Book Summary
In the rich tradition of Puritan preaching, few voices resonate as clearly and compellingly as that of Thomas Watson (c. 1620–1686), the beloved English minister known for his vivid illustrations, doctrinal depth, and pastoral warmth. One of his lesser-known but profoundly practical sermons is "A Plea for Alms", delivered in 1658 at the Spital in London before a solemn assembly, and later included in collections of his later sermons (such as The Fight of Faith Crowned).
Drawing from Psalm 112:9—"He has dispersed, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever"—Watson makes an earnest biblical case for charitable giving as an essential mark of true godliness. He portrays the righteous person as one who "disperses" their resources liberally, not out of compulsion or show, but from a heart transformed by grace.
We have updated a variety of Thomas Watson's works into modern, updated English:
Key Themes in the Sermon
- The Duty of Almsgiving: Watson argues that giving to the poor is not optional for Christians but a core expression of righteousness. He contrasts the generous soul with the miserly, warning that hoarding wealth while ignoring the needy hardens the heart and invites divine judgment.
- Motives for Generosity: True alms flow from love for God and compassion for others. Watson emphasizes humility—good Christians "empty their hand of alms" while emptying their hearts of pride. He draws on Matthew 25, noting that even the saints will be surprised at the judgment when Christ reveals their acts of mercy as done unto Him.
- The Blessings of Giving: Echoing Scripture, Watson promises that liberal giving leads to enduring righteousness and divine favor. It stores up treasure in heaven, softens the heart, and brings God's blessing on one's life and family.
- Practical Exhortations: Delivered during a time of need (likely amid London's social challenges), the sermon pleads for tangible help to the poor, orphans, and afflicted. Watson urges his hearers to act promptly and cheerfully, viewing charity as an investment in eternity.
Watson's style shines here: concise, illustrative, and heart-searching. He uses vivid metaphors—like comparing the generous giver to one who scatters seed that yields an eternal harvest—to drive home his points without unnecessary flourish.
In our modern context, "A Plea for Alms" remains strikingly relevant. In an age of abundance for some and desperate need for others, Watson reminds us that generosity is not merely social good but spiritual worship. As he might say, true faith is never inactive—it disperses abroad and gives to the poor.
A Plea for Alms
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Dedication
Dedication to the Right Honorable Sir Richard Chiverton, Lord Mayor; The Right Worshipful Sheriffs, and the Aldermen of the Famous City of London
Right Honorable and Right Worshipful,
My own awkwardness and unfitness to appear publicly like this needs some apology. But your acceptance encourages me, and the order from your Honorable Court carries enough authority to give weight to what otherwise wouldn't claim any value. I was more inclined to publish this sermon because, though the topic is common, putting it into practice is rare and unusual. Conflicts have never been more intense, and charity has never been colder—a sign that wickedness is increasing.
The zeal of our ancestors condemns us. Like Rachel, we may have better vision, but like Leah, they were more fruitful. We are so far—at least most people—from building churches and homes for the poor that we're more ready to tear them down. How truth is forsaken and charity forgotten these days!
We can say of many that they are miserably rich. Their feelings toward public improvements and giving are like the scales of the Leviathan, shut tightly together as with a seal (Job 41:15). Saint Ambrose says that when we don't help someone we see dying of hunger, we cause his death. If this rule is true, more people are guilty of breaking the sixth commandment than we realize.
When will we see charity rise again? It seems dead and buried. It surely won't happen unless God works a miracle in people's hearts. May the good Lord, through his Spirit, split open the rocks in our chests so that the water of repentance and the wine of charity can flow out!
Oh, that England might earn the praise once given to Athens, as the cradle of humanity. Believe me, charity is the best policy. By helping others, we heal ourselves. "The blessing of him who was ready to perish came upon me" (Job 29:13). As the poor received Job's gifts, he received their prayers, and he benefited from it.
Christ's poor are favorites in heaven's court. If you give them your gold, they can unlock heaven with the golden key of prayer and set God to work for you. The merciful person has many intercessors, which led Jerome to say it's almost impossible for God not to hear so many prayers. Why should there be any hesitation or reluctance in our hearts? Why should charity get stuck before it's born?
It would be our glory if people could say of us what Saint Paul said of those gospel-centered—or rather angelic—Christians. "Now about your love for one another, we don't need to write to you" (1 Thess. 4:9). Oh, how forgetful we are of the merciful heart that feeds us and the golden wings that cover us!
If we kept a record of God's favors to us, we would give to the poor to show our gratitude, as Clement of Alexandria says. But I'll avoid being too long-winded. This sermon, which you heard with seriousness and affection, now asks for your kindness and comes under your protection. What was once said to Aegidius of Nuremberg about David's words in Psalm 118—they are words to live by, not just to read.
I can say the same about these few ideas. They are not so much to be read as to be lived. Your generosity to those in need will give the best explanation of the text. The Lord has placed you in public positions so you can become public blessings in your generation, walking in the fear of God and living out a life shaped by the Bible. This will be the prayer of him who is
Your Honors' and Worships' servant in the Lord's work,
- Thomas Watson.
From my study at Stephens Walbrook, July 7, 1658.
