nothing during the Fast. Nothing at all If our Fast be for a day we are to eat nothing till night when the Fast is ended Such was Nineueh's Fast. Nor can that be a Fast of fourtie dayes in which space any thing is eaten or drunke But is that a Fast to eat no Flesh and to fill the stomacke with good Fish and the best Wine To eat no Butter but the purest Oyle To eat no Egges but the most restoratiue Figges Sint tibi Iâ—iunia pura casta simplicia moderata non superstitiosa saith St IEROME Quid prodest c. What auailes it not to eat Oyle and to seeke out meats hard and troublesome to be gotten As dryed Figges Pistacke nuts Almonds Dates Meale and Honey Tota hortorum cultura vexatur vt cibaria non vescamur pane dum delicias sectamur a regno Caelorum retrahimur All the Gardens and Orchards must bee troubled to serue our palate And while wee follow such delicacies wee are haled away from the Kingdome of Heauen And why should our Authour impose vpon vs such a Lent-Fast as a matter of Religion and a speciall part of his Deuotion Whereas this Noble and Religious STATE doth not prescribe or inhibite the vse of any Creatures but out of a ciuill regard and for a ciuill end In that case doe not men take Licences from the Exchequer And doth not the KINGS Proclamation inioyne forbearance of Flesh during that time of the Spring and that expresly for the increase of Cattle But if our Authour will needs vrge the Authoritie of the Church for the Lent-Fast I doe but referre him to the Order of Pope VRBAN the third afore cited We know no such constitution in the Church of England Neither after CHRISTS Resurrection wherein all Iewish ceremoniall obseruation of dayes was abolished remained in Scripture any one day in the weeke or weeke in the moneth or moneth in the yeere to be religiously and yeerly obserued of Christians but onely the Lords day The Church of Galathia intangling herselfe in Iewish Ceremonies the Apostle sharply reproueth them saying Ye obserue dayes and moneths and times and yeeres I am in feare of you least I haue bestowed on you labour in vaine This was as he tells them to begin in the Spirit and to end in the Flesh. And Col. 2.16 17. Let no man iudge you in meat or in drinke or in respect of an Holy-day or of the new Moone or of the Sabbaoth-dayes which are a shaddow of things to come but the Body is Christ. Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the Rudiments of the World Why as though liuing in the world are ye subiect to Ordinances Touch not tast not handle not which all are to perish with the vsing after the Commandements and Doctrines of men c. But now they that goe about to destroy or at least to defalke from the due obseruation of the Lords-day consisting in all religious exercises both publicke and priuate excluding all prophane pastimes and licentious mad mirth so as Christians being thereby inured to a religious conformitie of life in all seemely sobrietie haue the lesse need of superstious obseruations to be imposed or obtruded vpon them for their priuate humiliation seeing the whole tenure of their life is a constant walking in a sober and moderate course not mad to day and sad to morrow for fashion so adding drunknesse to thirst and neuer well as we say full nor fasting whereas euerie day to a true Christian is a day of sobrietie and all his life a Lent while all along his life is seasoned and sanctified with a conscionable keeping of the Lords day wherein he prouides his store for euerie weeke I say they that goe about to cut away a a great part from the religious and sober keeping of the Lordsday no maruel if they would fill vp the want of true Religion with some satisfactorie Superstition of mans deuising and so to expiate all the yeeres prophanesse with the seeming sanctitie and superstitious solemnitie of a pretended Lenten Fast which indeed is no Fast as men doe vse it And yet for all it is so abused it hath monopolized and ingrossed to it selfe all other true Fasts wherein Gods people in time either of any present publicke calamitie or eminent danger ought to be humbled in making their peace with God deprecating as the sinne so the punishment the consequent fruit of it But the Lent-Fast must keepe out all beat downe all other Fasts Good Lent either fast as thou pretendest thou shouldest or giue place to other Fasts which being performed as they ought may stand in the gap to turne away that wrath which thy Superstition and Hypocrisie is like to bring vpon vs. But the Authour cites St IEROME to proue the Quadragesimall Fast to be an Apostolicke constitution Indeed we read of one ABDIVS who tells strange Tales of St MATHEVV the Euangelist and among the rest that he taught that Saints must looke to goe into Heauen by their Merits That the time of Lent must be kept with abstinence from Flesh from coniugall beneuolence or else a man becomes polluted and commits a haynous offence which must be washed away with many teares These and other the like be so likely to be true as it may be lawfull for vs to belieue St MATHEVV wrot one thing and spake another But we must know that the Misterie of Iniquitie began to worke euen in those prime times while Satan wanted not his Instruments to lay the foundation thereof in superstitious Deuotions the strongest supporter of Antichrist As for S. IEROME and other of the Ancients who knowes not that many things of this nature haue been foysted into their Workes Neither is it necessarie that we should either labour in all things to cleare the Fathers nor in euerie thing to follow them But howsoeuer our Authour would draw down the Lent-Fast from the obseruation of the Church although he still meanes the Church of Rome yet wee know that the ancient Churches which were no members of the Church of Rome but as all then were ioynt members of the Catholike did obserue their Quadragesima after a different sort both for the time and manner Socrates who was much about the time of S. Ierome saith that in those dayes Qui sunt Roma c. They that are at Rome do Fast three weekes before Easter the Saturday and the Lords day onely excepted In Illyria and all Greece at Alexandria they begin their Fast 6 weekes before Easter and call that time Quadragesima Others begin their Fast 7. weekes before Easter although they keepe their Fast but 15. of those dayes scattered â—mong the rest and yet they call that time Quadragesima too Nor differ they onely about the time but about the maner of abstinence For some eate Fowles and Fishes as both comming of the water Others abstaine from shel-fruits and eggs some feed onely vpon drie bread and others
