Biography

Alexander Whitaker (1585–1616) was an English Anglican theologian who settled in North America in Virginia Colony in 1611 and established two churches near the Jamestown colony. He was also known as “The Apostle of Virginia” by contemporaries.

Born in Cambridge, he was the son of William Whitaker (1548–1595), Protestant scholar and Master of St. John’s College, Cambridge. Whitaker was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge and became a clergyman in the North of England.

Travelling to Virginia in 1611, he was a popular religious leader with both settlers and natives, and was responsible for the baptism and conversion of Pocahontas at Henricus two years later. She took the baptismal name “Rebecca”. … His relative tolerance of the Native American population that English colonists encountered can be found in his sermons, some of which were sent back to England to help win support for the new colonies in North America. The most famous of these sermons is Good Newes from Virginia (1613), in which he describes the native population as “servants of sin and slaves of the devil,” but also recognizes them as “sons of Adam,” who are “a very understanding generation, quick of apprehension, sudden in their dispatches, subtle in their dealings, exquisite in their inventions, and industrious in their labour.”

Whitaker drowned in 1616 while crossing the James River.

Source: Alexander Whitaker. Wikipedia. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0; additional terms may apply.

Good News from Virginia

ECCLESIASTES 11.1. Cast thy bread upon the waters: for after many days thou shalt find it.

… The sentence is rhetorical, full of figures, and needs some explaining. Bread in Scripture is usually taken for all kind of meat and drink, as appears in Gen. 18.5. and in diverse other places: but here (I take it) it is more generally put for all kind of Alms, of what nature: not only for meat and drink, money, apparel, or the like, but also for any kind of thing, whereby we may relieve the necessity of our neighbor. Waters also are here metaphorically put for all those men, who stand in need of the alms of our liberality, whether they be such as cannot, but gladly would requite us, or else such as being able, forget to be thankful.

So that the plain meaning of the words is this. Give liberally thine alms to all sorts of men, that may stand in need of thy help: hide not thine eyes at the miserable state of the afflicted; neither stop thine ears at the cries of the poor, though they be not able to recompense thy well-doing: reproach not thine enemies, when he is punished, but rather overcome his evil deeds with thy goodness; neither suffer any to return empty handed from thee, whom God shall offer to thy liberality. For though thou canst not presently expect a plentiful reward of thy well-doing, though the persons, to whom thou hast cast thine alms, bee not able to requite thee, or forgetful of good turns, yet be assured of it, that God behold thy charity, and will at his appointed time requite thee, even in this world, if it be good for thee, thou shalt taste of his bounty; but in the world to come he hath reserved for thee a most glorious crown of blessed immortality. This is the soul and substance of this short sentence.

The words naturally divide themselves into two principal parts. A Commandment to be Liberal and Charitable: and a promise of reward, which hereafter we shall find. The Commandment also contains in it five points, touching the doctrine of liberality.

1. The duty to be performed, cast thy bread: be liberal to all.
2. The manner of bestowing our alms, by casting it away.
3. What is to be given, bread; all things needful, yea, and of the best kind.
4. Who may be liberal: even those that have it: thy bread, it must be thine own.
5. To whom we must be liberal; to all, yea, to the waters.

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…. First, that we give in faith, for without faith it is impossible to please God; therefore without faith our alms cannot please God: the sum of which faith is this: first, that God will accept of us and our alms for his son Jesus Christ’s sake; for no work of any man can please God, before the man himself be approved of him, and then all our good deeds shall be accepted of him. Secondly, that we be not hasty in expecting a present recompense of reward, but to wait patiently upon God by faith for the good successes of our alms.…

The second rule in giving is, that we give in love, which whosoever lacks cannot give aright, and said Saint Paul, Though I feed the poor with all my goods and have not love, it profited me nothing. The sum of which love is, that out of mere pity, compassion and fellow-feeling of our neighbors wants, we cast our bread to him; not for constraint of law, and custom of parishioners, neither for any sinister respect of praise or vainglory. Wherefore the same Paul said, He that distributed, let him do it with simplicity: and our Savior Christ commanded, that when thou does thine alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth.

Thirdly, we must give our alms bountifully and with a cheerfully minded: but as every one wishes in his heart, so let him give, not grudging or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver: He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he that soweth liberally shall reap also liberally. Yet notwithstanding this bountifulness hath two proper limits, beyond which it is not to pass. First, we must be bountiful only according to abilities; for if we give all at one time, we may leave our selves naked, and be disenabled for giving any more hereafter…

The fourth rule of right giving, arises from hence, which is, that we give our alms with discretion. First, that we communicate such things as the need of our neighbor requires; the thirsty man must have drink, the hungry and naked, meat and apparel, the imprisoned for debt, money and the like. Secondly, we must not defer the time of our relief, lest that we give too late, when the case of our neighbor is past help… The Physician comes too late when the patient is dead.* But a word spoken in season is like apples of gold and pictures of silver: whilst thou may, then do good, thou knows not then what may befall afterward.… Thirdly, we must choose such a place as may be void of vainglory and hypocrisy. Our left hand may not know what our right hand doth…Honors may be openly given for the encouragement of others; but alms deeds must be given in secret: then thy Father that sees in secret shall reward thee openly.

The last rule of giving is, that we give in Justice; which is, that we cut not large thongs out of another man’s leather; that we give not other men’s goods, but such as bee our own, and those truly gotten, the text said, that the bread must be thine, even thine own,* not another mans. The true feasting is to breaker thine own bread to the hungry, to bring the poor that wander into thine house.

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The next point to be handled is, wherein we are to be liberal, what we are to give…

First, we must freely give to the poor, as clothes to the naked, liberal gleanings to the stranger, fatherless and widow; Justice in Judgment to the oppressed, etc.

Secondly, we must freely lend whereby we may be oftentimes as beneficial to our neighbor as by giving. Concerning which our Savior Christ said, From him that would borrow of thee, turned not away thy face. And the commandment of God is, Thou shalt open thy hands to thy poor brother, and lend him sufficient for his need which he hath.

Thirdly, we must freely forgive and remit the due debt which our neighbor doth owe unto us, if it so fall out that God bring him into decay and extreme poverty. So the pledge or pawn which our neighbor leave with us, if it belong to his necessary use, as his raiment or the like, we are to restore it to him again, before the Sun goes down.

The fourth point in order to be considered is, who may properly give alms which may easily be determined, if we consider the diverse kinds of good works which we have now lately rehearsed. For he that is not able to be liberal in one kind, may be fit for another, which may be noted in the alms of Peter and John entering into the Temple, when they restored the lame cripple to his health, to whom they said in this manner, Silver and Gold have I none, but such as I have, that give I thee. Whence we may conclude that Every one may be a giver of alms. For he that hath not the riches of wealth and cannot give much, let him give a little according to the measure of his abilities… Those also that have not money and goods to help their neighbor, let them lend the help of their bodily labor, of their callings, or the virtues of their soul and body unto them, and this was Peters alms.

And these whom poverty, age or subjection (unto the hard government of others) hath made unfit for these two: let them exercise their Liberality, in praying for the relief of those that want, which is the proper calling of alms-men, and hospital children; yea it is the duty of us all.

This is the doctrine, and I beseech God to stir up your minds to the practice of liberality in all things towards all men. And remember the poor estate of the ignorant inhabitants of Virginia. Cast forth your alms (my brethren of England) and extend your liberality on these charitable works, which God hath called you to performed. Let not the servants of superstition, that think to merit.

Source: Whitaker, Alexander. (1613) Good News from Virginia. Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership, 2011. In the public domain, modernized by Genevieve Shaker.