ARTICLE XXXVIII.

Of Chriftian Men's Goods, which are not common.

The Riches and Goods of Chriftians are not common, as touching the Right, Title, and Polleflion of the lame; as certain Anabaptists do fally boaft. Notwithstanding, every Man ought of such Things as he pollelleth, liberally to give Alms to the Poor, according to his Ability.

HERE is no great difficulty in this Article, as there

no danger

demned by it is like to fpread. Thofe may be for it, who find it for them. The poor may lay claim to it, but few of the rich will ever go into it. The whole charge that is given in the Scripture for charity and almfgiving; all the rules that are given to the rich, and to masters, to whom their fervants were then properties and flaves, do clearly demonftrate, that the Golpel was not defigned to introduce a community of goods. And even that fellowfhip or community, which was practised in the first beginnings of it, was the effect of particular men's charity, and not of any law that was laid on them. Barnabas Acts iv. baving land, fold it, and laid the price of it at the Apoflles' 36, 37. feet. And when St. Peter chid Ananias for having vowed to give in the whole price of his land to that diftribution, and then withdrawing a part of it, and, by a lie, pretending that he had brought it all in; he affirmed that the right was ftill in him, till he by a vow had put it out of his power. When God fed his people by miracle with the manna, there was an equal diftribution made; yet, when he brought them into the promised land, every man had his property. The equal divifion of the land was the foundation of that conftitution; but ftill every man had a property, and might improve it by his induftry, either to the increasing of his flock, the purchafing houfes in towns, or buying of estates, till the redemption at the jubilee.

It can never be thought a juft and equitable thing, that the fober and induftrious fhould be bound to fhare the fruits of their labour with the idle and luxurious. This would be fuch an encouragement to those whom all wife governments ought to difcourage, and would fo difcourage thofe who ought to be encouraged, that all the order of

the

ART. the world must be diffolved, if fo extravagant a conceit XXXVIII. should be entertained. Both the rich and the poor have rules given them, and there are virtues fuitable to each ftate of life. The rich ought to be fober and thankful, modest and humble, bountiful and charitable, out of the abundance that God has given them, and not to fet their hearts upon uncertain riches, but to truft in the living God, and to make the best use of them that they can. The poor ought to be patient and induftrious, to fubmit to the providence of God, and to ftudy to make sure of a better portion in another state, than God has thought fit to give them in this world.

It will be much easier to perfuade the world of the truth of the first part of this Article, than to bring them up to the practice of the fecond branch of it. We see what particular care God took of the poor in the old difpenfation, and what variety of provifion was made for them; - all which muft certainly be carried as much higher among Christians, as the laws of love and charity are raised to a higher degree in the Gospel. Chrift represents the effay, that he gives of the day of judgment, in this article of charity, and expreffes it in the most emphatical words poffible; as if what is given to the poor were to be reckoned for as if it had been given perfonally to Chrift himfelf: and in a great variety of other paffages this matter is fo oft infifted on, that no man can refift it who reads them, and acknowledges the authority of the New Testament.

It is not poffible to fix a determined quota, as was done under the Law, in which every family had their peculiar allotment, which had a certain charge fpecified in the Law, that was laid upon it. But under the Gospel, as men may be under greater inequalities of fortune than they could have been under the old difpenfation; fo that vaft variety of men's circumftances makes that fuch proportions as would be intolerable burdens upon fome, would be too light and difproportioned to the wealth of others. Those words of our Saviour come pretty near the Luke xxi.4. marking out every man's meafure. Thefe have of their abundance caft into the offerings of God; but he of her penury bath caft in all the living that he bad. Abundance is fuperfluity in the Greek, which imports that which is over Prov. xxx. and above the food that is convenient; that which one can well spare and lay afide. Now, by our Saviour's defign, it plainly appears, that this is a low degree of charity, when men give only out of this; though, God knows, it is far beyond what is done by the greater part of Chriftians. Whereas that which is fo peculiarly acceptable to God is

8.

when

XXXVIII.

when men give out of their penury, that is, out of what is ART. neceffary to them; when they are ready, especially upon great and crying occafions, even to pinch nature, and ftraiten themselves within what upon other occafions they may allow themselves; that fo they may diftribute to the neceffities of others, who are more pinched, and are in great extremities. By this every man ought to judge himfelf, as knowing that he muft give a moft particular account to God, of that which God hath referved to himfelf, and ordered the diftribution of it to the poor, out of all that abundance with which he has bleffed fome far beyond others.

