fo unequally, that one was hungry, to wit, the poor, and another was drunken, to wit, the rich; this made the a postle to ask them, What! have ye not houses to eat

and drink in? or defpife ye the church of God, and shame 'them that have not?' I Cor. xi. 21, 22, In the original, them that are poor. The very cafe alfo of the Chriftian Jews in general, and therefore faith James in his general epifle to them, My brethren, have hot the faith of our Lord Jefus Chrift with refpect of perfons; for if there come unto your affembly a man with a golden ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in alfo a poor man in vile raiment, ye have refpect to him that weareth the gay cloathing, and ye fay to him, Sit thou here in a good place, but ye fay to the poor, Stand thou there, or fit * under my footstool: Are ye not partial in yourselves, and judges of evil thoughts,' James xii. 3, 4. I fhall not deny, but that there is a holy and warrantable respect of persons, in respect of their age, calling, gifts, greatness in the world, but when great reverence is fhewed to the rich, and our poor brethren are under contempt, as if they were unworthy our company and converse, when we go lo far as to esteem the wicked rich above the godly poor, that when we fo debafe the godly poor we confider them not at all according to their eminency in grace, and high ftation in Christianity; but we pafs by the appearance of God in them, without any mark or notice, furely this is a fin, and this is a temptation of Satan; can it be of any thing that's ought, that a refpect fhould be had to a worldly luftre rather than to a spiritual grace? That a gold ring fhould be preferred before a rich faith, doth this favour of Christianity? Or rather doth it not favour of the order of thefe principalities, and powers, and rulers, and spiritual wickedneffes here in my text? I believe devils do thus in oppofition to God and his ways; they defpife the poor and prefer the rich; but hearken my beloved brethren, hath not God chofen the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom? James 1. 5. God and the devil are as contrary as may be; God hath refpect to the lowliness of his handmaiden, he exalteth them of low degree, he filleth the hungry with

'good

good things, and the rich he fends away empty,' Luke į, 48, 49. But Satan prefers wicked worldlings, and ac. cordingly tempts others to exalt, advance and honour them, whilft the godly poor must be neglected, contemned, depreffed, and it may be perfecuted, because of their outward defpicablenefs; to this fin are they most prone that are great, and rich, and profper in this world, what care they for the image of God fhining in mean Chriftians? If they be not of their rank, they will fcarce look on them as men, much lefs as godly, and as David calls them, The excellent of the earth, Pfal. xvi. 3.

SECT. XVII.

Of our Wrestling with Satan in this respect.

F this be one of Satan's ftratagems for the up fetting I and upholding of his own kingdom, then you whom God hath bleffed with outward eftates, it concerns you toarm yourselves against this temptation, and to wreftle thus:

1. Own them that fear God, be they never fo poor; are they not the glory of God, the treasure of God, the portion of God, the peculiar people of God, and what ? are you afhamed of them who are gracious, because they are outwardly mean? What is this but to be ashamed of Chrift himself? He was poor in the world, and he preached the gospel to the poor, and he accounts of the poor as his members, and at the laft day he will acknowlege that what is done to the poor, it is all one as if done to himfelf. O then be not afttamed of them, as you would not have Chrift to be ashamed of you at the last day; men are willing enough to own their treafure, I must tell you that the godly poor are the church's treasure, and upon that account who would not own them? I remember when Laurence was to fuffer martyrdom, the tyrant that persecuted him, understanding him to be a deacon of the church, and fo a diftributer of the church's riches, he promised to himself a double prey by the apprehension of one fingle filly foul; thereupon he demanded of Laurence where was the fubftance of the church; Laurence craving three days refpite, he promised to declare to him where the treasure might be had: In the mean time, he caufed a number of poor Chriflians to be gathered together; when the day of

his anfwer was come, the perfecutor ftrictly charged him to ftand to his promife; then valiant Laurence stretching out his arms over the poor, faid, These are the precious treasure of the church, thefe are the treasure indeed, in whom the faith of Chrift reigneth, in whom Jefus Christ hath his manfion place: What more precious jewels can Christ have than thofe in whom he hath promifed to dwell? for fo it is written, I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat, I was thirsty, and ye gave me to drink, &c, and look what ye have done to one of thefe, the fame ye have done to me. Indeed this anfwer vexed the tyrant, but the poor martyr ftood to it, tho' he died for it a moft cruel death: O do ye own them who are godly poor! now for shame be not you ashamed of them.