to be repeated ouer euery day Doth he not hereby rob vs of the rest of the Scripture Chapters and Psalmes Wee like our Communion booke better then so thus to exchange it to our losse All Priests and Dâ—acons are bound to say dayly the Morning and Euening Prayer either priuately or publikely except they be letted by Preaching studying of Diuinitie or by some other vrgent cause Thankes be to God there are plenty of manuall Psalters and Testaments as easie to carry in mens pockets and I am sure farre more profitable to edification then this booke of Deuotion Yea and it will appeare all along this booke howsoeuer he seeme tenderly affected and deuoted to his mother Church and to our diuine Seruice that neuer any though Popish booke published this threescore yeares vnder the name of Deuotion hath more slily and subtilly vndermined the state of this our Church then this doth while it would confound our Church with that of Babylon whereof more hereafter in the proper place So much in generall of the state of this Booke occasioned by the two first title Pages The Preface NOt to intangle our selues with perplexed questions aâ— whither all prayers other then set prayers and those either the Lords prayer or the Churches publicke formes of this Authors priuate formes bee denyed to Gods people or Ministers as vttered from priuate spirits and Ghosts of their owne they are the words of the Preface wherein perhaps the Author takes the liberty to bewray his malice or ignorance or want of experience of the supply of the spirit of Christ helping our infirmities in prayer Rom. 8.26 Phil. 1.19 as not hauing his wits exercised that way we haue occasion giuen in the first place to touch vpon the second reason of these his houres the words are To let the world vnderstand that they who giue it out and accuse vs here in England to haue set vp a new Church and a new faith to haue abandoned all the ancient formes of piety and deuotion to haue taken away all the religious prayers and exercises of our forefathers to haue despised all the old Ceremonies and cast behind vs the blessed Sacraments of Christs Catholick Church c. Is not here a sound reason for the bringing in of old Popish Ceremonies and superstitions and such trumperies into our Church to the end that Popish mouthes may be stopt who slander our Church in this behalfe for antiquating all old Ceremonies whereof the obseruation of the seuen Canonicall houres is one Then belike we must set vp Popery againe at least in a good part onely to appease the clamours of Papists accusing vs for Nouelists But take heed what you doe for vnlesse you meane thus by degrees to reare vp the whole tower of Babylon again in England you striue in vaine to stoppe their mouthes who will haue all or none But in the meane time remember what your Mother the Church of England if ye be indeed her true bred sonnes saith Of such Ceremonies as be vsed in the Church and haue had their beginning by the institution of man Some at the first were of godly intent and purpose deuised and yet at length turned to vanity and superstition some entred into the Churh by vndiscreetâ— deuotion and such a zeale as was without knowledge and for because they were winked at in the beginning they grew dayly to more and more abuse which not onely for their vnprofitablenesse but also because they haue much blinded the people and obscured the glory of God are worthy to be cut away and quite râ—iâ—cted c. Heere consider whether your seuen Canonicalls be not of the number of those Ceremonies which haue had their beginning by the institution of man by Pope Gregory 9. as we haue shewed and perhaps for a good intent and purpose yet at length haue turned to vanity and superstition as is manifest both by the doctrine and practise of the Church of Rome or such as hauing entred into the Church by vndiscreet deuotion and zeale without knowledge and for because winked at in the beginning and growing dayly to more and more abuses our Church not onely for their vnprofitablenesse but because of their much blinding of the people and obscuring Gods glory hath thought worthy to cut away and cleane reiect Consider it I say For hath not our Church among many other superstitious ceremonies quite casheered this of your Canonicall houres But thereupon she heareth A nouellist a setter vp of a new Church and a new faith to haue abandoned all the ancient formes of piety and deuotion to haue taken away all the religious â—xercises and prayers of our forefathers to haue despised all the old Ceremonies c. But of whom doth our Church heare this Of the Church of Rome And can she blame Rome for it But charity would or Christian prudence or I wot not what tender care of her owne reputation being thus exposed to the obloquy of her enemy she should salue the wound againe which the venemous tongue hath made How The Authors of this booke her pregnant young sonnes though no small babies I wis can tell their old Mother shee must now after threescore yeares and more seing there is no other remedy in her old age turne ouer a new leafe begin to renew her old acquaintance with her stepmother or elder sister at least the Church of Rome intertaine some of her old ceremonies againe as religious