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…

Sect. 6.

The other objection is, that if we be so liberal ⟨p. 196⟩in giving to the poor, we shall hereby consume ¹our estate, and so our selves be brought into penury. To which I answer, that we must in this regard order our affairs with christian discretion, and deliver so much to be sent before us, as that we our selves do not want necessaries for our honest occasions and the well finishing of our journey, which being observed there is no cause why we should fear poverty by relieving the poor. The wise husbandman doth not cast all his seed into the ground, but reserveth so much at least as will be sufficient to maintain his family; and so we must sow not all we have, but all which we can spare, that through our indiscretion we want not food before the time of harvest. And this is all I desire (saith the covetous miser) but seeing my goods are subject to many casualties, and I may have many extraordinary occasions which may bring me into want, I will not part with much, because I will be sure to leave sufficient for my self. Yea but how will thy hoarding up of riches preserve thee from these perils, and not rather through Gods just judgement expose thee unto them, because thou disobeyest his commandment, through diffidence and distrust in his providence and resting upon thine own provision? Or how canst thou tell when thou hast sufficient to maintain thee and thy charge? seeing ²if God do but blow upon thy wealth, all, as well as a part, will vanish away and give thee no warning when it departeth? In which regard how much better were it to use things present, and to ⟨p. 197⟩