John Wycliffe is one of my heroes. He lived in the 1300s and is best known today (if he is known at all) for his translation of the New Testament into English. For more on Wycliffe you can go to http://www.greatsite.com/timeline-english-bible-history/john-wycliffe.html
I am presenting here excerpts from his work, The Seven Werks of Mercy Bodyly. This tract or book has two parts: “The Seven Works of Mercy Bodyly and The Seven Works of Mercy Ghostly.” 14th century English was a little different than modern English - they even had characters that we don’t, so reading it can be difficult. Therefore I have modernized this. Some sections I have even paraphrased or rephrased: not to correct or improve Wycliffe, it is only an attempt to make the text readable for those who can’t navigate 14th century English. Here and there I have made comments – they are all in italics.
The Seven Works of Mercy Bodyly (1382)
If a man were sure that he should tomorrow come before a judge and either lose or win all the goods that he had, and his life too, he would dread this judgment, and busy himself full fast to ready him and his to have the sentence for him. But where is our belief in the day of doom, when we know that we shall come before the highest judge, and be judged of our life and all things that we have, to win it ever in bliss, or else to lose it ever more in pain of hell, with fiends and their angels? This should be our faith. And since our belief teaches us that Christ has mercy only on him that has been merciful, each man should learn to be merciful. And therefore saith Christ in the book of His gospel, Blessed be merciful men, for they shall have mercy!
There are seven works of bodily mercy, and other seven works of ghostly [spiritual] mercy; and Christ loves these more, as he loveth the soul more than the body, for it is better. But, since bodily works are better known to us than are ghostly works, therefore begin we at these bodily works, for so does the gospel. Christ says, when he shall come in the day of doom, there shall be gathered before him all manner of folk; he shall separate them as herdmen do sheep from goats. Sheep that shall be saved shall be on his right hand, and goats that shall be damned shall be on his left hand. And then shall he say to these that shall be saved, “Come my blessed Father’s children, and take ye bliss of heaven that was ordained to you before the world was made.” And Christ tells in order six works of mercy, whereby they shall have bliss. I hungered, he says, and then you fed me in my members; I thirsted, and you gave me drink; and when I was a guest, you harbored me in your house, and gathered me to rest. I was naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, I was in prison and then you came and visited me. The seventh work of mercy is mentioned in the book of Tobit [apocryphal book], burying of dead men that need burying. All these seven works of mercy they do to Christ when they do them to his members devoutly in his name.
But here many men wonder whether it is a work of mercy to do these deeds to them that shall be damned in hell, since it is certain that none of these are Christ’s lambs, and the gospel makes no mention of reward for these alms, only of those done to members of Christ. But this seems heavy and against reason, since no man but God knows who shall be saved, nor who is ordained to bliss or ordained to be damned. But here we see that each man should beware in his works of mercy that he nourish not lambs of the fiend [devil]; for if he do this knowingly, he wars against Christ, and maintains lambs of the fiend to work against Christ, and this is open treason, as each man may see. And therefore each Christian man should use discretion to whom he does his alms, lest he revile Christ. For if a man do these alms to him that lives evil against the law of his God, and stands with the fiend, it only nourishes him, and by this he supports the fiend against Jesus Christ. And therefore Christ asks two things of thine alms, that thou do it in his name, and also discretely.
on giving alms to priests who continually beg for money
[Above he asked about giving alms to unbelievers. His example of this is friars, priests and bishops! These begged and demanded money, and so he says] And thus Christ ordained how his priests should serve him by good life and good deed, and not by false words. But Christ has limited in his law who should have such alms, — poor men and blind, poor men and lame, poor men and feeble, who need such help. And thus should rich men of this world give alms to poor men that the gospel limits to help, nor they should ask proof [do you really need help? And thus be slow to give alms], nor too lightly give their goods, but be discrete in alms and base their giving on God’s law.
