to fast and that by vertue of that coÌ„mandement giuen to them as well as they were For if we consider the end and see the equitie and reason of it we shall finde that it bindes vs as much as them and so we hauing the same cause among vs which mooued the Lord to inioine them this practise must thinke that we haue the same commandement also of fasting thogh not at that time and yeerely yet at some time in a yeere at the least in many yeeres For it being ordained to this end that they being humbled for their sinnes priuate and publike and there testifying their humiliation the wrath of God against them either threatned iustly in the lawe or vpon them alreadie or appearing imminent might be turned away and so they reconciled vnto God and spared we haue the same cause to bee humbled manie waies especially at this present and so now God commandeth vs to vse it And first of all in respect of our great vnwoorthinesse of Gods manifold benefits for looke to rhem that be publike past and present as the long and happie and peaceable raigne of our late soueraigne Queene Elizabeth of famous memorie To be humbled both iâ— respect of thâ— death of ouâ— late Queen Elizabeth with the Gospell and freedome from our enemies and other plagues and then consider on the other side the little fruit of them the great vnthankfulnesse for them nay abuse for them and of Gods patience in them and we shall see great cause of humilitie and of earnest seeking to God for the continuance of them by fasting and praier especially if we well way the late great losse of ours in the death of her Maiestie For if Dauid bad the people of his time mourne for the death of Saul their King because they enioyed manie great benefits vnder his gouernment saying â— Sam. 1.4 Ye daughters of Israel weepe for Saul which clothed you in scarlet and with pleasures and hanged ornaments of golde vpon your apparell then we much more haue cause to lament for her death by whose life we enioyed and that so long so many inestimable benefits both for soule and bodie for profit and for pleasure and truely it is to be feared that her death is too lightly passed away of the most The Lord indeed in much mercy hath most happily supplied it beyond all our expectation but yet that must not be forgotten and the more gratiously and speedily he hath supplied it and yet we vnwoorthy of the former the more cause haue wee to be humbled For when many great benefits come heaped vp one after another and no measure of true thankfulnesse and obedience answerable vnto it there must needs come some great punishment afterwards if it be not preuented And so the sight and consideration of these great benefits thus continued with the little or no fruit at all of them should humble vs and so driue vs to shew it in fasting and prayer that God might forgiue vs and so still continue his benefts Besides this if they vpon this day had cause to bee humbled for their sinnes And in respect of our sinnes and for the punishment of them either present or imminent then if our sinnes be as great and many or more than theirs because we haue more and greater benefits for his Word in the ministery of the Gospel is more cleerely come to vs and this time hath many things which the time of the Law had not then seeing to whom much is giuen â—uke 12.48 of them much is required we hauing receiued so much in comparison of them and done so little for it haue more cause to be humbled than they and so are bound by vertue of this law to holde some dayes of humiliation as well as they though not that yeerely day especially if we consider the punishment not onely to be feared but alreadie vpon vs. For though God hath giuen vs a most gratious and worthy Prince yet see how there hath beene feare of losing him by the desperate attempts of his traiterous enemies whom thogh in their plot it hath pleased God to disapoint and we hope and pray that he alwayes so will yet he hath suffered them somwhat to breake out that all might take knowledge of them to be humbled for their sinnes the cause of them For he is not King for himselfe but for vs in his preseruation consisteth all our good in his death the losse of vs all especially when they seeke also to put out his whole race and to bring in some Popish Spanish pretended heire then consider the losse of Religion and the more than hazzard yea vtter ouerthrow of our peace and all that we haue we should come vnder the popish and Spanish yoke either of which were intolerable as our forefathers haue learned by too lamentable experience therefore in respect of this also we haue cause to be humbled and so to fast both to bring vs to it and outwardly to declare it Moreouer if we consider the great sicknes and mortality that raigneth hath done a long time in most of the chiefe places in the land And this present pestilence that is in many parts of this land as in London where haue died 2000. this last weeke and more and truly this is much considering how many haue remooued out of this citie and how many haue died before so that it is reported that there are certaine hundred houses standing emptie besides in most of the villages about London and in other cities and great townes as in Norwich and in manie coast townes and other in Norfolke and Suffolke as Yarmouth Laystaffe Ipswich c. that I speake not of those which are in other shires as Colchester Cambridge Newmarket and many more that we know not If there were nothing but this there were great cause to be humbled for so manifest a token of Gods wrath so apparently and so vniuersally and so long shewed And this mooued the Kings Maiestie of his Princely care that he hath of all his subiects to set downe this godly order of weekely fasting For concerning our selues though by the free mercy of God it be not vpon vs yet â—om 12.5.16 yet these are our brethren and therefore as the Apostle saith we should be of like affectioÌ„ one towards another Luk. 13 and so ready to weepe with them that weepe Besides as our Sauiour Christ saith of them vpon whom the tower of Siloam fell slew them that they were not the greatest sinners aboue all that dwelt in Ierusalem so must wee say of these men and women that haue died of the plague and of those places where it hath beene and is so heauie but except we amend we shall all likewise perish therefore wee in them as in a glasse are to see what we haue deserued and so for our owne selues to be humbled also considering that this punishment of God vpon them for their sinnes deserued also by
would not hearken vnto our voice that is he would not giue ouer fasting though they earnestly intreated him So that whiles the childe laye sicke hee continued his fasting and prayer vnto the Lorde for the life of it for the space of diuers daies for it died not vntill the seuenth day after that it fell sicke Which godly fast of his doth shew that if any shal haue any afâ—liction vpon them and so the Lord giue them cause of sorrow and of humiliation more than others or which others haue not at all no not they which are of the same familie then they are for a time to put themselues apart as it were from the rest and in priuate fasting and prayer to seeke vnto the Lord for mercie more than others So did Ahab when Gods iudgement was denouÌ„ced against him as Dauid did heere So is it sayd also of Ahab King of Israel that when the Prophet Elijah had sharplie rebuked him for his sinnes denounced the curse of God against him and his whole familie for it 1. King 21.20 saying Thou hast solde thy selfe to worke wickednesse in the sight of the Lord therefore Beholde sayeth the Lord I will bring euill vpon thee and will take away thy posterity and wil cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall as well him that is shut vp as him that is left in Israel and so foorth as it followeth in that place vers 27. When Ahab heard those wordes hee rent his clothes and put on sackecloth vpon him and fasted and lay in sackecloth and went softly Thus because the wrath of the Lord appeared speciallie against him for his sinne though he proclamed no publike fast thorow his kingdome yet he saw that it was high time for himselfe at the least to practise it So ought all other men and women doe in the like case Therefore if any shall haue fallen into any grieuous sinne as these two Kings had whereby the Lord by the ministerie of his Word threateneth against them some notable punishment and their owne consciences tell them that they haue iustlie deserued it or some grieuous thing is alreadie befallen them then they must know it to be their bounden dutie to seeke to turne away the wrath of the Lord from theÌ„selues and from their houses by priuate fasting and prayer and they must not onely acknowledge that the Lord requireth that they should humble themselues before him in fasting and so could be contented that there were some publicke fasts then whereunto they might resort and thinke themselues discharged because there bee none and so tarie vntill some by publike authoritie vpon some occasion be coÌ„manded but because it is their own case onely and none others they must see what God requireth of them alone Reasons to persuade men to priuate fasting And truly if all men would thus do they might preuent manie of Gods heauie iudgements which otherwise befall themselues and theirs but often times many sinnes are most grieuously committed and Gods holy law broken not onely by some one in a familie but by diuers both gouernours children and seruants as adulterie fornication and other vncleannesse drunkennesse and gluttonie swearing and blaspheming the most holy name of God contempt of Gods word and sacraments besides all ruffianlinesse and prophannesse pride oppression and such like and they doe not seeke priuately to humble themselues before God for them when they breake out and are iustly by Gods Ministers reproued for them but rather they go on obstinately and stand in the defence of the same they do not I say after some extraordinarie maner of fasting and prayer seeke feruently vnto the Lord and so his iudgements breake out against them and some plague or other entreth into their houses which with their sinnes they haue defiled that as the Cananites were spued out of that fruitfull land for their wickednesse Leu. 18.28 so are they by sicknesse and death cast out of their goodly houses Which kinde of wickednes coÌ„mitted closely in houses as it was the principall cause that this late plague first entred into them so in that respect some had iust cause to begin sooner and to continue longer their priuate fast then by publike authority all were inioyned vnto it For if Ahab who was an idolater a wicked man did then see that now he had cause to fast though other did not then we that are taught by the Word of God should much more discerne of the times and know when in respect of our priuate sinnes and calamities present The good that might redound to priuate families thereby or iustly to be feared we haue cause to fast and pray though other do not And if Ahab in thus doing did obtaine a release from this particular iudgement so farre foorth that it was put off and came not vpon his house in his dayes according to that that is said of him by the Lord himselfe vnto Eliiah Seest thou how Ahab is humbled before me because he submitteth himselfe before me I will not bring that euill in his dayes but in his sonnes daies will I bring euill vpon his house Then wee much more vsing this holy ordinance in sinceritie and trueth might put far from vs and from all ours manie grieuous plagues which our sinnes haue deserued Therefore let vs bee perswaded that it is our bounden dutie sometimes not onely to giue our selues vnto priuate praier which shuld be ordinarie and continuall but euen to fasting and prayer And this is that which we reade of Dauid againe 2. Sam. 3.30 â—hen Abner was traiterously slaine by â—oab and Abishai his brother because not only for the losse of so woorthie a captaine but especially for that great sinne in murthering him Dauid fastâ—d priuatly for the death of Abner which might procure Gods wrath against himselfe and his whole Realme and that it might appeare that hee was free from his blood he not onely sorrowed greatly for his death and prouoked the rest of the people thereunto as it is sayd of him Rent your clothes and put on sackecloth and mourne before Abner and King Dauid himselfe followed the beere and when they had buried Abner in Hebron the King lift vp his voice and wept besides the sepulchre of Abner and all the people wept but also Dauâ—d the King did further humble himselfe by fasting that day because he saw more into the hand of God and was more touched with it for it is written of him That all the people came to cause Dauid to eat meat vers 35. while it was yet day but Dauid sware saying So God do to me and more also if I taste bread or ought else till the Sunne be downe so that it is written of him and of him alone that in this common cause of heauinesse hee not onely mourned with the rest but fasted also and praied vnto God which is to be vnderstood as a thing necessarily ioined vnto fasting though