A Plea for Alms
"He has scattered abroad; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever." - Psalm 112:9
The prophet David, inspired by heaven, describes a good person in this psalm. He does this in two ways.
1.) By his holiness. First in general: He is someone who fears God (verse 1). Second in particular: He is generous (verses 5, 9).
2.) The psalmist describes a godly person by his security. He will not be shaken forever (verse 6). He stands secure, planted on the Rock of Ages. Even if hard times come, he isn't terrified. "He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord" (verse 8).
Guilt causes fear. "The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness has surprised the hypocrites" (Isa. 33:14). Even a small thing can frighten them. "The sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight" (Lev. 26:36).
It's not trouble from outside but sin inside that creates fear. It's like the wind inside the earth that causes an earthquake. But faith is the best remedy against these heart-killing fears. The fear of God drives out all other fears. Lightning doesn't touch the laurel on a triumphant crown. The godly person defies danger. Like the Leviathan, he laughs at the shaking of a spear (Job 41:29). When there's a storm outside, he has music inside. He is steady through faith, like a ship at anchor or a weight at the center. His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.
For now, I'll consider the godly person as described by his holiness, focused on charity and generosity, in these words: He has scattered abroad; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.
Mercy is an important part of the law (Matt. 23:23). It can never be urged more appropriately than on a day like this, when we remember the noble generosity of many worthy and famous people. Their acts of kindness and giving are left as monuments of their faith and fame for future generations.
Let me explain the terms:
[He has scattered abroad.]
This is a metaphor from farmers who scatter their seed in the furrows of the field, expecting a harvest later. In the same way, the good person scatters the precious seed of his charity widely. This seed isn't lost but later grows into a harvest.
[He has given to the poor.]
The Hebrew word for poor in Scripture means someone who is empty or drained dry. It's a metaphor from ponds or rivers that are dried up. So the poor are drained of their strength, beauty, and resources. Like dried-up ponds, they must be filled again with the silver streams of charity.
[His righteousness.]
By righteousness, as it fits the context, I understand the work of inner grace in the heart. It shows itself in acts of mercy and generosity.
[Endures forever.]
Either first, the comfort of his righteousness endures. He has sweet peace and satisfaction in his own mind. Or second, the honor of it endures.
According to the Hebrew phrase, the memory of his goodness stands as a monument of fame that won't be forgotten. Or third, the reward of his righteousness endures. He reaps the fruit of his charity forever. That's how Rabbi Kimchi and others interpret it.
With the words explained this way, they fall into these four parts.
1. The giver. He, that is, the person who fears God.
2. His generosity. He has scattered abroad.
3. The recipient. The poor.
4. The sign of his honor. His righteousness endures forever.
Or if you prefer, the text consists of two things:
1. The godly person's kindness. He has scattered abroad.
2. His blessing. His righteousness endures forever.
The lesson from the words is this.
Doctrine: A godly person is a generous person. The Hebrew word for godly means merciful. The more godly someone is, the more merciful. A good person doesn't curl up like a snake. His movement is outward, not just in a circle.
He is a public, spreading blessing in the place where he lives. "He is ever merciful and lends" (Ps. 37:26). Just as a nobleman's servant is known by the uniform he wears, a servant of Christ is known by this uniform of mercy and charity.
There are two channels in which the stream of charity must flow.
Charity to:
1. The souls of others.
2. The needs of others.
1.) Charity to the souls of others. This is spiritual giving, a spiritual gift. Indeed, this is the highest kind of charity.
The soul is the most precious thing. It is a vessel of honor. It is a bud of eternity. It is a spark lit by God's breath. It is a rich diamond set in a ring of clay. The soul has God's image to beautify it and Christ's blood to redeem it. Since it comes from such a high source, sprung from the Ancient of Days, and of such noble origin, charity shown to the soul must be the greatest.
This is charity to souls: When we see others in their sins, and we pity them. "If I weep," says Augustine, "for a body from which the soul has departed, how much more should I weep for a soul from which God has departed." This is charity to souls when we see people in deep bitterness, and we work through advice, warning, and correction to pull them out of their natural state, just as the angel pulled Lot out of Sodom (Gen. 19:16). God made a law: If anyone saw his enemy's donkey fallen under a load, he should help it (Exod. 23:5). On these words, Chrysostom says, "We will help a beast that has fallen under a load, but won't we offer relief to those fallen under the worse load of sin?"
To let others continue in sin without concern is not charity but cruelty. If a person's house was on fire and someone saw it but didn't tell him for fear of waking him, wouldn't that be cruelty? Wouldn't he deserve to be charged? When we see others' souls sleeping the sleep of death, with the fire of God's wrath ready to burn around them, and we stay silent, aren't we contributing to their death?
When people allow others to go to hell without stopping them, is that charity to souls?
Oh, I urge you, if you have any compassion, strengthen the weak, bring back the wandering, lift up the fallen. "Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death" (Jas. 5:20).
2.) Charity to the needs of others. This is what the text mainly means, and it involves three things:
1. Wise consideration.
2. Tender compassion.
3. Generous giving.
1.) Wise consideration. "Blessed is the one who considers the poor" (Ps. 41:1). You must consider four things.
[a] It could have been your own situation. You might have needed someone else's charity, and then how welcome and refreshing those gifts would have been to you.