and

2. Clofe with them, vouchfafe to be much in their fo ciety: This was the apostle's rule, Mind not high things, but condefcend to men of low estate, Rom. xii. 16. Jerome in his epiftle to Pamachius, bade him to equal himself with the poor, and now and then to go into the cells of the needy. I can eafily observe how the rich affociate them. felves with the rich, and many times with the poor or in. ferior forts of men, but they are with the most vile, profane, and debauched of all the poor in the country. In the mean time, the godly poor are strangers to them, ftrange they muft be; unless they will drink, fwear, ram. ble, and applaud them for their kindness and hofpitality to all the rabble with whom they converfe and live. Alas! this is not the life of Chriftians, but of heathens. I shall never forget the common faying of a grave, antient, and godly divine in this country, who is now with God, A leg of a lark, faid he, is more worth than the whole body of a kite. One poor foul, be it never so poor, if it have but the breathings of God's Spirit in it, he is of more va lue than a village, or a whole town full of wicked, de bauch'd, atheistical boon companions, as we ufually call them: God's people (whether poor or no) are the glory of the world, yea, the glory of God himfelf; but as for others, God fpeaks of them as dirt and dross, Thou putteft away all the wicked of the earth like drofs, Pfal. cxix. 119. God's people are ufually in fcripture called his portion,

The

01

C

The Lord's portion is his people, Deut. xxxii. 9. His plea fant portion, They have made my pleasant portion a defolate wilderness, Jer. xii. 10. His treasure, his peculiar treafore, Ye fhall be a peculiar treasure to me above all people, for all the earth is mine, Exod. xix. 5. His glory, the crown of his glory, Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God, Ifa. lxii. 3. What! is it thus? are poor faints in fuch esteem with God, and he looks upon them as his portion, his pleasant portion, his treafure, his peculiar treasure, his glory, the crown of his glory? O then how fhould you bend yourselves to clofe with them, and to be much in their fociety, whofe very fociety is indeed the communion of faints!

3. Delight in them, as thofe in whom God himself delights. David, tho' a king, could stoop thus far: I believe he was upon the point of charity, when he fpake thus of them, but whom id his charity benefit? Not God, but his poor faints. 'O my foul, thou haft faid unto the 'Lord, Thou art my Lord, my goodness extendeth not 4 unto thee, but to the faints that are in the carth, and 'to the excellent in whom is all my delight,' Pial. xvi. 2, 3. It feems the poor faints were a king's delight; kings have their delights, and this was all the delight king David had, In them is all my delight. And no wonder, for herein he conformed to God, the poor faints are God's delight; it is God's judgment of men, That the righteous is more excellent than his neighbour, Prov. xii. 26.

Hence fome obferve, that the lion and eagle were not offered in facrifice to God, but the poor lamb and dove were; great and brave spirits of the world, high as the eagle, and lofty as the lion, God regards them not, but poor humble fpirits that are contemptible in the eyes of the world, thofe are precious to God; he delights in them as in his own darlings. Why thus? do you delight in them, as those in whom God himself delights.

4. Do them good, as the best and chief objects of charity. It is the apoftie's advice, As we have opportunity, let us do good unto all men, but especially unto them who are of the houshold of faith,' Gal, vi, 10. You fee

there

ere is an especially put upon them: Let me tell you of a deal of miltaken charity amongst you: You think to do offices of love, or of kindness, or of alms, promifcüoufly to all is brave, and gets a good report of the country, and the praise of men; and you thall never have the praise of God for this. If you will do any office of love, kindnefs, alms, or the like, be fure to set an especially on the Houthold of faith. Thefe are they that reprefent Ghrift, atid indeed are the members of Christ, and stand in Chrifl's ffead; fo he will tell you at the laft day, 'For I was an hungry, and ye gave the meat, I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink, I was a ftranger, and ye took me in, naked, and ye clothed me, fick, and ye vifited me, in • prifon, and ye came unto me.- -In as much as ye have ⚫ done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me,' Mat. xxv. 35. 36. Mark, thofe who are Chrift's brethren, (which the wicked are not) yea, thofe who are the leaft of Chrift's brethren, (which the proud, High lofty ones are not) why thefe are they whom Chrift reckons on his own account, fo that whatsoever ye do to them, you do it unto him. Oh that this plea of Christ were writ on your doors, that you might better know whom to welcome in, and whom to entertain and do good unto, as you would bid welcome, and give entertainment to Jefus Christ himself.

I

SECT. XVIII.

Of the Alfaults of Satan to the Ufe of unlawful Means. F ye are in adverfity, Satan ufually tempts us to the ufe of unlawful means. Thus when Chrift had no of dinary means of getting bread, Satan tempts him to provide for himself by extraordinary. When Efau came out of the field weary, and hungry, and almost dead for want of meat, then fell thy birth right, faid Satan, and fo he did. When Peter was in great danger in the high pricft's hall, then deny thy mafter, faid Satan, forfwear him, and curfe thyfelf. When we are in adverfity and in waat, then faith Satan, Thou must live, thou must not put forth thy family to beg, thou muft utter thy wares, tho' by ly ing, fwearing, exacting, deceiving. Want and neceffity is the devil's opportunity to fet upon us; fowlers ufually fet