that we lacke helpe and that we had need still to call for more and so to stir vp those that come not or come seldome and to call vpon them that doe that they would bring as manie with them as they can euen their whole familie and all the seruants in the same And doe we not see by this that it is our bounden dutie to do as we do that we may continue it willingly of conscience and that we had not need to be remisse or slacke one whit either in true humilitie for our sinnes or in feruencie of praier seeing Gods hand is not slaked but rather stretched out still Therefore to conclude this point as the commandement and cause is publike so by our practise let it appeare among vs that our fasts are so and not priuate as it were to some few â—he cause of â—ublike fasts 〈◊〉 the wrath â—f God aâ—ainst the â—hurch Now concerning the causes of publike fastings they are set downe particularly to be diuers in the holy Scripture but for the most part and generally the cause is expresly noted to be the wrath and anger of God against the Church as appeareth by all the fasts that we reade of in the old new Testament And this is diligently to be obserued of vs that wee seeing the same cause among vs might knowe that though wee are commanded by publike authoritie to vse them and so all are bound to them yet when wee shall further vnderstand that God himselfe not man onely for this cause calleth vs vnto them then wee should iudge that all are bound vnto them so much the more And this wrath of God the cause of publike fasts is considered two waies either that which is alreadie come vpon men or which is iustly to be feared shortly and to whether of these two causes wee shall cast our eyes we shall clearely see that we haue great cause to do as we do that is publickely to humble our selues in fasting before the Lord. And first of all when it iâ— presently vpon them Iudg. 20.26 For concerning the former which is the wrath of God presently vpon the Church wee reade in the time of the Iudges when in two battels there were slaine of the Israelites fortie thousand this heauie hand of God being then vpon them all the children of Israel went vp and all the people came also vnto the house of God and wept and sate there before the Lord and fasted that day vnto the euening so that in this present calamitie all the people came to the fast which was held for it in the house of God Since this plague began among vs by all estimation there haue not so few as forty thousand died in this land therefore wee haue also as great cause to fast for this present apparent token of Gods wrath as they had and so all the people should come to the house of God to that end Moreouer the Prophet Ioel sayth to the people of Iudah that seeing there was so great a famine among them that God commanded them all publikelie to fast saying Ioel 2.15 Thus saieth the Lord Blow the trumpet in Sion sanctifie a fast call a solemne assemblie gather the people sanctifie the congregation gather the elders assemble the children and those that sucke the breasts let the bridegrome goe forth of his chamber and the bride out of her bride chamber let the Priests the Ministers of the Lord weepe Where we see that because the present scarsitie of the fruits of the earth was so great he calleth all sorts of men and women yoong and olde without exception vnto publike fasting to pacifie Gods wrath and that by the commaundement of the Lord saying As it is now vpon vs in this pestilence Thus saith the Lord. If the anger of God appearing in the famine was a sufficient cause to moue them to it then seeing it appeareth no lesse if not a great deale more in the deadlie contagions and mortalitie of the pestilence that we may be assured that the Lord doth require the same of vs also Againe if the Israelites when they were ouerthrowen in battle by their enimies the Philistins in the daies of Samuel did thinke that there was great cause to confesse their sinnes vnto God with all humilitie in fasting praier publikely according to the direction of the said Samuel 1. Sam 7.6 who said Gather al Israel to Mizpeh and I wil pray for you vnto the lord they gathered togither to Mizpeh and drew water powred it out before the Lord that is wept abundantly and fasted the same day and saide there wee haue sinned against the Lorde and afterwards in the daies of Dauid vpon the like occasion of whom and of all whose companie it is saide 2. Sam. 1.12 That Dauid tooke hold on his clothes and rent them and likewise all the men that were with him and they mourned and wept and fasted vntill euen for Saul and Ionathan his sonne and for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel because they were slaine with the sword Then seeing the plague deuoureth no lesse then the sword of which it is said that it so destroieth at noone-daie Psa 91.7 that it causeth a thousand to fall on the one side ten thousand on the other seeing the wrath of God appeareth in the one as well as in the other though wee haue escaped that which wee feared namely that wee haue not fallen into the handes of our enemies yet seeing the Lorde hath sent this great scourge of the pestilence vpoÌ„ vs which we looked not for we haue as great cause to humble our selues with fasting confessing our sins vnto God in praier In which respect we are bound to keepe them by the commandement not onely of men but of God as they So then we may perceiue that seeing this one cause of publike fasting is among vs namely the sensible and apparent token of Gods wrath in great measure that the thing it selfe ought to be practised of vs and that we are called to it now not onely by the voice of man but of the Lord our God and so euery one ought to thinke themselues bound to it so much the more Furthermore the wrath of God is to be considered of vs not only when it is 〈◊〉 presently vpon vs and may be felt Secondly the signes of gods wrath to come haue beene cause of publike fasting but wheÌ„ it maybe descerned a far off and when there is iust cause to fear it as that that is neere vs and readie shortly to come vpon vs if it be not speedily preuented whereof when the seruants of God haue seene euident signes and apparent tokens they haue in the wisedome of the spirit of God sought by fasting and praier to turne it away and haue not carelessely taried vntill such time as it came vpon them And so that hath beene an other sufficient cause of fasting vnto
them namely the signes of Gods wrath by al likelihood shortly to come vpon them Wherein they haue prouidently behaued themselues like vnto those that are wise who being in their iourney and spying a blacke cloud to arise so perceiuing some great tempest to be at hande haue either prepared themselues well for it or haue sought some shelter against it So they foreseeing by all probable coniectures so great calamity to come vpon them haue by fasting and praier sought vnto the Lord as to the onely gouernour and disposer of all things either of his great mercy to turne it away from them or of his infinite compassion to mitigate the extremity of it or to giue them patience and strength to beare it or that some way or other they might finde fauour with him in it And concerning the signes and tokens of Gods wrath shortly to come they haue wisely obserued and considered of them diuersly As first of all in the course of his prouidence that seeing ordinarily such and such causes doe bring forth such effects euents and therefore by the cause as by a signe more then probable Which signe haue beene considered in the ordinary course of gods prouidence they haue not vnaduisedly feared such sequels and haue seene Gods anger in them And namely we see that vnseasonable weather as want of raine in due season or too great aboundance of it out of time betokeneth scarsity of the fruites of the earth and so consequently dearth and famine preparation for warre by a mightie and strong enimie threatneth the losse of men and spoiling of goods the beginning of the plague portendeth great mortalitie and such like therefore when there hath beene but the beginning of such things seeing the stormie tempest as it were arising they haue sought by this ordinance of fasting as by a sure refuge to escape it And so we read that when there came some and told Iehoshaphat King of Iudah saying 2. Chr. 20.2 There commeth a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea out of Aram and behold they be in Hazzon Tamar which is in Engedi And Iehoshaphat fefeared sat himselfe to seeke the Lord proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah Iudah gathered themselues together to aske couÌ„sel of the Lord they came out of all the cities of Iudah to inquire of the Lord. Thus we see when this huge armie of the Ammonites Moabites and mount Seir did but come vp against Ierusalem at the first hearing of it though yet nothing was done neither were they come to them considering what was likely to be the euent of that warre if they had proceeded and if the Lord had not holpen them he proclaimed a fast and did thus seeke to escape that which was like to come So likewise in the time of the captiuitie when ambitious and cruell Haman the mortall enimie of the Iews so breathed after their vtter destruction that he ceased not to cast lottes from day to day to finde out a prosperous time to bring his mischieuous purpose to passe and at the last had got the King to set his hande to a Decree concerning the finall racing of them all out in one daie and Mordecay had sent the copie of this commission to the Queene Hester Hest 4.6 long before the bloodie day of that intended massacre came they sought vnto the Lorde And so they haue sought to preuent Gods wrath and haue not taried till it came vpon