Deut. xxiv. 12, 13.

Levit. xxv. 35, &c.

it be Sin unto thee: Thou shalt furely Give him, and thine Heart shall not be Grieved when thou giveft unto him; Because that for this Thing the Lord thy God fhall Bless thee in all thy Works, and in all that thou puttest thine Hand unto: For the Poor shall never cease out of the Land; therefore ICommand thee, faying, Thou shalt open thine Hand wide unto thy Brother, to thy Poor, and to thy Needy in the Land. And, Ver. 8. Thou shalt open thine Hand wide unto him, and shalt furely Lend him fufficient for his Need, in that which he wanteth.

(3.) And no Ufe was to be taken for any Money fo Lent, nor any Pledge taken for it; or if taken, to be Reftor'd before the Going down of the Sun.

If the Man be Poor, thou shalt not fleep with his Pledge; in any Cafe thou fhalt Deliver him the Pledge again, when the Sun goeth down.

If thy Brother be waxen Poor, and fallen in Decay with thee, then thou Shalt Relieve him; yea, though he be a Stranger, or a Sojourner; that he may Live with thee: Take thon no Ufury of

him, or Increase--- Thou shalt not give bim thy Money upon Ufury, nor lend him thy Victuals for Increase.

And the Sanction given to this Law, is, (Ver. 36.) Fear thy God. They were to truft abfolutely in God, in His Bleffing upon their Labours, and therefore to Fear left they fhould, through any Act of Covetousness, argue the leaft Distrust in Him, or to think that fuch

and Trust Acts of High Charity,

in God, and His

upon their Obedience to His Commands, wou'd not yield them Greater Increase than their Ufury, or any Humane Methods cou'd be Devised.

IV. As God Requir'd our abfolute Dependence upon Him, as to Neceffaries of Life, and Protection from our Enemies, in the Inftances before told; fo, to fhew further, that it was not our own Endeavours to which we Low'd our Prefervation, He Referv'd to Himfelf Great Portions of our Time, to be Abstracted from all Worldly Business, and Employ'd wholly in His Immediate Service, and Worship. 1. The Stated Hours of Prayer, three

times every Day, (Dan. vj. 10. Pfal. Iv. 17.) The more Devout Extended it to Seven Times a Day, (Pfal. cxix. 164.) Then ther was a Morning and Evening-Sacrifice every Day. 2. The WEEKLY Sabbath, or every Seventh DAY. 3. The Feast of WEEKS, after Seven Weeks, or Sabbaths, (Levit. xxiij. 15. Deut. xvj.9.) 4. The Feaft of every Seventh MONTH, which lafted for Seven Days together, (Levit. xxiij. 34, 36.) 5. Every Seventh YEAR, (before fpoke of.) 6. The Jubile, after Seven of the Sabbatical Tears, i. e. after 49 Years. Here we have a Sabbath of Seven HOURS, DAYS, WEEKS, MONTHS, YEARS, and of feven times Seven Tears. All these Multiplications of Sabbaths.

And befides all thefe, ther were many other Feafts, (Levit. xxiij. ) both Anniverfary, and Occafional, which I ftay not to Enumerate, because I Haften to my Defign'd Scope, that of Tythes.

As God requir'd a Weekly Seventh Part of our Time, befides many other Monthly and Yearly Feafts and Fafts:

So

fo has He, for the fame Reason, (to teach us to Trust and Depend upon Him for All that we have or expect,) Requir'd from us (as will be fhewn) a Conftant Tenth Part of our Subftance, as a Yearly Tribute; befides many other Offerings, Sacrifices, Charities to the Poor, and Occafional Expences, which He did oblige us to, in His Service; for a Conftant and daily Exercife of our Faith in Him: Without which, it wou'd Decay, and at laft Die; as a Body without Daily Food.

It is faid, that the Just do Live by Rom. i. 17. Faith: And that they Grow from Faith to Faith. Which fuppofes a Daily Increafe, and Daily Nourish

ment.

Men cannot Live long upon one Meal, though never fo Plentiful. And a Man is not faid to Live upon a Dainty, which he but feldom Taftes. What a Man Lives upon, is his Daily Food. And the Just cou'd not be faid to Live by Faith, if they Exerted only now and then fome one Heroical A&t of Faith; as Abraham's Sacrificing his Son, and the like. C

Nay,

Nay, they cou'd not fhew fuch Extraordinary Strength of Faith, upon fome Particular Occafions, if they did not Daily Feed upon it, and Improve it. Such Gigantick Faith Grows not all at once: And the Spiritual, as well as Bodily Activity, is not Improv'd without Conftant Exercife: That is it which makes Perfect, in Thoughts as well as Actions, in Faith, in Love, in Every thing. A Giant refresh'd with Wine, fhews Miracles of Strength: But one Draught of Wine gave him not that Strength, only ftirr'd it up. So, upon fome Great Emergencies, our Faith is ftirr'd up, like Sampfon, to Rouse it felf.

But we must learn to Fight, before we come to the Battel. If we have not a Habit of Faith, we can never Exert Great Acts: And Habits cannot be Acquir'd, without often Repeated Ads. To this End were Tythes and Sabbaths Inftituted, to ufe us. to Frequent and Daily Acts of Faith: And till we are well us'd to these, we can never Rife to Higher. Therefore we fee how Neceffary it is to Us, to Improve thefe Small Acts of our Faith,

and