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glorify God, and to ferve their Country. Thefe are all great Things, and in which way foever of them we lay out ourselves, we ferve excellent Ends of Charity,

But there is another Point of Ufeful Pub lick Charity, which though the Occafion of this Meeting hath nothing to do with it, yet the prefent Neceffity of the Thing doth oblige me feriously to recommend to you. There are few, I believe, in this City either ignorant, or infenfible of the extreme numeroufnefs of Beggars in our Streets, and unless care be taken, their Number is likely to in creafe; for this feems to be a growing Evil. I dare not lay the Fault of this, upon the Defectiveness of our Laws; nor dare I fay, that the Provifions made for the Poor, are incompetent and difproportionable to the Number of them; for, perhaps, the usual Publick Taxes, and Private Free-will Offerings, difcreetly managed, would go a great Way towards the curing this Evil; fuppofing the richer Parishes to Contribute to the maintaining the Poorer. But here is the Misery, we do not fufficiently distinguish between our Poor; nor take care to make Provisions for them, according to their respective Neceffities. There are fome, that by reafon either of old Age, or evil Accidents, are perfectly unable to earn a Livelihood for themselves; or to be any way ufeful to the Publick, except by their Prayers and their good Examples; and to fee fuch go a Begging, is a Shame to our Christianity, and a Reproach to our Government. There

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are others that are fit to labour, and might prove useful Members of the Common-wealth many Ways; if they were rightly managed: Now the true Charity to thefe, is not to relieve them, to the Encouragement of their Idleness; but to employ them, to put them into fuch a Way, that they may both maintain themselves, and help towards the maintaining of others; and if they refufe this, let them fuffer for their Folly, for there is no reason, that thofe fhould eat, that will not work, if they be able. A Neceffity, therefore, there is, if ever this Scandalous Publick Nuifance of common Begging be redreffed, that these Four Things be taken care of. 1. That thofe that cannot Work, be maintained without Begging. 2. That those that can Work, and are willing, have fuch Publick Provi fions made, that they may be employed in one way or other, according as they are capable, and every one receive Fruits of his Labour proportionable to his Induftry. 3. That thofe that can Work and will not, be profecuted according to the Laws, as Rogues and Vagrants, and Pefts of the Kingdom, And, Lastly, after fuch Publick Provisions are made for the maintaining both Sorts of Poor that are Objects of Charity; that is, the Helpless, and thofe that endeavour to help themselves; that all Perfons be exhorted and directed to put their Private Charity in the right Channel, wholly withdrawing it from the lazy and the lufty Beggars, left they be thereby encouraged in their infamous

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Courfe of Life, and giving it to those who by publick Order, fhall be recommended to them.

These Things, I hope, I may without of fence recommend to the Wisdom and Care of the Government of this Honourable City, fince there are both Heads enough to contrive the particular Ways of curing those Evils, and Hands enough that will be open to contribute what is needful to so useful a Work. Certain it is, the Thing is practicable, fince it hath been, and is practifed in fome Towns of this Nation, and in several beyond the Seas. And that it is needful, there is none that has any true Sense of Charity (which confifts as much in taking Care to prevent the Miferies and Neceffities of Mankind, as in relieving them) there is none that hath any Regard to the Reputation of our Religion, or the Honour and good Government of this City, or Kingdom, but muft needs acknowledge.

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It is one of the great Glories of this City, that as they have been always faithful and prudent in the Management of thofe Publick. Charities that they have been entrusted with, so have they been very ready to encrease and to add to them. And God, without doubt, hath blessed them the more for this very thing; as, indeed, the beft Atonement that any People can make for the many Sins that the Place is guilty of, is the Sacrifice of Alms and Charity. And, I hope, that which condemned Sodom, to wit, that there were not Ten Righteous Men found in it (that is, Men VOLI

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that were of a Publick Spirit, that were truly Liberal, and Bountiful, and Charitable; for that is an usual Notion of Righteousness in the Old Teftament, and there are fome Paffages in this Hiftory, which make it probable that it may be the Notion of it here. I fay, that very thing, it is to be hoped) hath and will preferve this City of ours; because, as far as we can gather, there are in it many times Ten fuch Righteous Perfons. In truth, if there were not feveral good Men among us, that by the Exemplarity of their Lives, and their Charity, do ftand in the Gap, between the reigning Sins of the Times, and the Judgments of God that threaten us for them it would be a melancholy thing to think what would become of us. But fo long as God is pleased to continue to us a Succeffion of those that fear God, and hate Covetoufnefs; that make it their Bufinefs to do Good, and to ferve their Generation, there are Hopes that he will yet continue to Blefs us. And fo Gracious hath God been to our City and Kingdom in this refpect, that (to the Glory of his Name be it spoken) whatever Boafts they of the Church of Rome are wont to make, of the Charitableness of their Religion, in Oppofition to the Penuriousness of ours; and reproach us with the Bounty and Munificence of our Popish Ancestors, and the Barrennefs of their Proteftant Succeffors: Yet we may fafely affirm, That there have been more Publick Works of Charity, done in this City and Kingdom, fince the Reforma

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tion, than can be proved to have been done in the fame compafs of Years, during all the Time that Popery prevailed among us.

O therefore let us go on to do this Honour to our Religion, let us go on by our good Works, to adorn the Doctrine of God that we profefs. Let us not only equal, but labour to exceed the Piety and the Publick-Spiritednefs of our Fore-fathers. Let every one, both Magiftrates and People, in their feveral Capacities, be zealous and vigorous, both in confulting, in contriving, and in acting for the Publick Good, as much as is poffible.

And for your greater Encouragement thus to do, let it be remembred, in the laft Place, that befides the outward Advantages,, both Publick and Private, that we reap by being Charitable; this is the best Course we can take to fecure our everlafting Happiness in the World to come. For to do Good with our Wealth, to be rich in good Works, to be ready to diftribute, willing to communicate, is (as the Apostle in the Text tells us) the way to lay up to ourselves in store, a good Foundation against the Time to come, that we may lay hold on Eternal Life. And this is the Third Thing I am to infift on from the Text.

I mean not here to trouble you with the Criticisms about the Word in, in the Text, by difputing whether it fhould be render'd Foundation, as it is in our Tranflation: though to lay up a Foundation, feems an unufual way of fpeaking; we do not lay up Foundations, but build upon them: Or whe

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