them for Hester commanded heereupon that they should assemble all the Iewes and fast and pray for her as she likewise promised for herselfe for her maides that they woulde doe so also So that these before their enimies began the slaughter by all probability of that that was done already seeing what was most like to insue if God were not mercifull vnto them to turn the hart of the king towards theÌ„ before-hand they sought by fasting praier to escape it and did so as it followeth in that storie more at large And so by these few examples we see how the seruants of God that haue beene godly wise haue not alwaies taried vntil Gods wrath in some of his punishments hath seased vpon them but the very foresight of it a loofe of hath bin enough to moue theÌ„ to seeke vnto the Lorde in fasting and praier to escape it or to finde mercie in it Euen as an ingenuous childe and he that is of anie good disposition seeketh to his father for pardon not onely when he is vnder the rodde of correction and feeleth the stripes but when hee seeth his father with an angrie countenance comming towards him with the rodde in his hands so they haue not taried till they haue felt the smart of Gods correction vpon themselues but the verie shew of his wrath comming against them hath beene sufficient to moue them to humble themselues before him and to craue his pardon In which respect also besides that that we spake of before we must needs confesse that wee haue great cause to fast and pray publikly for besides that great wrath of God that hath beene a long time vpon our brethren In respect of Gods wrath likely yet further to come vpon vâ— there is cause of these publike fasts which is a thing present and so ought to moue if we further consider what cause wee haue to feare our selues our houses and our townes though hitherto by the grace of God nothing is come vpon vs we shall acknowledge it to bee true And to this end we must acknowledge the nature of this disease to be very contagious and infectiue aboue all other and that it spreadeth from one place to another after a speciall maner and that it infecteth also after an extraordinarie kinde as not onely by touching and eating and drinking with them and keeping them companie that are sicke of it as some other diseases doe but euen by the breath that we draw in which as it is the most common nourishment that wee haue and without the which wee can not liue so it is most subtile and speedie aboue all other so that it worketh in vs with great expedition whereupon it commeth to passe that euen by passing by theÌ„ euen suddenly with the breath and sauour of them that are infected we are corrupted and it is a poison and so infecteth deadly and speedilie as all poisons doe all the parts of the body â—f we consiâ—er the conâ—agious naâ—ure of the plague how speedily and how deadly â—t infecteth and not so much corrupteth the humors of the bodie which is sufficient to breed deadly diseases as it infecteth the heart and the spirits and all the vitall parts and therefore dispatcheth a man quickely and killeth him speedily so may die suddenly as experience teacheth euen in this plague that some being taken into a mans house ouer night haue beene found dead in the morning and some haue fallen from their horses as they trauelled and
so haue died in the hie waies And againe it is like the leprosie that was among the Iews Leu. 14.34 which did hang in their houses and in certaine vessels a long time so it doeth remaine in the houses and bedding and garments of them that are dead a long time after and so breaketh out at the last sometimes a moneth and a great deale more after if good order be not taken to aire them euen then when they thought that all feare of danger was past All which doe shew what danger we are in though yet nothing be come vnto vs. And we may see it much more if we consider how the Psalmist compareth it to an arrow that flieth from one place to another speedily when hee saith Thou shalt not be afraied of the feare of the night Psal 91.5 nor of the arrow that flieth by day speaking of the pestilence so that as an arrowe flieth from one place quickely to another so doth this Flying abroad speedilie and closely like an arrow For a man shall come from one place to another a great way off and passe thorow many townes without hurting of anie though himselfe hath the plague euen as an arrow shal flie aloft in the aire and do no hurt nor touch any thing but then hee shall lodge or rest in such a towne twelue or twentie miles off or more and there he sickneth and dieth and leaueth the infection behinde him euen as an arrowe shot by a strong man is there mortall where it lighteth so is this arrow of the Lord shot out by his mightie hand who is skilfull to direct it to the place whither hee mindeth to send it so we may be in more danger thā we thinke though we be a great way off as a skilfull archer standing heere shooteth his arrow a great way off to the marke And sometimes they that goe abroad with running sores about them or hauing the infection in their garments and seeming to others to be in health and without danger haue infected others in the way as they haue gone where they haue tarried but a small while euen to eat and to drinke euen as an arrow doeth often hurt by glauncing at a thing besides the place where it lighteth Moreouer such is the nature of this disease that we may get hurt not onely by men liuing and dying but euen by other creatures which shall goe to or come from such places as are infected as cats dogs most of all and therefore in time of common plagues there is order taken in al cities or towns corporate which are well gouerned to kill vp all dogs that are not shut vp but runne abroad of what nature or kinde or qualitie or price soeuer they be least by comming into mens companie they shuld spread abroad the infection And we read that some onely but buying a dogs skinne in the market and bring-in it home they haue brought the pestilence into their house to the ouerthrow and destruction of the whole familie Seeing then that it is hath beene a long time in so many places there is no place so farre off from it or so free but hath iust cause to feare it more or lesse And therefore there is no place so cleere whether it may not speedily come because there are so many open and secret waies to bring it and so in the ordinarie course of gods prouidence all that haue wisedome may thinke it likely to come vpon them in this time if the Lorde be not mercifull vnto them Therefore in respect of Gods wrath manifestlie appearing in this grieuous pestilence though not yet vpon vs through the infinite goodnesse and mercy of God yet iustly to bee feared as wee haue seene wee must thinke and confesse that wee haue great cause by fasting praier to seeke vnto the Lord to turne that from vs before it come which as our sinnes haue deserued so wee see many means to bring it speedily vpon vs as other of his seruants haue done in the like case before And thus much for this present seeing the time cuttes me off from the rest of the first signe and token of Gods wrath likely to come obserued in the course of his prouidence as a sufficient cause of publike fasting HOMIL IX The ninth Homilie continueth to shew the causes of publike fastes namely when the wrath of God to come hath beene iustly feared in respect of the great sinnes that haue abounded and of the iudgement of God denounced against the same openly by the ministers of God And when Gods wrath hath not onely beene vpon themselues but vpon others of their brethren the children of God THe last daie we entring into this treatise of the consideration of the causes of publike fastings haue hitherto proceeded thus farre to shew that the seruants of God haue beene mooued thereunto not onely when some great punishment as a testimonie of Gods displeasure hath beene vpon them The wrath of God to come considered in sinne that hath abounded hath beene cause of publike fasts but when in the course of nature or of ordinarie meanes to serue Gods prouidence by there hath beene some likelihood of it it remaineth that I should proceed Therefore secondarily they haue considered of Gods displeasure likely to come vpon them by seeing and obseruing diligently the manifold great sinnes and notorious offences which in their time haue beene committed for which they truely iudged and feared that God must needs some waie punish them according to the number and greatnesse of the same though hee had borne with them a long time and the longer that of his great patience he had forborne them the greater and more speedie shoulde his punishment bee according to his iustice And this they haue certainely gathered from the constant trueth of Gods threatnings reuealed in his holy lawe and from the continuall execution of the same vpon others from time to time Seeing then that the Lord is iust and true and that he hath threatned to punish sinne so and so as is largely set downe in the Lawe and the Prophets specially the bookes of Moses Leuit. 26. Deut. 28. when they haue seene sinne to abound then they haue no lesse wisely then certainely concluded that wrath is at hand because God is offended For euen as when all flesh had corrupted their waies vpon earth Gen. 6. hee brought in the floud of water and drowned the whole world and when the crie of Sodom and Gomorrah was great and their sinne exceeding grieuous Gen. 18.20 the Lord rained brimstone and fire from heauen vpon them Gen. 15.16 and ouerthrew them and all the inhabitants of them And when the wickednesse of the Ammonites and of the Canaanites was full Iudg. 2.11 then the land spued them out and when the Israelites in the time of the Iudges did wickedly in the sight of the Lord and serued Baalim and Ashtarosh the wrath of the Lord was hot
