The temple A sermon preached at Pauls Cross the fifth of August. 1624. By…The temple A sermon preached at Pauls Crosse the fifth of August. 1624. By…

There be other sacrifices also for us to offer in this Temple, on this Altar. Besides our praises and prayers; ¹the setting forth of our prayer as Incense, and the lifting up our hands as an evening sacrifice: there is mercy, & charitable deeds. What is devotion without compassion? What, sacrifice without mercy? ²If thy brother hath ought against thee, yea, if thou have ought that should have bin thy brothers; thy oblation will stink in Gods nostrils. It was an old complaint of the Church, that her stones were clothed, and her children naked; that the curious found matter to delight them, but the distressed found not bread to sustain them. Therefore saith S. Augustine, ³Si habes taurum pinguem, occide pauperibus: If thou have a fat Bull, sacrifice it to the poor. Though they cannot drink the blood of goats, they can eat the flesh of bulls. And he that saith, ⁴If I were hungry, I would not tell thee; yet will acknowledge at the last day, I was hungry, ⁵and thou didst feed me; Come thou blessed. The poor have Gods commendatory letters to us, and our prayers be our commendatory letters to God: if we will ⟨p. 60⟩not hearken to him, how should he gratify us? Thus, O Christian, art thou a moving Temple of the living God.

There be other sacrifices also for vs to offer in this Temple, on this Altar. Besides our praises and prayers; ¹the setting forth of our prayer as Incense, and the lifting vp our hands as an euening sacrifice: there is mercy, & charitable deeds. What is deuotion without compassion? What, sacrifice without mercy? ²If thy brother hath ought against thee, yea, if thou haue ought that should haue bin thy brothers; thy oblation will stink in Gods nostrils. It was an old complaint of the Church, that her stones were clothed, and her childrē naked; that the curious found matter to delight them, but the distressed found not bread to sustaine them. Therfore saith S. Augustine,