[b] Consider how sad poverty is. Though Chrysostom calls poverty the highway to heaven, those who walk this road go there weeping. Consider the poor.
Look at their tears, their sighs, their dying groans. See the deep lines in their faces, and think if there's not reason to scatter your gifts in those lines. For a cloak, they have rags; for a pillow, a stone. The poor person feeds on sorrow and drinks tears. "You have fed them with the bread of tears" (Ps. 80:5). Like Jacob on a windy night, he has the clouds for his covering and a stone for his pillow.
Even more, consider that poverty often becomes not just a burden but a trap. It exposes people to much evil. That's why Agur prayed, "Give me neither poverty" (Prov. 30:8). Need drives people to wrong paths.
The poor will risk their souls for money, which is like throwing diamonds at pear trees. If the rich considered this wisely, they could prevent much sin.
[c] Consider why the wise God allows inequality in the world. It's for this very reason: to exercise charity. If everyone were rich, there would be no need for giving, and the merciful person wouldn't be known. If the man traveling to Jericho hadn't been wounded and left half dead, the good Samaritan who poured oil and wine into his wounds wouldn't be known.
Who would have known Hector if Troy had been happy?
[d] Consider how quickly providence can change. We ourselves might be brought to poverty, and then it will comfort us greatly that we helped others when we could. "Give portions to seven, yes to eight, for you do not know what disaster may come upon the land" (Eccl. 11:2). We can't always promise ourselves calm days.
God knows how soon any of us might face hardship. The cup now overflowing with wine might be filled with bitter water. "I left full, but the Lord has brought me back empty" (Ruth 1:21).
How many have we seen like Bajazet and Belisarius, with great estates and possessions, who suddenly reduced their wealth to a scrap?
The one who was Croesus will suddenly become Irus.
So it is wise, in this sense, to consider the poor. Remember how soon things can change. We might end up in the poor's place, and if hard times come, it will encourage us to know that when we had resources, we used them for Christ's needy followers.
This is the first part of charity: wise consideration.
2.) Tender compassion. "If you pour yourself out for the hungry" (Isa. 58:10). Generosity starts with pity. The Hebrew word for mercy means bowels. Christ first had compassion on the crowd, then he performed a miracle to feed them. "I have compassion on the crowd" (Matt. 15:32).
Charity without compassion is animal-like. Animals can help us in many ways but can't pity us. It's a kind of cruelty, says Quintilian, to feed someone in need without sympathizing with him.
True faith produces tenderness. As it melts the heart in tears of repentance toward God, so it does in compassion toward others. "My heart will sound like a harp" (Isa. 16:11). Let me compare: When your compassion resonates, your gifts make sweet music in God's ears.
3.) Charity consists in generous giving. "If there is a poor fellow among your brothers in any of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them" (Deut. 15:7). The Hebrew word in the text, to scatter, means a generous bounty. It must be like water overflowing the banks.
Don't hold back by giving just a little. If God has given you wealth and made his light shine on your home, as Job says, you must not keep it all to yourselves but share it like the moon, which receives light from the sun and shines it on the world. The ancients, as Basil and Lorinus note, made oil the symbol of charity.
The golden oil of your mercy must flow down to the poor, like Aaron's oil running down to the edges of his garments.
This generous giving to others' needs:
• God commands.
• Grace compels.
1.) God commands. There is a clear law. "If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support themselves among you, help them" (Lev. 25:35).
The Hebrew word means you shall strengthen him, like putting a silver support under him when he's falling.
It's worth noting how much care God took for the poor. Besides private giving, God made many laws for their public relief. "But in the seventh year, let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it" (Exod. 23:11). God's intention in this law was to provide generously for the poor. They could freely eat anything that grew on its own that year, whether herbs, vines, or olives. If you ask how the poor could live only on these fruits, since probably no grain grew then? For an answer, Cajetan thinks they lived by selling these fruits and using the money.
There is another law. "When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest" (Lev. 19:9). See how God favored the poor. Some corners of the field were left uncut for their sake. When owners reaped, they couldn't cut too close to the ground. The Latin version says, "Do not shear right down to the soil." Something like an after-crop must be left. The shorter ears of grain and those bent to the ground were for the poor, says Tostatus.
God made another law for the poor. "At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year's produce and store it in your towns, so that the Levites... and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied" (Deut. 14:28-29). The Hebrews say that every third year, besides the first tithe given to Levi, called the ongoing tithe (Num. 18:21), the Jews set aside another tithe of their produce for widows and orphans, called the tithe for the poor, according to Solomon Jarchi. Besides, at the Jews' solemn festivals, the poor were to have a share (Deut. 16:11).
Just as helping the needy was commanded under the law, it remains in force under the gospel. "Command those who are rich in this present world... to do good, to be rich in good deeds" (1 Tim. 6:17-18). It's not just advice but a command, and ignoring it puts people in serious trouble under the gospel. This shows God's will on charity. Let all good Christians show it in their actions. What good is gold while it's buried and locked in the mine? And what good is a great estate if it's hoarded and hidden away, never seeing the light?