incouragement vnto the painfull labourers in Gods haruest and by quickning vp them that are any way slothfull and negligent and by discountenancing them that are altogether careles and idle and by stopping vp the passage vnto al idol sheapherds hirelings who seeke the fleece and not the flock whose right arme as it is cleane withred vp and their right eye vtterly darkned so as the Prophet saith they haue neither will Zach. 11.17 nor abilitie to doe any good in the Church of God That so not only the gospell may still more and more be purely preached in this your Lordships Dioces as now by the grace of God it is and hath beene a long time by many learned great men but that the people in all places may be compelled diligently to frequent it not only themselues to yeeld obedience vnto it but to haue their children seruants Act. 10.2 euen their whole families willingly catechised that they may feare God with all their househoulds That so we may blesse god not only for your comming among vs but much more for your continuance with vs and ouer vs and pray to him for you as we doe and mind to doe that the Lord will long preserue you zealous of his glory and carefull of the good of that part of his church ouer which the holy ghost hath made you ouerseer ap 20.28 which also Iesus Christ hath purchased not with gold or siluer but with his owne most pretious blood That so among the rest of his good and faithfull seruants who haue vsed their talents well ib. 25 2â— he may giue you a full reward in the kingdome of heauen who hath said if thou loue me feed my sheepe if thou loue me feed my lambes â— 21 1â— For though the daily exercises of the word of God should be sufficient of themselues to purchase credit and reuerence to theÌ„selues with all sorts of people as to the most holy ordinances of the eternall God and the great wantes that are in all men should driue them to seeke to them continually as to the meanes of their saluation whereby all their wantes might be supplied yet such is the irreligion in many and the want of feeling in others that they are no more forward vnto any part of Gods seruice or of the meanes of their owne saluation then authority doth compell them Thus assuring my selfe that your later deedes will be answerable to these good beginnings or rather happy proceedings yea that they will goe farre beyond them in all godly zeale I comfort my selfe with the rest of my brethren in the daily expectation and hope of it praying to god Psal 69.9 that the zeale of his house may euen consume you that so you waxing old in all well doing Prou. 16.31 your age may be so much the more honorable beeing found in the way of righteousnes And so not doutibng of your Lordships fauourable acceptatioÌ„ of these my poore endeauours I leaue them to your fatherly and honorable protection and my selfe my seruice to your continuall commandement very humbly taking my leaue Norton in Suffolke 30. Aprill 1604. Your Lordships euer humbly at commandment Nicolas Bownd To the godly and Christian Reader the daily increase of that true godlinesse which hath the promise of the life present and of that that is to come 1. Tim. 4.8 WHen as of late this holy exercise of fasting was by publike authoritie not without iust cause imposed vpoÌ„ vs welbeloued fathers and brethren I thought it conuenient or rather necessarie for that people which then I had to deale with and haue still first of all to make them acquainted with the nature of it not so much by preaching of fasting out of some one text which could not very fitly haue beene done as by deliuering vnto them in sundrie sermons the whole doctrine of it orderly out of many places of holy Scâ—â—pture or rather out of the whole word of God indifferently That so they might be the more willing to submit themselues vnto it when they did see cleerely what they should doe and â—lso that they doe it in some good measure â—cceptable to God and comfortably to theÌ„selues when they perceaued after what manner they should doe it And thus in making of these short treatises and Homilies at the first I had respect only vnto them Since I coÌ„sidering on the one side the great ignorance that is in most places as of all other partes of gods seruice which are ordinary so most of all this which is extraordinary especially because it is and hath beene so much out of vse and then waying on the other side that there may be hereafter great cause offered vnto vs againe of vsing this holy excellent ordinance of god either publikely in many places or priuately in more seeing that this visitatioÌ„ of the plague doth so linger like vnto the leaprosy which sometime did hang long in the howses of the Iewes and soe doth very shortly or not at all wholy depart from some places besides those new chastisements which we know not how many or how soone they may come vpon vs I thought since that both for these and for other causes these my labours might be not wholly vnprofitable to all those that are well minded And thought I cannot be ignorant that there are many and godly and learned sermons and treatises both in english and latine already extant of this argument and so my indeauour after them may seeme superfluous yet all things considered I doubt not but that some may stand in neede of these also For as I must needes confesse that I haue read the former indeauoured to follow some of theÌ„ so I leaue the learneder sort to such of them as themselues shall best like only this for the more ignorant sort I haue aymed at to make the whole doctrine of fasting easy and plaine that they might with facility vnderstand what god requireth of them in the day of fast and how they ought to behaue them selues therein And to that end I haue set downe euery thing orderly at large therefore the more clearly and not scholastically and shortly as some haue done and by that meanes the more obscurely especially vnto the vulgar sort and I haue shewed the practise of euery particular out of the Scripture setting downe at large the wordes of euery text for the capacity of the simplest and oftentimes for the more easines and plainnes hauing recourse of purpose to the selfe same texts rather then making choise of new which vainly might happily haue bread some obscuritie Which kind of writing if it may seeme to bring tediousnes vnto the learned eares they must consider that first I preached these sermons to the meaner sort men not brought vp in learning and so did apply my selfe in handling of this doctrine vnto their capacity leading them on in it according to their owne pace which is rightly to diuide the
vnder the heauen and so there is a time wherein we are as well commanded to fast as we haue liberty to feast and therefore as Esra and the Leuites would not haue the people to fast weepe then Nehem. 8.10.11 but rather to eate and reioice when it was a time of ioy So the Prophet Esay findeth fault with some of his time Esay 22.12.13 who when the Lord called them by his worde and punishments vnto fasting they fell to feasting and so there was as he said killing of sheepe and oxen eating and drinking And so neither of them knew what was fit for their seuerall times we must therefore be perswaded that as there are times in which God of his great mercy giueth vs liberty to feast and to vse his creatures not onely for necessitie sparingly but for delight abundantly as at marriages and other times of reioicing so there is a time also when he would haue vs not onely eate temperately which we must doe alwaies euen at feasts that wee fall not to surfiting and drunkennesse but euen to absteine wholly from meat and drink and all other comforts of this life to those blessed endes for which he hath ordained it â—he Iewes â—d a stanâ—ng fast â—erely â—eu 16.29 To this end wee may remember what is written concerning fasting in the booke of Leuiticus and namely how there it is said that the Lord commaunded the Iewes once a yeere that euery soule should humble it selfe with fasting before the Lorde in one of the great assemblies where Moses sheweth or rather the Lord by him that this fast should be kept perpetually once a yeere and in what moneth and what day of the moneth and to what end namely to humble themselues for their sinnes and therefore what must then be done viz. that they must abstaine from all worke and worldly businesse and be occupied in all exercise of Gods worship as vpon the Sabbath day and that the Priest should make attonement by praier to obtaine remission of their sinnes And the same commandement is set downe againe in as many wordes in the 23. Leu. 23.2 chapter of the same booke where he sheweth that all were bounde to it and that they should then lay aside all their wordly businesse and haue an holy conuocation and therein haue sacrifices and praier that it might be a Sabbath vnto them as all fastes are of the nature of the Sabbathes sauing that in them they abstaine from meat and then all things are done to an other end euen that there might be great humiliation in them for their sinnes which two are not so proper vnto the Sabbath and so vpon their repentance God might be reconciled vnto them and spare them which are most excellent ends of fasting and a great fruit of that worke which might prouoke all vnto it and none might repent them of their labour And in these places though there be no mention of absteining from meate and drinke and so they may seeme not to appertaine to this argument of fasting yet besides that all learned men doe thus take them that this was a day of yeerely fasting euen the verie circumstance also of the text doth necessarily lead vs vnto this interpretation for when he not onely makes it a daie of abstaining from al worke and spending it wholly in Gods seruice publikely but also that the end of it should be that they might be humbled for their sins so reconciled vnto God this humbling of their souls is principally vrged and we know that the humbling of the body is a meanes to humble the soule and the body is specially humbled and brought downe by abstaining from meate and drinke and other comforts of it and besides we finde by practise in the Scripture that in other times of great humiliation the seruants of God haue abstained from these things therefore wee may be assured that this is ment in these places and that this was their practise that vpon this day they abstaining from meat and drinke did thus also cease from worke and were occupied in Gods worship to this end euen to the humbling of themselues before the Lord and so this was the thing that was commaunded them yeerely to doe euen to keepe a daie of fast And there was great reason of it There was great reasâ— of it for in the yeere many great sins might be committed of al sorts which might iustly prouoke Gods wrath against them and so they had great cause to be humbled for them and once in the yeere God might shew some tokens of his displeasure in some of his punishments as by raising vp some enemies against them by sending sicknes scarcitie vnseasonable weather and such like therefore they might thinke that once in the yeere at the least there was cause for them thus to humble themselues especially when God had coÌ„manded them so to do For though they should thus humble themselues continually for their sinnes as they sell out yet to helpe their iâ—fiâ—mitie â—hey had a set time appointed for it 〈◊〉 doe it more thorowly For as the◠〈…〉 Sabbath giuen them that 〈◊〉 a weeke they might wholly 〈◊〉 â—om their labors and attend vpon the worship of God for their good tâ—ough they should euery day redeeâ—e the time and as they had their daily sacrifices morning and euening and so times for praier So heere though all should continually be humbled for their sinnes priuate and mourne for them that were publike when they saw any tokens of Gods displeasure yet to helpe their infirmitie heerein they had a solemne day appointed for this purpose that the time it selfe might not onely put them in minde of that which otherwise would haue beene forgotten of the most or not so seriously thought vpon but also further them therein And as we finde by experience how needful it is to haue a Sabbath to put vs in minde of and to further vs in Gods seruice for how few doe it at all or as they should vpon the weeke daies and then what would they doe if there were no Sabbath at all So the godly no doubt in those daies did finde by their owne experience that though they had oftentimes cause in respect of their sinnes and the punishment of them to fast publikely and priuately yet if they had had no set time appointed for it they should verie often haue failed in so necessarie a dutie euen as we see among our selues that because we haue no such times appointed for vs that verie few though they haue great cause do practise it at any time Therefore this was Gods goodnesse to that people to giue them such a commandement How farre he equity f that law â—indeth vs. Now though the ceremony of the yeerely day be taken away as many other solemne daies of theirs are yet the thing it selfe that is Fasting is not taken away for though we be not tied to that yeerly day yet we are bound at somtimes
