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Faith, and fuperfeding all the Levitical or Moral Law's of Retaliation or Revenge, through the Mildness of her Temper, and Love of her Saviour, for the Honour of Chriftianity: in Imitation of the Meekness of the Lamb, which was to difarm the Fierceness of the Lion, and turn his Heart to a Miracle. However yet, he can easily distinguish aright between Friends and Foes, between People's Merits and Demerits; to find-out proper Objects among the Multitude of common Beggars, and fix chiefly upon thofe that best deserve her charitable Reliet in private; who, perhaps, have not the Affurance to beg Abroad, and make a Trade of their Neceffities. She very well knows, that fome poor honeft Houfe-Keepers come to Decay, with their nu merous Families, ftand in greater Need and Want more than all the errant Strolers or sturdy Va grants about the Town. Such diftreffed Hofpi tallers, as I may call them, at their own Homes, never fail of her generous Help, or comfortable Affiftance. And yet her actual Beneficence in Publick too, is as general, diffufive and unlimited, as her well-known Benevolence can reasonably be fuppos'd; faving this just Distinction of common Prudence and Difcretion, in Regard of a virtuous Poverty. Virtue always has her Prefe rence, and finds her primary Favours. She is a Sort of an univerfal Hofpital her felf, for the Subfiftence or Maintenance of all Starvlings of any Worth, Merit or Character: Infomuch that nothing can exceed or excel the liberal Extenfi on, and bountiful Porrection of her helpful Hands to the Poor; as fhe is true to the Text still, and always acts on the right Hand. Thus fhe exactly moralizes the poetical Story of the Three Graces All in One, to the best Advantage, for

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her own Ufe, Application and Practice: not only_affimilating, but far exceeding Aglaia in the Brightness, Thalia in the Floridnefs, and Euphrofyne in the Joyfulness of her incomparable Charity. The very Number of them fhews us how to give Alms bountifully, to receive good Turns thankfully, and to requite Courtefies benevolently. The feign'd Embleme is excellently moral and useful in Reality. One of them is fuppos'd to be painted with her Back towards us; to reprefent the Favours proceeding from our forward Hands: the other Two with their Faces towards us; to fignify that double Thanks are indeed due, for one Benefit done in Neceffity. They were drawn naked, to fhew that Kindneffes ought to be done in Truth, without Diffembling, Hypocrify, or Oftentation. They were pictur'd young, to denote that the Remembrance of Benefits ought never to grow Old or out of Date; laughing, to fignify the Chearfulness of the Donor's Mind, in Gifts or A&ts of Charity; and embracing each other Hand in Hand, with their Arms link'd together, to teach us that one Obligation fhould draw on another, and be fo intimately complicated, as to make the Knot and Bond of Love indiffoluble. But these are only faint Refemblances of our more virtuous, graceful and charitable Lady, in a Chriftian Comparifon. The Diffufiveness of her greater Charity, is exprefs'd in the Hebrew Tongue, by spreading out her Hands; as if it was to receive the Poor into her Arms, and comfort them in her Bofom. She remembers what the Holy Jefus himself faid, with St. Paul, Acts Chap. xx. Ver. 35. It is more bleffed to give than to receive: we have Chrift's own Word for it; fo that she be

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ftows all her Gifts upon the Needy, and makes the Poor, in a great Meafure, Receivers General of her Bounties.