2. As God commands, so grace compels acts of mercy and kindness. "The love of Christ compels us" (2 Cor. 5:14). Grace comes with authority to the heart. It's not just words but power. Grace doesn't lie dormant in the soul but shows itself in strong and glorious actions. Grace can't be hidden any more than fire. Like new wine, it will burst out. Grace doesn't lie in the heart like a stone in the ground but like seed in the ground. It will sprout into good works.
Application 1
For information. This serves to defend the Church of England against the false accusations of spiteful people. Julian criticized Christians as faith-only believers. The Church of Rome accuses us of being against good works. Indeed, we don't claim they earn salvation, but we support their value. "And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works for pressing needs" (Titus 3:14). We teach they are necessary, both as required by command and as means. We read that angels had wings and hands under their wings (Ezek. 1:8). This may be a symbolic picture of this truth. Christians must not only have the wings of faith to fly but hands under their wings to do works of mercy. "This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good" (Titus 3:8). The lamp of faith must be filled with the oil of charity. Faith alone justifies, but justifying faith is not alone. You might as well separate weight from lead or heat from fire as separate works from faith. Good works, though not the cause of salvation, are evidence of it. Though they are not the foundation, they are the building on top. Faith must not be built on works, but works must be built on faith. "You are married to another... so that you may bear fruit for God" (Rom. 7:4). Faith is the spouse that marries Christ, and good works are the children faith bears. To defend our church's teaching and honor good works, I will state these four principles.
Principle 1
Works are distinct from faith. It's pointless to think works are included in faith, like a diamond in a ring. No, they are separate, like the sap in the vine is different from the grapes that grow on it.
Principle 2
Works are the test of faith. "Show me your faith by your works" (Jas. 2:18). Works are faith's proof. If, says Saint Bernard, you see someone active in good works, then by the rule of love you shouldn't doubt his faith. We judge the body's health by the pulse, where the blood moves and works. Oh Christian, judge your faith's health by the pulse of charity. It's like a legal document. To make a deed valid, three things are needed: the writing, the seal, the witnesses. So for testing and confirming faith, there must be these three: the writing, that is, God's Word; the seal, God's Spirit; the witnesses, good works. Bring your faith to this scriptural test. Faith justifies works; works testify to faith.
Principle 3
Works honor faith, as fruit decorates the tree. Let the generosity of your hand, says Clement of Alexandria, be the ornament of your faith, and wear it like a holy bracelet on your wrists. "I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban" (Job 29:15, 14). While Job defended the poor, this was his mark of honor. It clothed him like a robe and crowned him like a turban.
This removes the shame and criticism from faith and makes others speak well of holiness when they see good works serving as attendants to this queen.
Principle 4
Good works are, in some sense, better than faith. In two ways:
1.) Because they have a more noble, spreading nature. Though faith is more necessary for ourselves, works benefit others more. Faith receives; it's self-focused and stays in its own area. Works are for others' good. And it is more blessed to give than to receive.
2.) Good works are more visible than faith. Faith is more hidden. It may stay concealed in the heart and not be seen. But when works join it, faith shines in its true beauty. A garden may be full of flowers, but they aren't seen until light comes. So a Christian's heart may be rich with faith, but it's like a flower at night, unseen until works appear. When this light shines before others, faith shows its brilliant colors.
Application 2
For Reproof. If this is the picture of a good person—he is generous—then it sharply corrects those who are far from this attitude, who are all about gathering but nothing about giving. They move only in their own self-interest but ignore others' needs. They have a thriving estate, but like the man in the gospel, they have a withered hand and can't extend it for good purposes. They have everything in terms of possession but not in terms of use. These are like the miser Nabal. "Shall I take my bread and my water... and give it to men coming from who knows where?" (1 Sam. 25:11). It was said of Emperor Pertinax that he had a large empire but a narrow, stingy heart.
There was a temple in Athens called the Temple of Mercy, dedicated to charitable purposes. The greatest insult was to say someone had never been in the Temple of Mercy. It's the greatest disgrace for a Christian to be unmerciful. Covetous people, while enriching themselves, degrade themselves. They set up a monopoly and worship money, making themselves lower than their angels, as God made them lower than his angels. In times of plague, it's sad to have your houses shut up, but it's worse to have your hearts shut up. Covetous people are like the Leviathan. "His heart is as firm as stone" (Job 41:24). You might as well get oil from a flint as get the golden oil of charity from their stony hearts. The philosopher says that coldness of the heart signals death. When people's feelings toward mercy are frozen, this coldness at heart is a bad sign and sadly shows they are dead in sin. We read in the law that shellfish were unclean. One reason might be that their meat is enclosed in the shell and hard to get. Those who lock all their wealth in their own chest and won't let others benefit are to be counted unclean. How many have lost their souls by being so thrifty?
