Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	able_a	name_n	zion_n	38	3	8.4029	4	false

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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

of God Leu. 23.27 So likewise Moses speaking of the day of fast sayth It shal be an holy conuocation vnto you and you shal humble your soules and offer sacrifices made by fire vnto the Lord where he doeth not onely say that their assemblies then should be to an holy end as vpon the Sabbath and that they shuld not meet about worldly matters but speaketh of sacrifices as a part of Gods worship then to be vsed Therefore concerning the seruice of God this day to be vsed as vpon the Sabbath day besides the dayly morning and euening sacrifice there was a peculiar kinde of sacrifice appointed for that day Num. 28.9 namely two lambes of a yeere olde c. and so all things were then doubled and thus they spent the greatest part of the day in we publicke seruice of God so ought it to bee vpon the day of fast And this was the practise of the people of God as we reade in the booke of Nehemiah Neh. 9 1. where it is sayd That all the Israelites assembled with fasting Therefore longer time then ordinary should be spent in the publike assemblies and with sackecloth and earth vpon them the Leuites stood vp in their place and read in the booke of the law of the Lord their God foure times on the day and they confessed and worshipped the Lord their God foure times So that both for the exercise of the word and for prayer all was extraordinarie and so ought it to bee among vs that we should not onely do as we do namely twise a day once in the forenoone and againe in the afternoone but wee should continue both the times longer than we do and haue more exercises of the Word and of prayer if wee were able or had more helpe as it is sayd in this Congregation of the Iewes they had for the Leuites are reckoned vp by name who spake euen Ieshua and Bani Kadmiel vers 4.5 Shebaniah Bunni Sherebiah Bani Chenani who cried with a loud voice vnto the Lord their God and they stood vp and said Praise the Lord your God for euer and euer and let them praise thy glorious name O God which excelleth about al thanksgiuing praise where wee see that there were manie that prayed vnto God and exhorted the people which could not be all at once because of disorder and confusion but one after another whereby also it came to passe that they were able to continue so long euen to preach to pray foure times in the day And thus we see how this day ought to be spent therefore they that come to the Church in the forenoone and absent themselues in the afternoone without any necessarie cause to be approued of God and men do not keepe this holie day of fast as they should In the popish fasting dayes worke was ordinarily permitted And here againe we haue iust cause to finde fault with the popish pretended fastes who as in manie other things they swarued from the word of God so in this one point they came nothing neere it for vpon their fasting daies there was no restraint of worke but it was lawfull for them to followe their businesse as vpon any other day they that professed to keepe it most deuoutly yet did not leaue their businesse vntill noone and then not wholly neither for besides dressing vp of houses preparing of linen against the next daie if they had any worke of their owne to doe at home within the doores they thought that they might lawfully doe it though it held them occupied vntill night so they made no conscience of not working And besides this they had no speciall seruice vpon such daies and if they had few or none came to it and held themselues bound to it but the Churches were as empty vpon those daies And the seruice of God was little regarded as vpō any other and they that were most superstitious in that religion were of opinion that if they came for a quarter or halfe an houre in the euening they had done as much as could be required of them though they vnderstood not one word of that that was said or done so far were they from hauing any holy assemblies or doubling of their seruice that day that they had none at al for the most part but all was differred vntill the day following as though they should fast vpō one day and serue God vpon an other and not doe them both together And thus much of the time when and howe long we should fast and how the same time ought to be spent HOMIL VII The seuenth Homilie intreateth of the seuerall kindes or sorts of fasts whereof the one is priuate and the other publike and first of priuate fastings and how to behaue our selues in them and how they ought to be intertained into mens houses and for what causes and what great good may come thereby and what liberty the Gouernors haue in appointing of them aboue all the rest of the familie THe nature and thus condition of this holie exercise of fasting being thus hitherto described out of the worde of God both that it is an ordinance and commandement of almightie God and not an humane constitution and brought in by the policie of men and therefore that which all men must submit themselues vnto of conscience and also that it consisteth in that outward bodilie exercise of abstinence from all the cōfort of this life for a time and in those inward vertues of the minde as true humilitie and feruencie of praier whereof we haue heard and that the time fit for it is specially the time of some great affliction and that then it must bee held longer or shorter time according to the greatnes of the same affliction whether it bee present or iustly to be feared that the said time of fasting is of the nature of the Sabbath and therefore must be so spent of all as vsually the Sabbath is ought to be both in abstaining from all the workes of our callings things of necessitie onely excepted and also in being occupied in the seuerall parts or Gods worship as the exercises of the reading and hearing of the worde of God praier vnto him and all meditation and good conference that might further them thereunto ●he seuerall ●undes of ●astes It remaineth now that I shoulde in order speake of their seuerall sorts and kindes of fasting that we might know how many they be and what they are that so we might vse them in their seuerall time and place as the Lorde shall require them of vs and as we shall see that wee haue cause so doe and that when we can not vse the one as there is no cause for it at all yet wee might perceaue that there was cause of the other and so thinke our selues bounde vnto it and that we should not thinke our selues wholly discharged of our obedience vnto the Lord this way because wee can

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 ●he cause of ●ublike fasts 〈◊〉 the wrath ●f God a●ainst the ●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 i● 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 vpō 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 whē 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