malice he bare against Mordecay sought the desolation of all them and had diuelishly plotted for it that he obtained the kings Decree in writing against them for it which for the more speedie executing of the same was sent by postes into all prouinces of his kingdome where the Iewes were to roote out and to destroie them all in one daie both yoong and old children and women Hest 4.1 heereupon it came to passe that not onely Mordecay himselfe when he perceaued all that was done he rent his clothes And all the Iâ—wes when they mourned for the deuise of Haman and put on sackcloth and ashes and went out into the middes of the citie and cried with a great crie and bitter but also in euerie prouince and place whether the kingâ— charge and his commission came there was great sorrow among the Iewes and weeping mourning and many laie in sackecloth and ashes vers 16. Now in this time of so great heauines sorrow as was not heard of before by the aduise of Hâ—ster al the Iewes that were found in the chiefe citie Sushan were commanded to assemble themselues together and to fast and praie vnto God by the space of three daies and three nights and she promised that herselfe and her maides woulde doe the like and Mordecay the Iewes did according to this commandement So all of them at this time seeing what cause they had of mourning more then before knew that nowe fasting and praier was most requisite for them for though Haman and the king sat drinking and making merie as fearing nothing yet the citie of Shushan was in perplexitie and so had cause to doe as they did So did the Iewes also in Ierusalem and all Iudah in the like case in the raigne of Iehosâ—aphat when a great armie of the Ammonites 2. Chro. 20.3 Moabites came vp against him they feared greatly some ouerthrow euen the losse of their liues And when they were in feare of forraine enimies and goods and all that they had if the Lotde were not mercifull to them to defend them and this feare of danger so neere at hande and so likely to come vpon them caused great sorrow for they confesse and saie there is no strength in vs to stand before this great multitude ver 12. that cometh against vs neither doe we knowe what to doe Then the king proclaimed a fast throughout all Iudah and they gathered themselues together to aske counsell of Lord they came out of all the cities of Judah to inquire of the Lord. When they were in this distresse for feare of their enimies that they knew not themselues what to doe they humbled themselues before the Lord in fasting and praier that he would shew theÌ„ what they should do And to be short in so large an argumeÌ„t this is that which the prophet Ioel sheweth the people that the Lord required of them in that time of their miserie that they were fallen into that the verie present sorrow that they were iustly fallen into by reason of the hand of God lying so heauily vpon them did require and call vpon them for at that time for when he had spoken of the great scarcitie that was among them by reason of catterpillers and other vermine which had eaten vp and destroied the fruites of the earth and so for this present affliction they had all cause to mourne euen as he calleth all sortes vnto it euen them that were most senselesse saying awake yee drunkards and weepe â—el 1.5 and houle all yee drinkers of wine and againe Mourne like a virgine girded â—ith sackcloth for the husband of her youth and againe Girde your selues and lament yee priestes houle yee ministers of the altar 〈◊〉 1 â— Thereupon he giueth them this charge to sanctifie a fast and to call a solemne assemblie to gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the lande into the house of the Lordâ— â—ourning 〈…〉 â—gâ—ther and crie vnto him So he sheweth them that in this time of common sorrow they had all cause to seeke vnto the Lord in fasting and praier and afterâ—ards he sheweth more plainely that at â—his time by reason of the common calamitie and griefe for it the Lord did commaund them so to doe in these words 〈◊〉 1 â— Therefore nowe the Lord saith Turne vnto me with all your hearts and with fasting and with weeping and with mourning where he ioineth these two together fasting weeping and mourning and saith that the Lord doth require both of them and the one should not bee seuered from the other but seeing the Lord had giuen them so great cause of weeping and mourning hee would haue them seeke vnto him for mercie by praier and fasting Seeing then the Lord hath with his owne voice appointed out the time namely that the time of mourning should be a time of fasting and also holy men and women in the wisedome of Gods spirite haue so obserued the difference of times that as there hath fallen out any great cause of sorrow in their time so they haue put this in practise as wee haue seene by manie examples wee must thinke that the same commandement bindeth vs to the like practise when any such occasâ—on of time shall befall vs and that their practise must be our imitation This is and hath beene a long time of great sorrow vnto vs â—hat cause 〈◊〉 common â—â—rrow we â—iue in our â—â—â—ne if we did rightly consider of things as we should for if there had beene nothing else but the losse of so gratious vertuous peaceable a Queene of whose religious wise peaceable gouernmeÌ„t we haue had experience these 45. yeeres that one thing might haue put sufficient sorrow into vs to cause vs to haue humbled our selues before God in fasting and praier for our great vnthankfulnesse and other sinnes which were the cause of it But when vnto that losse which yet it hath pleased the Lord most mercifully to supplie by causing our soueraigne Lorde King Iames so quietly to possesse his heritance of this crowne whose royall person and noble progenie the Lord preserue and blesse for euer when vnto this losse I say there hath beene added presently vpon the necke of it so great a plague and pestilence as wee haue not knowen nor hath beene heard of in the daies of our forefathers that it should continue so long and in that extremity that it hath done as to die weekely so many thousandes in this lande and thus from weeke to weeke and the same not onely to be in one chiefe and mother citie of this realme but also in al other almost of account and in townes corporate yea in the sea-coast townes also exceeding much so that many houses in them are left empty and desolate without inhabitant Especially 〈◊〉 respect of this great and long coâ—tinued pestâ—lence and it is also in many villages and small townes so that it is dispersed
not serue him in that kinde of fasting that our selues doe desire All fastes therefore are of two sortes they are either priuate or publike The one priuate the other publike either vsed of one person man or woman or of some one familie and household or of some fewe priuate persons in one family or out of diuers according to the seuerall neede that they shall finde in themselues or see to be in other or else vsed of an whole Church congregation publikely in a towne or of many Churches in the same towne or citie and so is common to them all or of diuers Churches in a countrie or realme according to the affliction that is or like to be vpon a towne citie countrie or realme and that not onely their own but some other as their neighbour townes or countries or generally anie part of the Church of God and so are mooued to it not onely in respect of themselues but of some others in loue and desire to succour them And vnto both there kindes all that hath beene hitherto saide of fasting doth truely and properly appertaine both for the commandement of God binding them to it and for the nature of it wherein it consisteth that it should be kept strictly after the maner that hath beene saide and for the time when and how long it should be held and how during that time we shoulde be occupied and so it shall be sufficient once to haue set them downe generally which must be practised of all that celebrate anie fast either publike or priuate so it shall not be needful in handling of the seuerall kinds to intreat of anie of theÌ„ particularly againe â—hat a priâ—ate fast is That I might speake therefore orderly I will first speake of a priuate fast which is that that is vndertaken and held by some priuate person man or woman rich or poore of what calling or degree soeuer prince or people or of a priuate familie or some few in the same or out of diuers housholds gathered together vpon their owne priuate motion yet orderly and in the feare of God according to anie calamitie that shall be vpon them or they shall haue iust cause to feare or as they shall be â—ouched and mooued in compassion more then other with the calamitie of the Church or common-weale wherein they liue or with the miserie of some particular persons in the same or of other Churches and the members thereof And that there ought to be such priuate fastes it is most apparant out of the Scripture for as the Lord doth by threatning or sending publike calamities That there ought to be priuate fast call whole countries and nations to a publike fast that when the cause is common to all all might humble themselues for it as we haue seene in the prophet Ioel Ioel 2. Ionah 3. Hest 4. and as was practised among the Niniuites and also among the Iewes in the time of Queene Hester where because the punishment present as of famine or threatned as vtter destruction of them all was generall therefore all were willed to fast and all did so So if there be any calamitie vpon any particular person or priuate persons they must thinke by the like proportion that God calleth them vnto it and that they stand bound to submit themselues to this ordinance though others doe not neither haue they any such cause or as the Lord shall giue them to see and to feele more then other the afflictions of their brethren and so are more willing as fellow members of the same bodie to mourne for them then others who through ignorance or hard heartednesse are not so well affected towards them And of these priuate fastes doth our Sauiour Christ speake in the Gospell Math. 6.16 When yee fast looke not sower as the hypocrites for they disfigure their faces that they seeme vnto men to fast Verily I saie vnto you they haue their reward but when thou fastest annoint thine head How we ought to behaue our selues in priuate fastâ—s and wash thy face that thou seeme not vnto men to fast but vnto thy father which is in secret and thy father which seeth in secret will reward thee openly Where hee condemneth the hypocrisie of those who in their priuate fastes when they came abroad would make great shew of it that they might be thought to be verie holie men to that end would so change by arte the naturall colour and hue of their face that they might seeme leane and without blood as though they had greatly pined awaie themselues with abstinence fasting and biddes them rather seeing it is priuate hide it as much as they can and to that end hee willeth them to looke cheerefully to dresse vp themselues well for it is sufficient that the Lord who seeth all things euen those that are done in secret taketh knowledge of it and he will reward them openly though they haue no praise and commendation of men as he had said before of almes Math. 6.3 Let not thy left hande know what thy right hand