Some might give the poor good words, and that's all. "Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, 'Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?" (Jas. 2:15-16). Good words are a cold kind of charity. The poor can't live on air like a chameleon. Even if your words are as smooth as oil, they won't heal the wounded. Even if they drop like honey, they won't feed the hungry. "If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal" (1 Cor. 13:1). It's better to be charitable like a saint than eloquent like an angel. Those who are cruel to the poor, let me tell you, you are unchristianizing yourselves. Unmercifulness is the sin of the pagans. "They are unmerciful" (Rom. 1:31). While you set aside compassion, you set aside the mark of Christianity. Saint James speaks a sad word. "Judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful" (Jas. 2:13). The rich man denied Lazarus a crumb of bread, and the rich man was denied a drop of water. At the last day, see the sinner's charge. "I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink" (Matt. 25:42). Christ doesn't say you took away my food, but you gave me none. You didn't feed my people. Then comes the sentence: Depart from me, you who are cursed. When Christ's poor come to your doors and you tell them to leave, the time may come when you knock at heaven's gate, and Christ will say, go from my door, depart from me, you cursed.
In short, covetousness is a foolish sin. God called the rich man in the gospel a fool. "You fool!" (Luke 12:20). The covetous person doesn't enjoy what he has. He poisons his own life. He torments himself with worry, either about getting more, increasing it, or protecting his wealth. And what is the result? Often, as a just punishment for stingy miserliness, God blasts and withers his outward estate. That saying of Gregory Nazianzen is worth considering seriously: God often lets the thief take away and the moth consume what is wrongly and uncharitably kept from the poor.
Before I leave this application, I'm sorry that some who pass for honest people must be included in the charge. I mean that any who claim to follow Christ should be accused of covetousness and unmercifulness. Surely God's chosen people put on compassion. "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion" (Col. 3:12). I tell you, these religious misers are a disgrace to Christianity. They are blemishes on the face of faith. Truly, I don't know what to make of them. I remember Aelian in his history reports that in India there is a griffin with four feet and wings, its beak like an eagle's. It's hard to classify it as beast or bird. So I can say of stingy believers: They have the wings of profession that seem to carry them to heaven, but the feet of beasts, walking on earth and even licking the dust. It's hard to classify these, whether among the godly or the wicked. Oh, take care that since your faith won't destroy your covetousness, your covetousness doesn't destroy your faith in the end. The storyteller tells of a hedgehog that came to the rabbit burrows in stormy weather and asked for shelter, promising to be a quiet guest. But once inside, it raised its spines and didn't stop until it pushed the poor rabbits out of their burrows. So covetousness, though it has many nice excuses to slip into the heart, once you let it in, this thorn will keep pricking until it chokes all good starts and pushes all faith out of your hearts.
Application 3
I move next to the encouragement, to urge all of you who hear me today to put on compassion. Be ready to help with others' miseries and needs. Saint Ambrose calls charity the essence of Christianity, and the apostle makes it the very definition of faith. "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress" (Jas. 1:27). The poor are like those in the grave; the comfort of their life is buried. Oh, help with your merciful hands to raise them from the grave. God sends his springs into the valleys. "He sends the springs into the valleys" (Ps. 104:10). Let the streams of your charity flow among the valleys of poverty. Your sweetest and kindest influences should fall on the lowest ground. What is all your apparent devotion without generosity and mercy? I have known many, says Basil, who pray and fast but don't help those in distress. They want a zeal that costs them nothing. What good, he says, is all their apparent virtue? We read that incense was to be laid on the fire (Lev. 16:13). The flame of devotion must be scented with the incense of charity. Aaron was to have a bell and a pomegranate. The pomegranate, as some learned people observe, was a symbol of good works. They lack the pomegranate, says Gregory Nazianzen, who have no good works. The wise men didn't just kneel before Christ; they presented him with gold, myrrh, and frankincense (Matt. 2:11). Claims of zeal aren't enough. We must not only worship Christ but give something to his people. This is presenting Christ with gold and frankincense. Isaac wouldn't bless Jacob by his voice alone but felt and touched him, and thinking they were Esau's hands, he blessed him. God won't bless you just by your voice, your loud prayers, your devout talks, but if he feels Esau's hands—if your hands have done good works—then he will bless you.
Let me encourage you therefore to acts of mercy. Let your fingers drip with the myrrh of generosity. Sow your golden seed. In this sense, it's right to put your money to use when you spend it for good purposes. Remember that excellent saying of Saint Augustine: Give to the poor what you can't keep, so you may receive what you can't lose.
There are many opportunities to practice your faithful charity. The poor are everywhere—hear the orphans' cries, pity the widows' tears. Some lack work; it would be good to get their lives moving. Others are beyond work; be eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. Some whole families are sinking; if your merciful hands don't support them.
I can't forget the universities, which are the church's nurseries, as Chemnitz calls them. They can be compared to that Persian tree Theophrastus mentions, which buds, blossoms, and bears ripe fruit at the same time. Oh, let these plants be watered with your silver gifts. Don't cast salt but gold into these springs, so from them may flow many heavenly streams of both learning and faith to refresh this city of our God.
Before I urge you with reasons for generosity and giving, there are three objections in the way, which I'll try to address.
Objection 1. We might give and then ourselves end up in need?
Answer. Let Basil answer this. Wells that have their water drawn spring even more freely. "The generous person will prosper" (Prov. 11:25). Luther speaks of a monastery in Austria that was very rich while it gave annually to the poor, but when it stopped giving, the monastery began to decay. There is nothing lost by doing our duty. An estate may be shared, yet not diminished. The flowers yield honey to the bee, yet do not harm their own fruit. When the candle of prosperity shines on us, we may light our neighbor who is in the dark, and have no less light ourselves. Whatever is given to pious uses, God brings it back some other way, as the loaves multiplied when broken, or as the widow's oil increased by pouring out (1 Kings 17:16).