[Wycliffe then asks, What shall we think about the friars, monks and priests who are always begging? It is amazing how this applies to our day and the preachers who are always asking for our money. Is giving to them] any of the seven works of mercy? It is open error [this begging]. And this may we see by the Scriptures, that tell openly how priests should live a poor life, as men did in the state of innocence, — without excess, as Christ himself lived; without begging as friars, or doing as other bishops and monks; all this is unlawful or God’s law is false. If noble-men be bishops, let them think on Christ, who was the most noble man that ever was on earth, for his Father was God and his mother Mary. And since Christ, noblest man that may be on earth, was poorest man of all when he chose to be bishop, these then should be poor as Christ was and take meekly that state that Christ chose. And if they reverse the sentence of this word, they are false, and so hated of Christ, and most cursed men that ever God suffered. And so these irreligious [priests] that have possessions, they have red and fat cheeks, and fat and great bellies. Men should think on God’s word said by Ezekiel, that there were four wickednesses done by the men of Sodom
The Day of Doom as motive for almsgiving
Men say this is true, when a peril is nigh, then men dread it and seek help in many ways. If I knew that by the law of man my cause should be judged to death, I would be busy and dreadful that it went on my side; but now the day of doom is far from our living. Well I know that thus men speak that savour the world. But would God that such men knew this, that the day of judgment, that is present to God, is very close, and then should they have more faith in the day of doom than they have of any work that men do in this life. For we are certain that dooms day must come, and we must answer to Christ for all that we have done. And so this great doom of God surpasses doom of men in certainty of coming and in dread of peril. Nothing is more nigh than the day of doom. For since a man may see something that is past, and God’s sight without measure is more than the sight of man, then God may see all things that ever was before, and by this same reason all things that shall be; and so all the day of doom is present to God. And so the great sight of God holds together all things that have been and all that shall be; and so a thousand years is fresher in God’s sight than is yesterday in the mind of man. “For when I think”, says Jerome, “on the day of doom, I tremble in my heart for perils that shall then fall; for whether I eat or drink, me thinks that the angel trump sounds in my ear, and bids me rise to judgment.”
This is a truth we do not hear much about today. Wycliffe in speaking of this great and terrible day and telling us how “we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.”
Alms not pleasing to God, if the money was not righteously gotten
Men should know that these goods were justly gotten of which they do their alms. For since each alms that men do they give first to God, and God does not reward for such goods that be not justly gotten, it is necessary alms should be given out of money justly gotten. For since giving is not worth anything unless God approves it, and God does not approves the unjust having of things, then it is not alms to give of these things. Lord, how should God approve that you rob Peter, and give this robbery to Paul in the name of Christ? You would make Christ consent to theft. And if you say you gave this good in
the name of God, that makes it more sinful, for here you say God approves it. For God asks cleanness of heart when men do their alms.
Restitution of ill-gotten gain before alms
But here men wonder to whom men should restore the goods that they have gotten with wrong, since they should not do their alms of such ill-gotten goods before they had restored their theft to men that should have them, and make amends to God. But oft times it may happen that these men are dead, or else he knows them not, or they dare not come to him; how should he do alms that is a rich robber, and is wrapped in such cases?
But to this doubt may men answer by reason of God’s law, and say that such robbers should first have contrition, and purpose never to sin so after, and make restitution to these men that they should. And, since this is seldom seen, therefore this sin is great, and wraps them in the grip of the fiend. But first, I think, they should restore to the men they have robbed, or else neighbors that had right to these goods; and if this may not be done, find poor men of the gospel, and give them wisely God’s goods. But yet men doubt commonly, whether they should pay their debt [make restitution] to these men that they know live a wicked life. But according to God’s law, men should serve truly their God both by word and deed, and pay them their debts, and hope for their amendment.
Almsgiving was taught, emphasized and expected of the righteous both by the Jews and by the early church. We hear almost nothing about this today. For us, personal piety consists of having regular devotions – in fact, that is what we call it, devotions. For the early church, even through the middle ages, personal piety was thought of in terms of almsgiving. This was based on the teaching of the Lord Jesus. A verse often quoted was Daniel 4:27
[Greek] Therefore, O king, let my counsel please thee, and atone for thy sins by alms, and thine iniquities by compassion on the poor: it may be God will be long-suffering to thy trespasses.
[Latin] Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to thee, and redeem thou thy sins with alms, and thy iniquities with works of mercy to the poor: perhaps he will forgive thy offences.
Consider this also, how literal he is in his explanation of Scripture, and so practical. Also, consider how bold he was to rebuke and reprove so sharply people who had the power to hurt him.
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