“If I
be so generous in giving, I may be in need myself before I die.….'He
that giveth to the poor shall not lack' (Proverbs 28:27)...The poor have a right unto part of thine
estate, as well as thy [natural] children, though not unto so great a part. In
which respect the Spirit of God calleth that part of the rich man's stock which
he can well spare, the poor man's 'due,' unto whom of right it doeth belong;
for saith He, 'withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the
power of thine hand to do it.' (Proverbs 3:27). Whereupon said an ancient
father, 'It is the bread of the hungry which moulders in thy cupboard; it is
the garment of the naked which hangs useless in thy chambers; it is the gold of
the poor which lieth rusting in thy chest' [Basil]. So that thy relieving of
the poor is not only an act of mercy, left to thy choice to do or not to do,
but also of justice, to the performance whereof thou standest bound.”
Thomas Gouge
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