2. A christian being unfeignedly thus resolved in the general, to lay out that he hath or shall have as God would have him, and to his glory (as near as he can); his next inquiry must be, (for finding out the will of God,) to know in the ordinary course of his distribution, where God hath gone before him by any particular prescript, and tied him to one certain way of giving; and where God hath only given him some general direction, and left him to discern his duty in particulars, by that general rule, and the further direction of objects and providence. And in this inquiry he will find,
1. That God hath first prescribed to him in nature, the necessary sustentation of his own life. And,
2. The necessary maintenance of his children and family.
3. The necessary maintenance of the preachers of the gospel, for the worship of God, and the salvation of men, 1 Cor. ix.; Phil. iv. 10, 11, 14, 17, 18; Luke x. 7; 1 Tim. v. 17, 18.
4. The necessary maintenance of the commonwealth, and paying tribute to the higher powers, who are the ministers of God to us for good; attending continually upon this very thing, Rom. xiii. 4, 6.
5. The saving of the lives of those that are in apparent danger of famine or perishing, within our sight or reach, 1 John iii. 17; Luke x. 33. Thus far God hath prescribed to us, how he would have us use our estates in an ordinary way. In many other things he hath left us to more general directions.
3. To know among good works, which is to be preferred, it principally concerneth us next to know, what works do most contribute to our chiefest ends; which God is most honoured by; which tend to the greatest good: and here we shall find that, cæteris paribus,
1. The souls of men are to be preferred before their bodies, in estimation and intention; but in time, the body is oft to be preferred before the soul, because if the body be suffered to perish, the helping of the soul will be past our power.
2. And so the church is finally and estimatively to be preferred before the commonwealth; but the commonwealth must be first served in time, when it is necessary to the church's support and welfare; for the church will else perish with the commonwealth.
3. The good of many is to be preferred before the good of few, and public good to be valued above private, Rom. ix. 3.