in a Confederacy against the Evils and Miferies of Life; that no fooner shall Misfortune feize one, but all fhall be alarmed, and Help flow in from every Quarter; that every Hand shall bring Affiftance, and every Tongue bring Comfort to the Afflicted; and each Man's Happiness be the common Concern, while every Man loves his Neighbour as himself. What a bleffed State would this be! and how much Happiness did the wise Author of Nature defign for us, when he made the common Intereft of Mankind to be every particular Man's Duty! What Love to Man did the Author of the Gospel fhew, when he required it, as a Mark of our being his Difciples, that we fhould love one another!

Having confidered now the Extent of this great Duty of Love and Mercy towards our Brethren, it will be easy in the second Place to estimate by this Measure what Value there is in the Excufes which are frequently made for the Neglect of this Duty.

But to speak without Confufion on this Subject, it is neceffary to diftinguish between Love, as merely a Sentiment and Habit of the Mind, and as coupled with a Power and Ability to exert itself in external Acts of

Mercy

Mercy. Confidered as an Habit and Sentiment of the Mind, it must be universal, without Exception; and no Pretence whatever can justify Malevolence and Hatred in any Inftance. But it may be, and often is the Cafe, that those who have the Habit of this Virtue, are able to exert it in very few Instances; they are too poor to give Alms, too ignorant to give Advice, of too little Confideration in the World to aid or protect their Neighbours. In all these Cases Want of Ability is fomething more than an Excufe, for an Excufe goes to the Omiffion of Duty; but there can be no Duty or Obligation on any Man to do what he has no Power or Ability to perform. But yet let the meanest among us confider, that there are Duties of Love proper to their Station ; if they have no Money to beftow, yet they have good or ill Words to bestow on their Neighbours; they are able to affist in vindicating or afperfing their Characters; and this is an Inftance in which their Good-will or Malevolence may be as effectually fhewn, as if they had great Revenues to dispose of; and I am afraid the poorer Sort, who are Petitioners for Charity of another Kind, S

want

want often to be put in Mind of this Kind of Charity themselves. But to go on.

Where Men's Fortunes and Stations in the World enable them to exert their Love and Mercy in Acts of Generofity and Benevolence to Perfons in Distress, there is often an Unwillingness, and always an Excufe to attend it. From what has been faid of the Duty in general, it is evident, that to confine our Charity to Relations, Acquaintance, or Men of the fame Country, is acting inconfiftently with the great Reasons on which the Duty itself is founded, and is therefore a Breach of Duty which cannot be justified; and it is indeed that very Pretence

which our Saviour intended to exclude and condemn in the Parable of the good Samaritan. But what fhall we fay to the perfonal Merit of those who are Objects of Charity? In the Parable the Perfon relieved was a Stranger to him who relieved him, and was known to him only by his Mifery and Distress; and therefore in this Example fet before us, the personal Character had no Influence in the Charity. And in other Places of the Gospel we are exhorted to follow the Example fet us by our heavenly Fa

ther,

ther, who maketh his Sun to rife on the Evil and on the Good, and sendeth Rain on the Juft and on the Unjuft. But as no Man's Ability to do good in any Way is unlimited, it is commendable furely to seek after the propereft and most deferving Objects of Charity; and in this Confideration the Virtue and Innocence of the Sufferer must be of great Moment.

There would perhaps be little Reafon upon the Whole to be very nice and curious in the Choice of Objects, were it not for the many Frauds and Cheats which are daily practifed upon the Charity of welldifpofed Perfons. Begging is become a Trade, and without Doubt it is a very wicked one; it is not only a Cheat on the Giver, but it is robbing the Stock of the Poor, and perverting what was intended for the Comfort of real Distress, to the Support of Idleness. It is greatly injurious to the Poor in another Respect, as it lays a general Sufpicion upon all who apply for Alms; and many a proper Object fails of the Relief due to him, because he can say no more in his true Cafe than Counterfeits fay every Day in a falfe one.

There is another very great Discourage-
S 2

ment

ment which charitable Perfons are under, from obferving the ill Ufe which the Poor often make of their Benefactions to them. One would imagine that a Man who wanted Food and Raiment, and all other Neceffaries of Life, was pretty well fecured against the Exceffes of ftrong Liquors, or any other Temptations, which must neceffarily exhauft his little Stock, and leave him unable to provide for his Wants. But the Cafe is far otherwife; the general Corruption of Manners too plainly to be seen in this Country, has spread among the loweft; and Neceffity itself is grown luxurious. It is very much to be lamented, that fo much Art and Skill have been fhewn of late Years, to make Drunkenness the cheapest of all Vices; for it will, it already has made it the commoneft, and let in all the Vices which follow this Excefs upon the poorest of our People; who were formerly so far happy in their Poverty, that their Want fecured them from many Vices to which their richer Neighbours were expofed.

How to advise charitable Perfons to fteer clear of these Inconveniences in their private Benefactions, I know not; perhaps it may be a good Rule in general not to be too curious,