doth that thine almes may be in secret and thy father that seeth in secret will rewarde thee openly where he doth not disallow of almes but of their vaine ostentation in it who this way sought the praise of great charity among the people and saith that is sufficient that God knoweth it who will openly rewarde euerie man according to his workes We haue a practise and example of this priuate kinde of fasting in the person of King Dauid Sam. 12. when the Lord had stricken the childe with sickenesse that was begotten in adulterie of Bathshebah the wife of Vriah because that was a particular punishment vpon himselfe and hee did see the hand of God vpon himselfe very heauie in it according to that which Nathan the Prophet had threatned against him before â—auid kept a â—â—iuate fast â—hen his â—â—ulde lay â—â—cke Because thou hast caused the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme the childe that is borne vnto thee shall surely die he humbled himselfe before the Lord alone by himselfe and sought vnto him by fasting and prayer that if it were possible according to his holy will he would spare him and this he did alone by himselfe for it is sayd That he fasted vers 16. and went in namely into his priuate chamber and withdrew himselfe from all company that hee might be alone and hee did lie all night vpon the earth and when the Elders chiefe men of his house came vnto him to perswade him to rise from the ground and to eat meat he would not neither did eat meat with them So that the rest of his householde did take their ordinarie food but he fasted And thus it seemeth he did more than one day during the sickenesse of the child for when it was dead they were afrayd to tell him of it saying while the child was aliue we spake vnto him and hee
the glorie of God and loue to the saluation of our brethren that wee should wee might see that besides this grieuous plague that is and hath beene not onely vpon our enimies if wee haue anie but vpon our neighbours friends which requireth publike fasting wee had many causes to haue done it priuately often long before this in respect of the horrible abominations and sinnes committed against God and against men euery where And that we might be mooued vnto it indeed we may further consider that we haue not onely the example of men but of godly women in this kind who haue giuen themselues much vnto priuate fasting For we read in the Gospell of Anna the daughter of Phanuel who was a Prophetesse Luk 2.37 and a widow of a great age who went not out of the temple but serued God with fasting and praier night and day Anna the â—rophetesse â—sed much priuate fasting This holie woman liuing in those corrupt times a little before the comming of our Sauiour Christ when all things in the Church were out of order did often humble her selfe before God in fasting and praier and sought earnestly vnto God tor a redresse of them she did not hecrein loose her labour but had the fruite of them for it came to passe that though she were a widdow and about foure-score and foure yeres yet she liued to see Christ come in the flesh to her vnspeakeable comfort and confessed him likewise and spake of him to all that looked for redemption in Ierusalem to the comfort of many Thus we see how we ought to haue fasted priuately oftentimes before so might we happely haue escaped at the least some great things that haue befallen vs and obtained manie great blessings which now wee haue wanted and also we see what we must doe heereafter if wee will looke to escape many euils and enioy manie blessings with the children of God and that at this present we had neede to doe as wee doe euen to continue these publike fasts that so wee might make a supply of that which we should often priuately haue done before Thus also in the daies of Queene Hester the fast that was kept by all the Iewes in Sushan A priuate fast held in manie seuerall families at once for the turning awaie of that great mischiefe that was intended against them by proud Haman though it was coÌ„mon in respect of the whole Church of God in that citie that kept it yet it was priuate in respect of the seuerall places where it was kept namely not in any coÌ„mon place of assemblie but in their seuerall houses dispersed heere and there so that Hester Hest 4.16 and her maides kept it by themselues as she promised for herselfe and for them euen as the rest of the Iewes were willed to doe it â—he duties of 〈◊〉 houshoulâ—ers herein So ought euerie godly houshoulder at the foresight of anie iudgement of God like to come vpon the Church where they liue in which if anie such thing should come they must thinke that they are like to haue their part as Mordecay saide â—est 4 13. to Hester Thinke not with thy selfe that thou shalt escape in the kings house more then all the Iewes to seeke humblie vnto the Lorde themselues and theirs so many as are capable of it by fasting and praier priuately for the turning of it away when there is no publike order taken for it or likelihood that there shall be And this is that which the Apostle hath respect vnto when he thus writeth to the Corinthians â— Cor. 7.5 Defraud not one another except it bee with consent for a time that you may giue yourselues to fasting and praier and again come together that Satan tempt you not for your incontinencie Where hee speaketh to the maried parties the houseband and the wife and sheweth what duties they owe one to another 1. Cor. 7.3 as Let the husband giue vnto the wife due beneuolence and likewise also the wife vnto the husband yet for fasting and praier they may and ought for that time with both their consents separate themselues So that there may be occasions in all times for which the husband and the wife themselues alone or with the rest of their familie or with some other of their godly neighbors and friends may and ought to giue themselues priuately to fasting and praier and then the apostle sheweth how the maried coople should for a time in one dutie of theirs behaue themselues one toward an other And truely if wee had rightly considered of all things that haue fallen out in our time and well weighed them Priuate fasting ought to be intertained into mens houses and laide them to hart we might easely haue seene long agoe that God had giuen vs iust occasion to haue intertained this speciall part of his worship into our houses as well as anie other though hitherto it had little or no intertainment at all with the most nay they haue not once so much as saluted it a farre off And as by the grace of God wee haue in many houses where the Gouernours are anie thing religious priuate praier morning and euening and at other times priuate reading of the Scriptures priuate singing of Psalmes so ought we also somtimes to haue priuate fasting For wheÌ„ the Lorde hath laide some grieuous sickenesse euen vnto death vpon anie of our children sonnes or daughters as he did vpon Dauids then shoulde we haue with fasting praier sought vnto the Lord for them 1. Sam. 12.15 as hee did much more then when others haue beene in that case For what causes and what good might come thereby who haue beene neerer vnto vs as the husband or the wife who lie in the bosome one of another and are but one euen in the neerest bond as one flesh But especially when God hath taken any of them away and so hath come neerer vnto vs with his correction then had we much more cause thus in fasting to cast downe our selues at his feet in the humble confession of our sinnes which were the cause of it 2. Sam. 3.35 as Dauid did when Abner was slaine if he did so for one that was so farre off from him and had sometime also beene his enemie then we much more for those that haue beene neere vnto vs and alwayes our friends as of our familie and of our flesh And besides when God hath laid any speciall affliction vpoÌ„ our seruants Psal 35.12 69.9 for if Dauid did it for his enemies then wee much more for those whose seruice is not hurtfull but profitable vnto vs yea when any great sinnes haue broken out in any of our houshold which haue threatned some grieuous iudgement of God to enter in vpon vs for it or when wee haue seene sinne openly abound in others And if all men had thus done it might not onely haue kept this great plague out of many houses
God towards his Church to which specially he hath giuen his worde and the Ministers thereof to warne them of his deserued punishments beforehand as it is saide of the Prophet Ezekiel Ezek. 3.17 Sonne of man I haue made thee a watchman to the house of Israel therefore heare the worde at my mouth and giue them warning from me so we have not wanted this great mercie of God For by the Ministers of our time from the trueth of Gods worde wee haue beene warned of his iudgements to come from time to time Who though by the spirit of prophecie they could not foretel wheÌ„ in what daie or moneth or yeere or after what maner either with the sworde famine or pestilence as the prophets did in their time to whom it was speciallie reuealed yet out of the most certaine trueth of Gods worde and the constant course of his dealing in former times they haue constantlie auouched and saide that God must needes before it bee long some waies punish vs for our sinnes as it is nowe come to passe and as it hath beene preached vnto the people before And hath not this bene seuerelie denounced against vs often Math. 3.10 which Iohn Baptist did against the Iewes Now is the axe put to the roote of the tree therefore euerie tree which bringeth not foorth good fruite shal be hewen downe and cast into the fire hath it not beene preached that God would vtterly destroy all those that liue vnprofitable vnder his Gospell destroie them I say euen by the rootes yet vndoubtedly this hath beene often sounded in the eares of all hearers chap. 21.19 and that the figge-tree that hath nothing on it but leaues shall be accursed and wither that is all hypocrites that content themselues with a bare outwarde profession of the Gospell and labour not for the inward vertue and power of it in their life to the glory of God and the benefite of others shall be discouered in time and come to nought according to the praier of the prophet Doe well O Lord vnto those Psal 125.4 that be good true in their hearts but these that turne aside by the crooked waies them shal the Lord lead with the workers of iniquitie but peace shall bee vpon Israel Luk. 13.6 And though he be a most patient God towards al euen towards the wicked yet he wil seuerely punish those at the last that abuse his great patience as appeareth in the parable of a certaine housbandman who had a figge-tree planted in his vineyard he came and sought fruit therein and found none then said he to the dresser of his vinyard Behold this three yeres haue I come and sought fruite of this figge-tree and find none cut it down why keepeth it also the ground barren And he answered and saide vnto him Lord let it alone this yeere also till I digge round about it and dunge it and if it beare fruit well if not then after thou shalt cut it downe Rom. 2.4 So the God of patience who thereby leadeth all men to repentance or leaueth them without excuse hath waited for our repentance and amendment of life as the fruit of all the paines that he hath taken with vs in his Gospell but vndoubtedly if after this preaching from yeere to yeere we remaine vnfruitfull at the last he will root them vp which make the Church