A20764:336
The plea of the poor. Or A treatise of beneficence and alms-deeds teaching how…The plea of the poore. Or A treatise of benificence and almes-deeds teaching how…
The plea of the poor. Or A treatise of beneficence and alms-deeds teaching how these Christian duties are rightly to be performed, and persuading to the frequent doing of them. Necessary for these times, wherein the works of mercy are so much neglected, or so undiscreetly practiced. Published by John Downame Bachelor in Divinity.The plea of the poore. Or A treatise of benificence and almes-deeds teaching how these Christian duties are rightly to be performed, and perswading to the frequent doing of them. Necessary for these times, wherein the workes of mercy are so much neglected, or so vndiscreetly practized. Published by Iohn Downame Bachelour in Diuinitie.
London: printed by Edward Griffin for Ralph Mabbe, 1616
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
Sect 7. Giving alms in our life-time most suitable & comely for a Christian.
Sect 7. Giuing almes in our life-time most sutable & comely for a Christian.
Fifthly, it is most comely and suitable that a charitable life should go before a charitable death, and it well beseemeth a Christian so to live continually as he meaneth to dye. For who can expect a pleasant epilogue, after a direful tragedy? or that he should be pitiful, compassionate and liberal in the end, who in all his former course hath been cruel, hard-hearted and niggardly? or that God will honour him with a close of bounty and blessedness, who hath all his whole life dishonoured God & wronged his poor Saints with his extreme miserableness and gripplenes? or how shall a man take his words spoken in extremity of sickness, I give and bequeath pounds and hundreds to these and these good uses, who would not in his whole life part with a few pence to relieve the poor's necessity and preserve them from starving? who seeing such dissonancy and disagreement between his present words and former practise, would not think that he raved and talked idly, rather then out of a settled judgement and good deliberation? Again, it better suiteth with the nature of these good works to be done by our selves in our life-time, then to be left unto ⟨p. 149⟩the discretion of other to be done by them after our death; in which respect our Saviour calleth our good works by the name of lights, to imply unto us, that we must see them go before us, and not suffer them by others to be held behind our backs.