ARTICLE

ARTICLE XXXIX.

Of a Chriftian Man's Oath.

As we confess that vain and rath Swearing is forbidden Christian Yen by our Lord Jesus Christ, and James his Apoßtle; so we judge that Chiflian Religion doth not prohibit, but that a Pan may swear when the Magißrate requizeth, in a Cause of Faith and Charity, so it be done according to the Prophets teaching, in Juffice, Judgment, and Truth.

A

N oath is an appeal to God, either upon a teftimony that is given, or a promife that is made, confirming the truth of the one, and the fidelity of the other. It is an appeal to God, who knows all things, and will judge all men: fo it is an act that acknowledges both his omnifcience, and his being the governor of this world, who will judge all at the laft day according to their deeds, and muft be fuppofed to have a more immediate regard to fuch acts, in which men made him a party. An appeal, truly made, is a committing the matter to God: a falfe one is an act of open defiance, which muft either fuppofe a denial of his knowing all things, or a belief that he has forsaken the earth, and has no regard to the actions of mortals: or, finally, it is a bold venturing on the juftice and wrath of God, for the ferving fome prefent end, or the gaining of fome prefent advantage: and which of these foever gives a man that brutal confidence of adventuring on a falfe oath, we must conclude it to be a very crying fin; which must be expiated with a very fevere repentance, or will bring down very terrible judgments on those who are guilty of it.

Thus, if we confider the matter upon the principles of natural religion, an oath is an act of worship and homage done to God; and is a very powerful mean for preferving the juftice and order of the world. All decifions in justice muft be founded upon evidence; two must be believed rather than one; therefore the more terror that is struck into the minds of men, either when they give their teftimony, or when they bind themselves by promises, and the deeper that this goes, it will both oblige them to the greater caution in what they fay, and to the greater ftrictness in what they promife. Since therefore truth and fidelity are fo neceffary to the fecurity and commerce of the world, and

and fince an appeal to God is the greatest mean that can ART. be thought on to bind men to an exactness and ftrictness XXXIX. in every thing with which that appeal is joined; therefore the ufe of an oath is fully juftified upon the principles of natural religion. This has fpread itfelf fo univerfally through the world, and began fo early, that it may well be reckoned a branch of the law and light of nature.

We find this was practifed by the Patriarchs: Abimelech reckoned that he was fafe, if he could perfuade Abraham Gen. xxi. to fwear to him by God, that he would not deal falfely 23. with him; and Abraham confented fo to fwear. Either

the fame Abimelech, or another of that name, defired that xxvi. 28. an oath might be between Ifaac and him; and they fware one to another. Jacob did alfo fwear to Laban. Thus we xxxi. 53. find the Patriarchs practifing this before the Mofaical Law. Under that Law we find many covenants fealed by an oath; and that was a facred bond, as appears from the ftory of the Gibeonites. There was also a special conftitution in the Jewith religion, by which one in authority might put others under an oath, and adjure them either to do fomewhat, or to declare fome truth. The law was, that when any foul (i. e. man) finned, and beard the voice of Lev. v. 1. Javearing (adjuration), and was a witness whether he bath feen it, or known it, if he do not utter it, then he shall bear bis iniquity; that is, he fhall be guilty of perjury. So the form then was, the judge or the parent did adjure all perfons to declare their knowledge of any particular. They charged this upon them with an oath or curfe, and all perfons were then bound by that oath to tell the truth. So Micah came and confeffed, upon his mother's adjura- Judg.xvii. tion, that he had the eleven hundred fhekels, for which 2. he heard her put all under a curfe; and upon that the bleffed him. Saul, when he was purfuing the Philistines, 1 Sam. xiv. put the people under a curfe, if they fhould eat any food 24, 28, 44. till night; and this was thought to be fo obligatory, that the violation of it was capital, and Jonathan was put in hazard of his life upon it. Thus the High-Prieft put our Mat. xxvi. Saviour under the oath of curfing, when he required him 63, 64to tell, whether he was the Meffias or not? Upon which our Saviour was, according to that law, upon his oath; and though he had continued filent till then, as long as it was free to him to fpeak or not, at his pleasure; yet then he was bound to fpeak, and fo he did speak, and owned himself to be what he truly was.

This was the form of that conftitution: but if, by practice, it were found that men's pronouncing the words of the oath themselves, when required by a person in autho