barren which is in it owne nature the most fruitfull place in the world And therefore wee ought long agoe to haue sought vnto God in fasting and â—raier to escape this wrath These such like things haue not onely beene preached euerie where but with greate earnestnesse and zeale so vttered that we might easilie discerne that they spake not of themselues but were thereunto stirred vp by the spirit of God so that God warned vs of his iudgements by them and therefore wee should haue beleeued them and so haue sought heeretofore by fasting and praier to haue these â—â—ings turned away For as Dauid wheÌ„â—he prophet Nathan terrified his conâ—ience with the fearefull denuntiation Gods iudgement for his sinne sayâ—g 2. Sam. 12.9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandement of the Lorde to doe euill in his sight therefore the sword shall neuer depart from thine house then he besought the Lord fasted and lay all night vpon the earth before all came vpon him And as Ahab King of Israel when Eliah the prophet reproouing him sharpely for his sinne saide vnto him in the name of God behold I will bring euill vpon thee and take awaie thy posteritie 1. King 21.21 c. when hee heard these words hee rent his clothes and put sackecloth vpon him and fasted and so both these when they did heare from messenger of God what was due to them for their sinnes they sought by priuate fasting to haue it turned away So when the Lord euerie where stirred vp his seruants with all zeale and feruencie of spirit more then ordinarily thus to speake vnto vs and did sing vnto vs the dolefull song of his heauie iudgements and so with Iohn Baptist did mourne vnto vs Luk. 7.32 that we might haue wept we should haue done as the Niniuites did Iona 3.5 that is wee should haue beleeued God and his seruants and haue put on sackecloth from the greatest to the least and so by fasting and praier haue sought vnto the Lord to turne it away not carelesly to haue taried till the hand of God was vpon vs as now we haue done Wee should haue beene wise as others haue beene before vs to haue taken knowledge of Gods wrath to come by the threatnings of his word preached vnto vs by his seruants and so sought to preuent them as they did Thus we see A conclusioâ— shewing what cause there is of publike fasting in respect of Gods wrath appearing against our selues that whether we looke to the time present or to come and therein to the course of Gods prouidence whereby if wee consider all things well wee haue more cause to feare our selues then to be secure or wee looke to sinne that aboundeth euerie where which being vnrepented of calleth for vengeance at Gods hand against vs or wee consider this that our sinnes haue beene sharpely reprooued and Gods curse for them threatned against vs by those that haue spoken vnto vs in his name we haue great cause to doe as we doe I meane to resort thus to the Church to seeke vnto God by fasting and praier yea wee should haue done it long before and seeing that there are so manie causes of publike fasting among vs wee must therefore thinke that the Lorde requireth the thing it selfe at our hands Which we shall the rather also be perswaded of if besides all this that hath beene spoken to that end we further consider that the people of God alwaies making this a sufficient cause of their fastings eueÌ„ the wrath of God appearing against his Church as we
did so worke vpon him in this great prosperitie of his owne that hee was not able to hide it but it did manifestly bewraie it selfe in his countenance so that the king when he waited at the table did perceiue it and asked him the cause of it saying Neh. 2.2 Why is thy countenance sadde seeing thou art not sicke this is nothing but sorrowe of heart Then he told him the cause of it and said to the king God saue the â—â—ng for euer why shoulde not my countenance be sadde when the citie and house of the sepulcher of my faâ—hers lieth waste and the gates thereof are deuoured with fire Thus we see how hee in all pittie and compassion sorrowed for the desolation of others and shall we thinke that we may now giue our selues to feasting and chearing to myrth and pleasure to recreation and pastimes and to all kinde of meeting to these endes as in times past and haue little or no sorrowe at all when our brethren in other places are in great affliction and manie houses lie waste with the pestilence We must doe as wee would be done vnto if we were in their case or in any other miserie we would be glad that others should pittie vs and in pittie praie for vs Then shall â—thers also pittie vs in the like case and praie for vs. and it would be a great comfort vnto vs to heare that any did so then must we in the meane season thus pittie others and in a brotherly compassion praie for them that when it shall be our owne case that waie or any other way we might not bee left to our selues but others might doe as much for vs as we haue done for them before according to the promise of our Sauiour Christ in the Gospell Giue Leu. 6.36 and it shall bee giuen you a good measure pressed downe shaken together and running ouer shall men giue vnto your bosome for with what measure you mete with the same shall men mete vnto you againe It is written of Vriah the Hittite one of Dauids woorthie captaines that when hee was sent for home in pollicie by the King that by going home to his owne house the adultery that was coÌ„mitted with his wife Bethshebah in his absence might be hidden 2. Sam. 11. â— and therefore the king said vnto him Goe downe to thine house and wash thy feete so Vriah departed out of the kings pallace and the king sent a present after him but Vriah Vriah departed from his lawfull delightes because his brethren were in aduersity slept at the doore of the kings pallace with all the seruants of his Lorde and went not downe to his house then they tolde Dauid saying Vriah went not downe to his house and Dauid said vnto Vriah commest thou not from thy iourney Why doest thou not goe downe to thine house Then Vriah answered Dauid The Arke and Israel and Iudah dwell in tentes and my Lord Ioab and the seruants of my Lord abide in the open fieldes shall I then goe into mine house to eate and drinke and to lie with my wife by thy life and by the life of thy soule I will not do this thing Is this good and holy man Vriah would not go home to his house and make much of himselfe when the King bad him when there were so manie reasons for it because his Lord and captaine Ioab vnder whom he serued and manie other of the people his fellow souldiers were in the field before their enemies and so in danger of their liues but thought it meet in godly wisedome though hee was absent from them to beare part of the burden with them So should we fall from our â—leasures in â—his great soâ—ow losse â—f others Then wee if wee haue the like compassion to our brethren that hee had should thinke that wee ought to abridge our selues somewhat at the least of our honest lawfull delights and to cut off not only all superfluity and excesse but somewhat of our ordinarie diet and to sorrow with those our brethren who though they are not in the open fields and in the face and feare of their enemies yet are in no lesse danger feare of their liues by reason of this great plague Psal 91.5 which as an arrow flieth by day and walketh in the darkenesse and destroieth at noon day so that neither day nor night they are in safetie or without feare and is as deadlie as the sword for it causeth a thousand to fall on the one side and ten thousand on the other and so they haue manie fearefull dayes and take little rest in the night neither can they eat their meat quietly or with any comfort So that vnlesse we will be addicted and liue whollie to ourselues and care for none other this great wrath vpon our brethren so long and so heauie should driue vs to weepe with them to fast and pray for them and seeing they are so greatly humbled in themselues we should some wayes cast downe our selues with them Therefore let vs set their lamentable estate To that end we should seriouslie thinke of their lamentable estate before our eies and let it be a looking glasse vnto vs let vs in the feare of God thinke of it seriously and in good earnest as if it were our owne case that wee may be thorowly mooued with it and let vs not haue such stonie hearts so void of all bowels of compassion that wee should heare weekely of the death of our brethren and what great lamentation is made euerie where some for the losse of their husbands and wiues some for the death of their parents and children others for the departure of their sisters and brethren friendes neighbours kinsefolke and acquaintance and we should haue no sorrow for it at all this were the verie next way to prouoke God against our selues and wilfullie to pull the same miserie vpon our owne heads Dauid was so full of pitie that he fasted besought the Lord not onely when the hand of God was vpon some of his own houshold 2. Sam. 12.15 as when the Lord had striken the child that was begotten in adultery so it lay sick but also when it was vpon others euen vpon his enemies Psal 35.13 as he professeth himselfe They rewarded mee euill for good to haue spoiled my soule yet I when they were sicke I was clothed with a sack I humbled my selfe with fasting my praier was turned vpon my bosome that is I prayed for them continually I behaued my selfe as to my friends or as to my brother I humbled my selfe mourning as one that bewaileth his mother If he did thus for his enimies how much more should we doe it for them who haue giuen vs no other cause to iudge of them but as of our friends if he did it for some one or a few priuate persons then how much more should we doe it when the affliction is so common and
