virtue, merely by the use of innocent and lawful things.

WHAT is more innocent than rest and retirement? And yet what more dangerous, than floth and idlenefs? What is more lawful than eating and drinking? And yet what more destructive of all virtue, what more fruitful of all vice, than. fenfuality and indulgence?

How lawful and praife-worthy is the care of a family.? And yet how certainly are many people render'd incapable of all virtue, by a worldly and folicitous temper?

Now it is for want of religious exactness in the ufe of these innocent and lawful things, that Religion cannot get poffeffion of our hearts. And it is in the right and prudent management of our felves, as to

thefe