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It would also be a fovereign Remedy a gainst the Pride and Vanity of Riches. For a Man will be afhamed to pride himself in what is not his own, but is only the Property of another entrusted to his Care.

And for the fame Reafon it would cure Injustice and Oppreffion. For the Spring of Oppreffion is the Love of Money, and muft naturally ceafe, when there is no View of that. No Steward will covet and do Wrong meerly for his Master's Intereft, but Hopes to ferve himself one Way or other by it in the End. If rich Men therefore, would confider themselves as Stewards only of their Estates, and that they must be feverely accountable to God, the Temptation to be covetous, and to opprefs, would find no Place in their Hearts. Efpecially, if in the

3d Place, rich Men would confider that they are liable every Hour to be called to this Account. This is painted to the Life in the Cafe of the rich Man before mentioned; while he was bleffing his Soul with the long Enjoyment of his new-gotten Wealth, the Doom came forth, Thou Fool! this Night thy Soul fhall be required of thee.

The Account of every rich Man will be long, and as every Year will add new Items

to

to his Reckoning, fo it will fubtract one Year from his Life, and bring him nearer to his laft Audit. In the natural Course of a healthy Life, his Stewardship must soon come to an end; but God knows how much fooner it may come; for who can tell what a Day may bring forth? Our Saviour, speaking in his Gospel of a bad Steward, who depended upon his Master's Delay in bringing him to an Account, fays, The Lord of that Servant will come in a Day when he looketh not for him, and at an Hour when he is not aware. An Apoplexy, or a Fever, will eject him, in a fummary Way, out of his wide Territories and Lordships, and fend him as naked out of the World as his pooreft Tenant, but with a much heavier Account to follow, for to whomfoever much is given, of him much shall be required.

It will perhaps be demanded here, what then must rich Men do; muft they throw away their Estates, because they are dangerous things? muft they reduce themselves to Poverty in order to fecure their Virtue? no, there is no Neceffity for this neither; there is a Way to enjoy Riches, and at the fame Time to avoid the Danger, and to make a good Ufe of the Income without breaking

in

in upon the Capital. It was never intended by Providence that rich Men should live like poor Men, and be contented with the bare Neceffaries of Life. The World expects that they shall make an Expence, in fome Degree answerable to their Fortunes, in all Articles of living; and if their Estates are great, that they should proceed even to Magnificence, in their Houses, and Furniture, and Equipage, and Tables; and the Expectation is just and reasonable; for these Things create Industry, and encourage Arts and Improvements, which make all Countries happy and flourishing; they provide many Families with a comfortable Subfiftence, who would be lefs happy and less virtuous in a lazy Maintenance out of great Men's Estates; and they procure to rich Men that Credit, Refpect and Authority which enable them to do much good in the World; and yield them many innocent Delights and Gratifications, which are out of the Reach of other Men, and which were created in vain, if no body is to enjoy Excl. 5. 19.them. This is what Solomon means in that Paffage, Every Man alfo to whom God hath given Riches and Wealth, and hath given bim Power, that is, a Heart, to eat thereof,

and

and to take his Portion, and to rejoice in his Labour, this is the Gift of God. Here then is a Canal that will lawfully carry off a Proportion of every rich Man's Revenue, be it But it must not carry off

never fo

great. all, nor even the greater Part of it: For there are other Demands upon him that must be answered.

The Service of God and Religion will call for another Share; and fo will the publick Service of his Country: And I am fure that, in this Kingdom especially, there are ftrong Demands upon thefe Heads, both for advancing the Proteftant Religion, and encouraging Industry and Trade thorough the Nation. And the Providence of God has lately pointed out the only true and natural Way of obtaining these noble Ends, by putting it into the King's Heart to grant his royal Charter for erecting English Protef tant. Schools, for training up the Children of the poor Natives in the Purity of the Christian Faith and Worship, and giving them an early Habit of Industry and Labour both for their own Support, and for the publick Utility. And as this good Defign is carried on without any other Fund than the voluntary Contributions of pious

and

and beneficent Spirits, here is a fair Demand upon the Income of every rich Man who has the Proteftant Intereft, and the Profpe rity of his Country at Heart.

The Provifion that every Man ought by the Laws of God and Nature to make for his Family, according to his Rank and Circumftances, is a further Demand upon eve1 Tim. 5.8.ry rich Man; for if any provide not for his own, and especially for thofe of his own House, be bath denied the Faith, and is worse than an Infidel.

But ftill there is another Family, and a very large one it is, that is entitled to a confiderable Share out of every rich Man'sEstate, and that is the Poor. If the Rich and the Great can bear to hear it,the Poor, as much as they may overlook and despise them, are yet their near Kindred; they may not perhaps meet with their Names in the long Roll of their Pedigrees, nor their Arms in the Herald's Office; but they will learn it in a more antient Record; for it is about eighteen hundred Years fince St. Paul declared to the Athenians, that God hath made of one Blood all Nations of Men: And several Ages before that, the Prophet Ifaiah preached up Charity from this Principle of the Confan

guinity

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