Objection 2. I cannot do as much as others, like erect churches, build hospitals, expand libraries, or support scholars at the university.
Answer. If you cannot do as much, still do something. Let there be a measure of virtue, even if not a great amount. The widow's two mites cast into the treasury were accepted (Luke 21:1-4). God, as Chrysostom observes, looked not at the smallness of her gift, but the largeness of her heart. In the law, someone who could not bring a lamb for an offering could bring two turtledoves, and it was enough. We read in Exodus 35 that the people brought gold, silver, and goats' hair to build the tabernacle. On this passage, Origen says, "I desire, Lord, to bring something to the building of your temple. If not gold to make the mercy seat, if not silk to make the curtains, yet a little goats' hair, so that I may not be found among those who have brought nothing to your temple."
Objection 3. But I have nothing to give to meet the needs of others.
Answer 1. Do you have something to spend on your lusts? Do you have money to feed your pride or your gluttony, but nothing to relieve the poor members of Christ?
Answer 2. Even if this excuse is real and you do not have such an estate, you can still do something to show mercy to the poor. You can sympathize with them, pray for them, or speak a word of comfort to them. "Speak tenderly to Jerusalem" (Isa. 40:2). If you can give them no gold, you may speak a word in season, which can be like apples of gold in settings of silver. Even more, you can help the poor by encouraging others who have estates to relieve them. It is like the wind: if a person is hungry, the wind will not fill him, but it can blow the sails of the mill and make it grind corn for human use. So, though you do not have an estate yourself to help someone in need, you can stir up others to help him. You can blow the sails of their affections, causing them to show mercy, and so you may help your brother through a proxy.
Having answered these objections, let me continue the encouragement to mercy and generosity. I will lay down several arguments, which I ask you to weigh in the balance of reason and conscience.
Argument 1: To be generously good is the great purpose of our creation. "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works" (Eph. 2:10). Every creature fulfills the purpose of its creation. The star shines, the bird sings, the plant bears fruit. The purpose of life is service. Those who do not fulfill their purpose in usefulness cannot enjoy their purpose in happiness. Many, says Seneca, have been long in the world but have not lived; they have done no good. They are a useless burden on the earth. An unuseful person serves for nothing but to clutter the ground, and because he is barren of figs, he will be fruitful in curses.
Argument 2: By this we resemble God, who is a God of mercy. He is said to delight in mercy (Mic. 7:18). His mercies are over all his works (Ps. 145:9). He repays good for evil. Like the clouds, which receive foul vapors from us but return them to us again in sweet showers. There is not a creature that lives but tastes of the mercies of God. Every bird, says Ambrose, in its kind sings hymns of praise to God for his bounty. But humans and angels in a special way taste the cream and essence of God's mercies.
1.) What temporal mercies have you received? Every time you draw your breath, you take in mercy. Every bit of bread you eat, the hand of mercy carves it for you. You never drink but from a golden cup of mercy.
2.) What spiritual mercies has God given some of you? Pardoning, adopting, saving mercy. The picture of God's mercy can never be drawn fully. You cannot take the breadth of his mercy, for it is infinite, nor the height of it, for it reaches above the clouds, nor the length of it, for it is from everlasting to everlasting (Ps. 103:17). The works of mercy are the glory of the Godhead. Moses prays, "Lord, show me your glory" (Exod. 33:18). God says, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you" (Exod. 33:19). God considers himself most glorious in the shining robes of his mercy. Now by works of mercy, we resemble the God of mercy. We are told to draw our lines according to this pattern. "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful" (Luke 6:36).
Argument 3: Alms are a sacrifice. "To do good and to share with others, do not forget, for with such sacrifices God is pleased" (Heb. 13:16). When you are giving to the poor, it is as if you were praying, as if you were worshiping God. There are two sorts of sacrifices: expiatory, the sacrifice of Christ's blood, and thanksgiving, the sacrifice of alms. This, says holy Greenham, is more acceptable to God than any other sacrifice. The angel said to Cornelius, "Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God" (Acts 10:4). The backs of the poor are the altar on which this sacrifice is to be offered.
Argument 4: We ourselves live on alms. Other creatures generously contribute to our needs. The sun does not have its light for itself, but for us. It enriches us with its golden beams. The earth brings us a fruitful crop, and to show how joyful a mother she is in bringing forth, the psalmist says, "The valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing" (Ps. 65:13). One creature gives us wool, another oil, another silk. We have to go begging to the creation. Shall every creature be for the good of humanity, and humanity only for itself?
Argument 5: We are to extend our generosity by virtue of our shared membership. "Do not hide from your own flesh and blood" (Isa. 58:7). The poor are made from the same clay; they are fellow members of the same body. The members, by a law of equity and sympathy, contribute to one another. The eye conveys light to the body, the heart blood, the head spirits. That is a dead member in the body which does not contribute to the rest. Thus it is also in the body politic. Let no one think it is too far below him to consider the wants and needs of others. It is a pity that a hand should be cut off which disdains to pull a thorn out of the foot. It is spoken in honor of that renowned princess, the empress of Theodosius the Great, that she herself visited the sick and prepared relief for them with her own imperial hands.
