Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
Ver. 42. Give to him that asketh thee] Yet with discretion and choice of a fit object. a Which having met with be not weary of well doing; for in due season ye shall reap, if ye faint not, Galatians 6:9. Giving is compared to sowing, which, in good ground, is usually with increase. Therefore a worthy minister, upon occasion, asking his wife whether there were any money in the house, she answered, that she knew but of one three pence; well, saith he, we must go sow, that is, give something to the poor, knowing that to be the way of bringing in, Proverbs 11:24,25 Deuteronomy 15:10. The mercy of God crowns our beneficence with the blessing of store. b Happy was the Sareptan that she was no niggard of her last handful. The more we give, the more we have: it increaseth in the giving, as the loaves in our Saviour's hands did. Never did a charitable act go away without the retribution of a blessing. How improvident therefore are we, that will not offer a sacrifice of alms when God sets up an altar before us! It were an excellent course, surely, if Christians now, as they of old at Corinth, would lay up weekly a part of their gettings for pious and charitable uses; and that men would abound in this work of the Lord, as knowing that their labour is not in vain in the Lord (I speak of them that are able, for we may not stretch beyond our staple, and so spoil all). We read of a bishop of Lincoln, that never thought he had that thing that he did not give; and of one bishop of Rome (though that is a rare thing) that was so liberal to the poor, that when he was asked by certain ambassadors whether he had any hunting dogs to show them, he answered, Yes. And bringing them to a great sort of poor people, whom he daily relieved at his table, These are the dogs, saith he, wherewith I hunt after heaven. c Bishop Hooper, also, had his board of beggars. Twice I was (saith Mr Fox) in his house at Worcester: where in his common hall, I saw a table spread with good store of food, and beset full of beggars and poor folk. And this was his daily custom. And when they were served and catechised, then he himself sat down to dinner, and not before. Queen Anna Boleyn carried ever about her a certain little purse, out of which she was wont daily to scatter some alms to the needy: thinking no day well spent wherein some man had not fared the better by some benefit at her hands. The Savoy, Bridewell, and another hospital, founded by King Edward VI, upon a sermon of Bp Ridley's, do speak and testify both his tender heart and his bountiful hand. Bonfinius relateth of Stephen, King of Hungary (and the same thing is reported of Oswald, King of England), that his right hand rotted not for a long time after he was dead. And well it might be so (saith he) that that hand should he kept from corruption, that never suffered any to beg, to hunger, to lie in captivity, or any other misery. d But these, alas, are the last and worst days, wherein love is waxen cold: men's hearts are frozen, and their hands withered up. A great deal of mouth mercy there is, as in St James's time, Go thy ways and be fed, clothed, and warmed: but with what? with a mess of words, a suit of words, a fire of words: these are good cheap: but a little handful were better than a great many such mouthfuls. We may today wait for some good Samaritan to come and prove himself a neighbour; and after all complain, There is no mercy in the land, Hosea 4:1; "Merciful men are taken away, the liberal man faileth from among the children of men," Isaiah 57:1; Psalms 12:1. Elias lacketh his hostess of Sarepta, and Elisha the Shunammite. Paul cannot find the purpurisse, e nor Peter the currier. f Abraham we have not, and Job we find not. Captain Cornelius is a black swan in this generation, that gave to him that asked, and from him that would borrow of him, turned not away, &c.
And from him that would borrow of thee, turn not away] Some were ashamed to beg and take alms, who yet, being pressed with great necessity, could be glad to borrow. And a greater kindness it might be to lend them a larger sum than to give them a lesser. Here therefore a good man is merciful and lendeth, he will lend, looking for nothing again, Psalms 112:5 : not looking that a poor neighbour should earn it out, or do as much for him some other way. Nay, we ought not in this case so to look for our own again, as that which is the chief thing we aim at, but to obey Christ, and to do a poor man a pleasure. And what if "the wicked borroweth, and payeth not again," Psalms 37:21; let not others fare the worse for their fault. The godly make great conscience of paying that which they owe, as the son of the prophets that was so sorry for the loss of the axe, "Alas, master! it was but borrowed," 2 Kings 6:5. And Elisha bade the widow first pay her debts with her oil, and then live off of the rest. Now from such borrowers turn not away: plead not excuse, make not delays when it is in thy hand to help them presently. "He that hideth his eyes (in this case) shall have many a curse," Proverbs 28:27. Not to do good (in this kind) is to do harm; not to save a life, or uphold a poor man's declining estate, is to destroy it, Luke 6:6; Mark 3:4. Carnal reason will here stand up and plead, as Nabal did, Shall I take my bread and my flesh, that I have provided for my shearers, and give it to strangers? 1 Samuel 25:11. So, shall I take my money or my means, which I have provided for my children, and give it or lend it to such and such? Here then you must silence your reason and exalt your faith. Consider how great an honour it is to be almoner to the King of heaven; that by laying out upon such, you lay hold upon eternal life; that the apostle, 2 Corinthians 8:2, setteth out liberality by a word that signifieth simplicity, απλοτης, in opposition to that crafty wiliness that is in the covetous, to defend themselves from the danger (as they think) of liberality: that the liberal man deviseth liberal things, and by liberal things he shall stand. When a man would think he should fall, rather he takes a right course to stand and thrive: he lays up for himself a sure foundation.
a Give such before they ask, Psalms 41:1. Qui praeoccupat vocem petituri. Aug.
b Pauperum manus Christi est gazophylacium. Iulius Caesar dicere solitus est, se vel tum imprimis ditescere, cure bene merentes aliquo munere prosequeretur; quanto magis egenos?
Nunquam deficiunt charitates, cum dantur, habentur;
Cumque absumuntur, multiplicantur opes.
c Hi sunt canes quos alo quotidie, quibus spero me coelestem gloriam venaturum. Iam vero longe aliter, pauperibus sua dat gratis, nec munera curat.
d Merito manus illa corruptionis expers esse debuit, quae neminem mendicare, esurire, et in captivitate, aut quavis miseria iacere, perpessa est.
e A kind of red or purple colouring matter, used by the ancients. ŒD
f One whose trade is the dressing and colouring of leather after it is tanned. ŒD