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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A16525	The holy exercise of fasting Described largely and plainly out of the word of God: with all the parts and causes, and seuerall kinds of the same: together with the most fit times, and conuenient seasons, when and how long it should be held: with the manifold fruite and commoditie that redoundeth to vs thereby: and the whole nature and order thereof. In certaine homilies or sermons, for the benefit of all those, that with care and conscience intend at any time publikely or priuately to put in practise the same. By Nicolas Bownde Doctor of diuinitie. Perused and allowed by publike authoritie.	Bownd, Nicholas, d. 1613.	1604 (1604)	STC 3438; ESTC S114771	132,330	360

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 thē particularly againe ●hat a pri●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 ●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 fast●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 ●auid kept a ●●iuate fast ●hen his ●●ulde lay ●●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

Peter and Iohn when they were forbidden to preach which Christ had necessarily inioined them by vertue of their office of Apostleship and so in obeying them therin they shuld haue disobeyed God they answered as you haue heard and so did that which God necessarily commaunded thogh men forbad thē And this must be the practise of all inferiors when they are forbidden any thing of their superiours which God hath commanded them in his worde either as they be Christians or otherwise and heere is their defence in so dooing But yet all these aboue-named degrees of persons Inferiors may make choise of the Sabbath day for their priuate fastes in their subiection though they be restrained from the choise of the day yet are not therefore set free from the thing it selfe I meane from the practise of priuate fasting when they shall haue iust cause for they may celebrate them vpon the Sabbath in which their masters should giue them leaue to bee wholly the Lords seruants and so not incumber them with anie seruice excepting things of necessitie which are permitted euen in the day of fastes And though there bee few vnder gouernement in families of that godlinesse and conscience that they are like to practise these priuate fastes yet neither am I out of hope of all and I thought it necessarie to deliuer the doctrine for it is their dutie thus to doe though the greatest part be ignorant or make no conscience of it And so this shall suffice to haue beene spoken of the first kind of fast which is priuate HOMIL VIII The eight Homilie intreateth of the second kind of fasts which are publike why so called and how all sorts ought to come to them and what a great fault it is for any to be absent And then of the cause of them wh●ch is the wrath of God against his Church either present as it is now vpon vs or likely to come which the godlie haue considered in the course of Gods prouidence and so haue sought by fasting and praier to preuent it and not alwaies taried till it came vpon them THe second and last kind of fasting Publike fasts and why they are so called which I am to intreat of at this time is publike or common and is so called because it is and ought to be vsed not of a few but a whole Church and congregation in a towne or citie or of manie Churches in the same or in a countrie or realme and thus vsed by the publike authoritie and commandement of them who next vnto Christ Iesus haue the gouernment of those places where the fast is held and not by the motion or aduise of some priuate man as the other that we spake of before is And therefore also these kindes of fastes are kept in the publike places openly where they vse to haue their common assemblies for the worship of God where the Church is constituted vnder a Christian Prince and not in any priuate house or houses And the cause of them is some general calamitie of the Church for the most part and not priuate to one or some few and that either in the same place where the fast is sanctified or in some other churches of their brethren neer or farre of for whom they seeke vnto the Lord according to the bond of Christian loue that ought to bee among all the Churches of God as ●mong the members of one mysticall body whereof Christ is the head and the same calamity either presently vpon them or imminent greatly to be feared So that briefely or in a word a publike fast is that which is imposed by publike authoritie vpon all the people of that place to be kept openlie in the common place of their holie assemblies for some common plague to be remooued or turned away or for the obtaining of some common benefit belonging to the whole bodie of the same Church or to some principal member of the same And such is this that we haue These which we now keepe are publike and doe keepe this day by the authoritie first of the Kings most excellent Maiestie and then of those that are in authoritie vnder him in Ecclesiasticall matters and for the well ordering of all things to bee done in the Church vnto which all sorts of men and women should come in al cities towns Such was the fast that was celebrated in Niniue at the preaching of Iona Iona 3.7 for the King caused it to be proclaimed through Niniue euen through that great citie of three daies iourney by the counsell of the King and his nobles saying vers 5. Let neither man nor beast taste any thing feed or drinke water and as the proclamation was thus generall reaching vnto all so it was accordingly put in practise for it is saide a little before the people of Niniue beleeued God and proclaimed a fast and put on sackecloth from the greatest of them euen to the least of them so that the fast was kept by all the people of that citie The like may be saide of that that was obserued in the daies of Hester for though in respect of the places where it was as in their seuerall houses closely it may be called priuate yet in regard of the multitude that kept it euen al the Iewes and people of God in that citie and in respect of the person by whose direction they were moued vnto it euen the Queene it may truely be called publike for it is sayd that she sent this commandement to Mordecay Goe and assemble al the Iewes that are found in Shushan and fast for me and Mordecay went his way and did according to all that Hester Hest 4.16 had commanded him so this fast was imposed vpon all the Iewes and all of them kept it And therefore all sorts of people should come to them And so to the obseruation of these fastes of ours all should come not one or two in a familie and say goe you to daie and we will come the next day for by the authoritie and commandement of our gouernors all are inioined vnto it Exod. 20 1● And as vpon the Sabbath because it is a daie appointed for the publike seruice of God all are commanded to keepe it holie Thou and thy sonne and thy daughter thy man seruant and thy maide seruant and the stranger that is within thy gates So vpon these daies which are of the nature of the Sabbath and are also publikely commanded all should thinke thēselues bound vnto it Esa 2.3 Therefore as vpon the Sabbath day they should come together and saie one to another Come let vs goe vp to the house of the Lord so vpon these daies of fasting one should call vpon another Therefore not onely that is a great fault if any should not come at all but if any should come for nouelties and then giue it ouer againe yea and if they should come seldome now and then or if they should come