1. HER Charity at Home, is exceedingly remarkable, and fingularly great. How kindly does fhe treat her whole well-provided Family, with the tendereft Affection and most effectual Care! Every Action of her Life fhews her faithful Love towards them, for their Relief and Confolation in all Exigencies. she clings about her Husband and Children, like the loving Ivy to the Oak; and folaces them both in Health and Sickness; in Need, Sorrow, or any other Adverfity. They are the very Fondlings of her pious Life and Soul, as well as the firft Favourites of her growing Charity. Thefe fhe cherishes as the tender Chickens of her Love, above all other Creatures. They fenfibly feel the Warmth of her Bofom; basking in the Beams of her shining Virtues, and comfortable Embraces. 'Tis obfervable, how her natural Affection inlivens their Hearts with fresh fuccours; reinforces their Strength, revives their Faculties, fupplies their Deficiencies, and recruits their Satisfactions with new Vigour of Life, like the great Luminary: infomuch that the Virtue of her Tenderness, is little Inferiour to that in a tower Sphere of Action; as to its Power, Fervency, and Diffufivenefs; Influence and Efficacy. In fhort, fhe inlightens her whole Houfhold, with a true Spirit of Piety and Devoutnefs, by the glorious Gleams of her religious Love. Thus indeed her Charity begins at Home; as it ought in all Reason: but it must not end there, by her more extenfive Practice. She puts no Period to it. She does not stint it to her own well-reliev'd Family; but difperfes the innumerable Rays of it all

over the comforted Neighbourhood the lives in, unconfin'd to a Parish or a Kingdom: fo that she still makes her own yet a real Family of Love and Religion, as well as Morality, by her communicative Virtues.

II. HER great Charity Abroad, is alfo as confpicuously eminent and famous. Strangers and Foreigners, as well as Neighbours and Friends in Want, are her conftant Penfioners, and equally intitled to her univerfal Charity; as far as lies in the Reach of her Fortune, or what she can conveniently fpare from her nearer and dearer Family. She manifeftly appears Benefi cent to the last Degree among all People,without any selfish Distinctions, whether Trojans, Tyrians, or Travellers, as well as her own Country-men, in their feveral Adverfities and Tribulations, according to her Ability: let their Troubles or Adventures be what they will, fo they be but honourable. 'Tis true, as I hinted before, that every virtuous Woman is not, and peradventure she may not be able to build a Hofpital or an Alms-Houfe: but she can ftill glory in the Widow's Mite; and the Smalnefs of her Charity, to the utmost of her Power and Subftance, far out-does fome other People's larger Donatives, either in making of Monuments, founding of Churches, or erecting Chappels of Eafe. For Charity ought not to be meafur'd, or valu'd by the Bulk, but by the good Will and Capacity of the Donor. 'Tis not how great, but how good the Gift is; how benevolent, how bountiful, how generous to the Extremity of the last Farthing, the longest Stretch of the Hand, or the fartheft Reach of the Pocket. Her forward Purse is always as open and free as her Heart to the Bottom, and her willing Hand dives to the

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Depth of her wafted Coffers, for what is left of her charitable All, to relieve the Neceffitous. But, and if the happens to abound in her remaining Riches, as may be well fuppos'd by God's Bleffing upon her Virtue, fhe will also abound as much in her eleemofynary Benefits, and proportion her Kindness, either to the Immenfity of her own Wealth, or the Greatness of other People's Wants. She is fo communicative of her felf, that the needy Mendicant, the poor Petitioner, and the bashful Object, ftarving fometimes for Want of Asking, will All fare abun dantly the better for her Treafure and Affluence; upon her being made fenfible of their real Neceffities. She makes a Kind of Handy-Craft of her Charity; acts with filence, and works in fecret; not letting one Hand know what the other does for the Poor; free from any Oftentation or Vain-glory; without founding of Trumpets, or making of Proclamations. She loves no Vanity of giving Alms in Publick, out of an Affectation of popular Applaufe; but conveys her gracious Benevolences, and flowing Bounties, through the most private Conduits or Canals of Relief; known only to God and her own Confcience perhaps, without any Privity of the Perfons fo reliev'd. And thus at laft, fhe often fteals away in a Manner fecretly to Heaven, for her Reward of Glory, far exceeding the great"Noise, Pride, and Pomp of this World.

IN fine, her common Charity proves both univerfally good and great, as long as the lives, or diWe Providence inables her with earthly Blef, according to her heavenly Inclination. her chieteft Concern ftill, as well as tenderest ffion, is for confcientious Sufferers, how to e living Martyrs of Perfecution, or the

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