The lawyers question The answer to the lawyers question. The censure of Christ upon…The lavviers question The answere to the lawiers question. The censure of Christ vpon…

But let us come to the second thing, which showeth who is bound to love, Thou shalt love. Under this word thou; God comprehendeth every particular man and woman: as if he should say, Thou thy self, and not any other, for thou shalt love thy neighbour. The poor man is not exempted from this precept, because he may love aswell as the rich. If he say I have no wealth, and therefore I cannot show my love to my neighbour. Though he have no wealth, yet he hath a heart, he hath a mind, he hath an affection; let him have a loving heart, a loving mind, and a loving affection; if he cannot do well, let him wish well unto his neighbour; if he can or gratify him with any thing that he hath let him not envy at any thing that the rich man hath sorts the rich man shows that he loves his neighbour, if he relieve his necessity: so the poor man showeth that he loves his ⟨image 26⟩neighbour, if he grieve not at his prosperity. This therefore as a general precept, bindeth the poor aswell as the rich, it is a common yoke laid upon the neck, and a common burden laid upon the back of every christian, but yet it is an easy yoke, and a light burden, Matt. 11. because it is love, which maketh all things to seem delightsome. As there are some that would be content to love if they might not give; so there are some would be content to give, if they were sure they should not want: therefore when it comes to giving, they post it over to their heirs or to their executors, or to their successors when they are dead; they are never liberal until they die, and then they are liberal of that which is none of theirs. They think to be excused by the liberality of their, heirs, but they are bound to be liberal for themselves: therefore they must not lay the burden upon them, because every man must bear his own burden, Gal. 6. If they say, I know not what need I may have before I die, let them remember, that what they give unto the poor, they lend unto the Lord, and he is a sure paymaster, he gives great usury, and as David laid, I never saw the righteous forsaken, nor his seed beg their bread: so they must needs confess, if they will confess the trueth, that they never saw the godly man that was liberal to ⟨image 27⟩the poor, by that means to come to misery.