Argument 6: We are not lords of an estate, but stewards. And how soon may we hear that word, "Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer" (Luke 16:2). An estate is a talent to trade with. It is as dangerous to hide our talent as to spend it (Matt. 25:25, 30). If the covetous person keeps his gold too long, it will begin to rust, and the rust of it will witness against him.
Argument 7: The examples of others who have been famous and renowned for acts of charity.
1.) Our Lord Christ, a great example of charity. He was not more full of merit than bounty. Trajan the emperor tore off a piece of his own robe to wrap his soldier's wounds. Christ did more; he made a medicine of his body and blood to heal us. "By his wounds you have been healed" (Isa. 53:5). Here was a pattern of charity without parallel.
2.) The Jews are noted for this. It is a rabbinical observation that those who live devoutly among the Jews distribute a tenth part of their estate among the poor. And they give so freely, says Philo the Jew, as if by giving they hoped to receive some great reward. Now if the Jews are so devoted to works of mercy, who live without priest, without temple, without Messiah, shall we not much more, who profess our faith in the blessed Messiah?
3.) Let me tell you about heathens. I have read of Titus Vespasian; he was so accustomed to works of mercy that, remembering he had given nothing that day, he cried out, "I have lost a day." It is reported of some of the Turks that they have servants whom they employ on purpose to inquire about the poor, and they send relief to them. The Turks have a saying in their Quran that if people knew what a blessed thing it is to distribute alms, rather than spare, they would give some of their own flesh to relieve the poor. And shall not a Christian's creed be better than a Turk's Quran?
But, right honorable and beloved, we are not left this day without examples. I desire to speak it to the glory of God and the renown of this city: there has been both in the days of our worthy ancestors and still is to this day among many of you a spirit of sympathy and compassion.
It is a royal thing to me to help the fallen.
When poor needy people have been like Moses, laid in the ark of bulrushes ready to sink in the waters of affliction, you have been temporal saviors to them and have drawn them out of the waters with a golden cord. When they have been ready to make their own grave, you have built them hospitals. The milk of your charity has nourished them, and while they have sat under your vines, they have eaten the sweet grape. We read that they showed Peter the tunics and other clothes that Dorcas had made (Acts 9:39). And may we not this day see the coats that have been made to clothe the needy? Go on still to do worthily in Ephrathah, and by these your acts of generosity to display your coat of arms and make your fame eternal.
Argument 8: I will use just one more argument to persuade charity, and that is the reward which follows acts of giving. Giving alms is a glorious work, and let me tell you, it is no unfruitful work. Those who sow mercy will reap mercy. Whatever is given to the poor is given to Christ. "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me" (Matt. 25:40). The poor person's hand is Christ's treasury, and there is nothing lost which is put there.
1. There is a reward in this life. The charitable person is crowned with a blessing.
1.) He is blessed in his person. "Blessed is the one who is kind to the needy" (Ps. 41:1). God looks favorably on him.
2.) Blessed in his name. So it is in the text: his horn will be lifted high in honor. And, "Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever" (Ps. 112:6). His name will be gloriously preserved.
3.) Blessed in his estate. Abundance of all things will flow to him. "The generous will themselves be blessed" (Prov. 11:25). He will not only have the venison but the blessing.
4.) Blessed in his posterity. "They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be a blessing" (Ps. 37:26). He will not only leave an estate behind but a blessing behind to his children, and God will see that the inheritance is not cut off.
5.) Blessed with long life. "The Lord will preserve them and keep them alive" (Ps. 41:2). He has helped to keep others alive, and God will keep him alive. Is there anything then lost by charity? It lengthens the silver thread of life. Many are taken away sooner for their lack of mercy; because their hearts are narrow, their lives are shortened.
2. The great reward is in the life to come. Aristotle joins these two together: liberality and usefulness. God will reward the merciful person, though not for his works, yet according to his works. "And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books" (Rev. 20:12). As God has a bottle to put your tears in, so he has a book to write your alms in. As God will put a veil over his people's sins, so he will set a crown upon their works. The way to store up is to give out. Other parts of your estate you leave behind, but what is given to Christ's poor is stored up in heaven. That is a blessed kind of giving which, though it makes the purse lighter, makes the crown heavier.
Whatever alms you give:
1.) You will have good security. "Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done" (Prov. 19:17). There is God's bond to keep you safe, which is better security than any public promise. Yet here is our unbelief and atheism: we will not take God's bond. We commonly count our deeds of mercy among our hopeless debts.
2.) You will be paid with more than enough. For a wedge of gold which you have parted with, you will have a weight of glory. For a cup of cold water, you will have rivers of pleasure which flow at God's right hand forevermore. The interest comes to infinitely more than the principal. Pliny writes of a country in Africa where the people, for every bushel of seed they sow, receive a hundred and fifty fold increase. For every penny you drop into Christ's treasury, you will receive above a thousand fold increase. Your after-crop of glory will be so great that though you are still reaping, you will never be able to gather the whole harvest. Let this persuade rich people to honor the Lord with their wealth.