not onely to manie persons but to manie places euen the chiefe cities and townes of this realme When as Haman sought the destruction of Mordecai principally because hee would not satisfie his proud humour in giuing him that reuerence which hee required and then for his sake the destruction of all the Iewes Hest 3.5 for his malice was so great and hee was so full of wrath and indignatioÌ„ against him that he thought it too little to lay hands onely one Mordecay and bicause they had shewed him the people of Mordecay Haman sought to destroy all the Iewes that were throughout the whole kingdome of Ahâ—sâ—uerosh euen tâ—â—â—eople of Mordecâ—y and had preuailed thus farre with the king that he had obtâ—ined a commission to that end sealed with the kings ring euen to roote out to kill and destroy all the Iewes both yoong and old children women in one day and Queene Hester Hester being without danger fasted for the miâ—ery of others who was a Iew herselfe had intelligence of this from Mordecay she might haue thought that al this did not appertaine vnto her she being the Queene and so deare vnto the king none durst be so bold as to touch her if all the rest of the Iewes were slaine yet she shuld escape for all this she is in great compassion affected with the sorrow and miserie of the rest of the people and so she putteth off her princely attire entreth into her secret chamber Hâ—st 4.16 there with her maides humbleth her selfe before God for them in fasting and praier three dayes and three nights together If then it were possible for vs in this so common and daungerous contagion and mortality of many of our brethren in so many places of this land dispersed to haue as good hope and likelihoode of our owne securitie and freedome from it as this good Queene might haue had from that destruction that was intended generally against all the Iewes yet wee should be so touched with the estate of others that are like to perish So sâ—ould wâ— that aâ—e whâ—â— for them that are visited with the plaguâ— that we should seek to succor them at the least by our prayers and supplications vnto God for them with fasting and humbling of our selues to that end as she did But especially we should be farre from that prophane securitie and carnall voluptuousnesse which is noted to haue beene in the King and Haman â—est 3.15 that they two sate drinking and making of good cheere when the whole Citie of Shushan was in great perplexitie so we should giue our selues to eating and drinking and all kind of mirth and iolitie like Epicures and belligods as it is to be feared that too many doe when in many Cities and Townes other are in great distresse and perplexitie of mind Yea we are to feare that fewe of the better sort haue layde this great visitation so neere their heart as they should which is one cause that it continueth so long and in that great measure that it doth Let vs then put vpon vs the person of our brethren and labour to haue the feeling of their estate A conclusion shewing what cause we haue to fast for our brethren as though it were our owne and then we shall know and confesse that if there had beene no order taken for these fastings publikely wee in loue should haue submitted our selues vnto them priuately but now seeing we are commanded by the publike authoritie of our Superiors and that also vpon so good ground as wee haue heard that wee are bound vnto it so much the more And the rather that we might doe it we may know thus much that they obserue this fast in Scotland for vs because now we are not onely vnder one Religion but vnder the same gouernement and therefore we must account the estate of the one common to the other as they by this practise for their part shew that they doe if they that are so farre off are mooued with it so greatly then we that are so neere must needes be too senselesse and void of compassion if we should not by fasting and prayer seeke that so great a wrath of God so long continued might in Gods most blessed time bee remooued and taken cleane away that so it might please him of his infinite mercie to worke that true repentance in all whereby he might be mooued to heale all those places that haue a long time bene diseased that there might be that intercourse of dealing betweene man and man in all places without danger or feare that hath beene and that it might not onely be remooued but with the fauour of God and with the amendement of all our sinnefull liues that so it might be a blessing in deede and not a curse and that we may so profit by it for the time to come that we take that warning which our Sauiour Christ gaue vnto the diseased man whom he had healed Ioh. 5.14 Behold thou art made whole sinne no more least a worse thing come vnto thee Which grace God grant vnto vs and to all the people of this lande for Iesus Christs sake to whom with the Father and the holy Ghost three persons and one true immortall inuisible and only wise God be ascribed from vs and from all his creatures all honour glory and praise power and thankesgiuing from this time foorth and for euer hereafter world without end Amen A direction for Prayer Fit and conuenient for all those that being ignorant or vnacquainted with priuate prayer are desirous to pray by themselues FIrst let your ordinary praiers be sudden but take some time beforehand by meditation to prepare your selfe vnto praier and let this be the beginning of your praier that God would prepare your heart vnto praier Eccl. 4.17 Math. 6.6 Psal 108.1 Then make an humble confession of your sinnes vnto God and that both generally that you haue bene conceiued and borne in and continually liued in breaking his holie law daily in thought worde and deed and of some more particularly wherin you haue most offended him in any part of your life Psa 40.12 51.4.5 32.5 Dan. 9.5.6 Acknowledge vnto God from the bottome of your hart that for these sinnes of yours is most due vnto you his heauie wrath and indignation and all those punishments and plagues which in his Law he hath threatned to bring vpon sinners both in this life the life to come and more specially iudge your selfe most woorthie of those particular iudgements that any waies you are in danger of or that you are presently in Ezr. 9.6.15 Dan. 9.7 c. Luk. 23.41 Psal 130.3 Pray that in the conscience of this fearefull estate of yours you may be humbled before God in that maner and measure that so great a sinner should be and that in all humilitie you might cast downe your selfe in your owne conceit before God and his holy Angels and all men in respect of the
haue seene before haue considered regarded this wrath of his to moue them thereunto not onely against themselues particularly but against others also of the same societie and fellowship of true religion that themselues were of through a mutuall feeling and compassion which they haue one of another as the liuely members of one and the same mysticall bodie whereof Christ Iesus is the head The wrath of God against other churâ—hes haue mooued the god y to publike fasting Rom. 12.15 and which he quickeneth by one spirit according to the doctrine of Saint Paul Reioice with them that reioice and weepe with them that weepe bee of like affection one towards an other So that though they haue bene free from any token at all of Gods displeasure themseues yet when they haue seene it lie heauilie vppon the shoulders of their brethren they haue by fasting and praier put to their helping hand Gal. 6.2 and haue sought to remooue it that they might be eased so haue borne one anothers burden as the Apostle saith fulfilling therein the lawe of Christ As appeareth by the fast that was held at Antiochia Act. 13.2 which was taken in hande for the great miserie of the mother Church of Ierusalem rather then for any present calamity that was then in that citie For it is shewed in the Chapter chap. 13.1 going before that Herod the King raised a great persecution against that Church and stretched out his â—and to vexe it there and first he killed Iames the brother of Iohn with the sword and when he saw that it pleased the people hee proceeded further tâ— takâ— â—â—â—ter also and when he had caugâ— him he put him in prison caused him to be bound with chaines and deliuered him to foure quaternions of soldiers to be kept and what he would haue done to him wee may easily coniecture if the Lord had not disappointed him as it followeth in that Chapter where is shewed how this cruell persecuting tyrant when he was in the middest of his pride and was coÌ„tented to be saluted by his flatterers with the name of God saying the voice of God vers 22. and not of man then the Angell of the Lord smote him because he gaue not glorie vnto God so that he was eaten vp of wormes gaue vp the ghost Then presently the Euangelist maketh mention of this fast when Paul and Barnabas were returned from Ierusalem to Antiochia and as it is most like told them of all the troubles that were there and there is no mention of any speciall calamitie that was there but rather of Gods great blessings for there were many excellent men euen Prophets and teachers whereof some are named there so that it is manifest In which respect we haue cause tâ— do it for thâ— calamitie that is vpon our brethren that this fast was to intreat for the Church at Ierusalem Therefore though there were no euill at all vpon our selues vpon our owne persons or any that belong vnto vs or vpon our towne or any likelihood of any to come vpon vs yet this fearefull and great plague that is and hath bene a long time vpon our brethren in many places of this land vnited vnto vs in the profession of the same religion Gospel besides the same allegiance which we owe all vnto the same soueraigne King in manie places I say as in London Norwitch Yarmouth Cambridge and such like should mooue vs in compassion to succour them with our praiers as much as wee can and therefore to intreat the Lorde to remooue this heauie hand of his from them though we feele not the weight of it our selues so to fast publikely for these cities and townes as they of Antiochia did for them of Ierusalem Therefore no man must thinke that these publike fasts which we keepe by the commaundement of our gouernours doe concerne others and not themselues nor say We are all well heere God bee thanked what need we vexe and trouble our selues with anie such thing before we haue cause this order is appointed for such places where the plague is heere is none yet neither is any neere vs Gods name be blessed for it These are good wordes indeed and I pray God that they may so consider of the goodnesse of God towards vs indeed that wee may labour to be truely thankefull to him for the same But doth not the Apostle say â— Cor. 12. â—6 that in the naturall body by the verie instinct of nature if one member suffer and be pained That as in â—he naturall â—ody there is â— feeling of â—he paine of â—ther memâ—ers so it may be in â—pirituall all suffer with it and haue the feeling of it And shall not we which are the bodie of Christ and members for our part as he saith in the same place by the inward working of Gods spirit be mooued with the aduersitie sickenesse paine and losse of our brethren but bee so hard-hearted and voide of all life of the spirit of God of all sence of feeling as dead and rotten members or rather cleane cut off from the bodie that we shal daily heare of many thousands of our brethren sisters in Christ to be in so great heauinesse and sorrow for themselues and for their friends and not to bee mooued with it and yet count our seules members of that bodie when wee shall haue little or no feeling at all of their estate That part of the bodie is dead that is without feeling not onely of it owne selfe but of the other members so we may wel thinke of our selues that we are cleane voide of that spirit of life that quickneth the whole body if in so great miserie of others we should be senselesse not moued with it Did not Nehemiah that woorthy seruant of God though he was in the Kings court and in office there and in great fauor with the King and all was well with him yet so sorrow for the miserie of his brethren in Ierusalem that he fasted and praied for them according as it is written of him Neh. 1.2 That there came Hanam one of his brethren vnto him and some other of the men of Iudah and hee asked them concerning the Iewes that were deliuered which were of the residue of the captiuitie and concerning Ierusalem they said vnto him the residue that are left of the captiuitie there in the prouince are in great affliction in reproch and the wall of Ierusalem is broken downe the gates thereof are burnt with fire when he heard those words As Nehemiâ—h beeing in â—reat prospeâ—itie mourâ—ed and faâ—â—ed for the â—iserie of â—is brethren hee sate downe and wept and mourned certaine daies and fasted and praied before the God of heauen for them which zealous and godly praier of his proceeding from the aboundance of his sorrowful heart is set downe there And this griefe of heart which hee conceaued for the affliction of others