Before I conclude, let me lay down some rules briefly concerning your charity, so that it may be a sacrifice with a pleasing aroma to God.
1.) Your charity must be free. "Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart" (Deut. 15:10). That is, you should not be troubled at parting with your money. Those who give grievingly give grudgingly. Charity must flow like spring water. The heart must be the spring, the hand the pipe, the poor the cistern.
God loves a cheerful giver. Do not be like the crab, which has all the sour juice squeezed and pressed out. You must not give to the poor as if you were handing over your purse on the highway. Charity without cheerfulness is rather a fine than an offering; it is rather doing penance than giving alms. Charity must be like the myrrh which drops from the tree without cutting or forcing.
2.) We must give what is our own. "Share your food with the hungry" (Isa. 58:7). It must be from your own bread. The word for alms in Syriac signifies justice, to show that alms must be from what is justly gotten.
The Scripture puts them together: "To act justly and to love mercy" (Mic. 6:8). We must not make a sacrifice from what is stolen. "For I the Lord love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing" (Isa. 61:8). Those who build a hospital with ill-gotten goods display the banner of their pride and set up the monument of their shame.
3.) Do all in Christ and for Christ.
[a] Do all in Christ. Work so that your persons may be in Christ. We are accepted in him (Eph. 1:6). Origen, Chrysostom, and Peter Martyr affirm that the best works not springing from a root of faith are lost.
The Pelagians thought to challenge Augustine with the question whether it was sin for the heathen to clothe the naked. Augustine answered rightly: the doing of good is not in itself simply evil, but proceeding from unbelief, it becomes evil. "To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure" (Titus 1:15).
That fruit is most sweet and genuine which is brought forth in the vine (John 15:4). Outside of Christ, all our acts of giving are but the fruit of the wild olive. They are not good works but dead works.
[b] Do all for Christ, that is, for his sake, so that you may show your love to him. Love mellows and ripens our acts of giving; it makes them a precious perfume to God. As Mary out of love brought her ointments and sweet spices to anoint Christ's dead body, so out of love to Christ, bring your ointments and anoint his living body, his saints and members.
4.) Works of mercy are to be done in humility. Away with showing off. The worm breeds in the fairest fruit, the moth in the finest cloth. Pride will creep into our best things; beware of this dead fly in the box of ointment.
When Moses' face shone, he put a veil over it. So while your light shines before others and they see your good works, cover yourselves with the veil of humility. As the silkworm, while she weaves her fine works, hides herself within the silk and is not seen, so we should hide ourselves from pride and vainglory.
It was the sin of the Pharisees: while they were giving alms, they sounded a trumpet (Matt. 6:2). They did not give their alms but sold them for applause. A proud person casts his bread upon the waters as the fisherman casts his line upon the waters; he fishes for vain glory.
I have read of one Cosimo de' Medici, a rich citizen of Florence, who confessed to a close friend that he built so many magnificent structures and spent so much on scholars and libraries not for any love of learning but to raise up trophies of fame and renown for himself. A humble soul denies himself, even annihilates himself. He thinks how little it is he can do for God, and if he could do more, it would be but a due debt. Therefore, he looks upon all his works as if he had done nothing.
The saints are brought in at the last day as disowning their works of charity. "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?" (Matt. 25:37). A good Christian does not only empty his hand of alms but empties his heart of pride. While he raises the poor out of the dust, he lays himself in the dust. Works of mercy must be like cassia, which is a sweet spice but grows low.
5.) Give your alms wisely. It is said of the merciful person, "He conducts his affairs with discretion" (Ps. 112:5). There is a great deal of wisdom in distinguishing between those who have sinned themselves into poverty and those who by the hand of God are brought into poverty. Wisdom in giving alms consists in two things.
1.) In finding a fit recipient.
2.) In choosing the right time.
[a] In finding a fit recipient, and that has two aspects. 1. Give to those who are in most need. Raise the hedge where it is lowest; feed the lamp that is going out. 2. Give to those who may probably be most useful. Though we bestow cost and care on a weak plant, yet not on a dead plant. Support such as may help to build the house of Israel (Ruth 4:11), who may be pillars in church and state, not caterpillars, making your charity regretful.
[b] Wisdom in giving alms is in taking the right time. Give to charitable uses in time of health and prosperity. Distribute your silver and gold to the poor before the silver cord is loosed or the golden bowl is broken (Eccl. 12:6). The one who gives quickly gives twice.
Make your hands your executors, not like some who reserve all they give until the end of life is near. And truly what is then given is not given away but taken away by death. It is not charity but necessity.
Oh, do not marry yourselves to money that you resolve nothing will part you but death. Do not be like the medlar, which is never good until it is rotten. A covetous person may be compared to a Christmas box: he receives money but parts with none until death breaks this box in pieces; then the silver and gold come tumbling out.
Give in time of health. These are the alms which God takes notice of and, as Calvin says, puts into his book of accounts.
6.) Give thankfully. Those who give an alms should be more thankful than those who receive it. We should, says Nazianzen, give a thank offering to God that we are among the givers and not the receivers.
Bless God for a willing mind. To have not only an estate but a heart is a matter for gratitude. Set the crown of your thankfulness upon the head of free grace.