which long agoe she abandoned as superstitious receiue reuiue that faith and religion as the Old which earst she reiected as the New thus after shee hath begun yea so many yeares continued and growne vp to a ripenesse in the spirit she must with the foolish Church of Galatia be made perfect in the flesh But we hope better things of our reuerend Mother that with aged Sophocles accused by his sonnes of carelesse improuidence in gouerning his family she will vindicate her wisdome and motherly authoritie ouer her darling but ouerdaring sonnes As for that other clause of hauing it cast in our dish that we cast behinde vs the blessed Sacraments of Christs Catholicke Church which cannot be obiected to our Church but onely because we allow no more Sacraments but two a point not a little materiall if well weighed of this we shall haue occasion to speake more when we come to his Sacraments of the Church Onely by the way this is a faire inducement to draw on his 7. Sacraments for otherwise how shall he thereby acquit vs forsooth of the grieuous scandall and imputation which the Church of Rome layes to our charge of our reiecting the blessed Sacraments of Christs Catholicke Church As if he should say as in effect and almost totidem verbiâ— he doth say They charge vs falsely in saying that we cast behind vs the blessed Sacraments of Christs Catholicke Church alas silly simples these men do little else but bewray their owne infirmities and haue more violence or will then reason or
his Doctrine to wit not to worship those Images with the worship of Latria nor otherwise simply but with relation to the Prototype So that for ought we know the Authour implyeth that some kind of adoration may be either giuen to the Image respectiuely to the Prototype or at least before the Image to the Prototype Againe he saith They that are worshippers of Idols or representments of false Gods This clause is wholly Iesuiticall See the Doway translation on Exod. 20. where the Iesuites allow none other Images to bee forbidden in the second Commandement but onely Idols and those forsooth are say they the Images of false Gods Iust so our Author here As if Angels or Saints being worshipped in and by their representations were not turned into false Gods Or as if 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Idolum Simúlachrum an Idol and Image were not all one See Polyd. Virgil. de Inuent rerum Lib. 5. Cap. 13. Againe They that are worshippers of Saints Images and out of a false opinion of promeriting the protection of the blessed Uirgin or any other Saint of God doe giue a religious adoration to those vsuall representments which be made of them Now in all this he speakes nothing against Poperie and so all his flourish is but a meere froth while he would seeme to say something against it For howsoeuer Popish practise is yet they teach not that Adoration of Images or Saints in them is meritorious So that the Authour leaues it as granted that a man may vse Images in their Saint-inuocation so he account it not meritorious Thus he is rather for Poperie in this point then against it Vpon the fourth Commandement he saith They offend vnder a pretence of seruing God more stâ—â—â—tly then others especially for hearing and meditating of Sermons doe by their Fasts and certaine Iudaizing obseruations condemne the ioyfull festiuitie of this high Holy-day which the Church allowes as well for the necessarie recreation of the body in due time as for Spirituall exercises of the Soule Here we come more plainly to discerne the Wolfe in the Sheeps skinne or in the Sheepherds cloke For here he breakes down a gap and whistles out the Sheepe that straying hee may deuoure them Yea in this speech he goes about to set open the verie Flood-gate of all profuse prophanesse First All truly religious and conscionable seruing of GOD he makes to be but a pretence Hypocrisie and dissimulation But the maine marke his enuie and malice shootes at is especially Hearing and meditating of Sermons By this verie speech a man that neuer saw nor knew the Authour may easily conclude whether he be a Resident vpon his Cure or no a faithfull Sheepherd or no. Hearing and meditating of Sermons hee cannot away with they are a burthen vnto him These he ranketh with I wâ—t not what Fast and some certaine but vncertaine what Iudaizing obseruations But the worst is that by such exercises as hearing and meditating of Sermons especially such persons condemne the ioyfull festiuity of this high and holy day which the Church allowes as well for the necessary recreation of the body as the spirituall exercises of the soule Well yet he acknowledgeth the Sabbath or Lords day to bee an High and Holy day Let him hold him to that But what be those ioyfull Festiuities of this High and Holy-day He mentioneth not But seeing he shuts out none we may well conclude hee meaneth all kinde of Festiuity and iollity and iouialty such as hee â—eâ—â—nes necessary recreations for example Rush-bearings Whitsun-Ales Morice-dances setting vp of May-poles hearing of a play or seeing of a Maske or Dicing and Carding or bowling or bowsing or whatsoeuer other Glosse the carnall vulgar may make of this vnlimited ioyful Festiuity or necessary recreation But he saith that this ioyfull Festiuity the Church allowes What Church surely none other as throughout his whole Booke but his holy mother Church of Rome Indeed that Church allowes a most liâ—entious vnlimited latitude of all such ioyfull Festiuity and especially on the Lords day as may feed the humours of the carnall and prophane multitude That Church indeed reckoneth hearing and meditating of Sermons among Iudaizing obseruations But the Church of God doth not neuer did allow such ioyfull Festiuity as the Author allowes â— S. Aughstine saith Iudaei c The Iewes do seruilely obserue the Sabbath day to luxury and drunkennesse how much better were it for their women to spin wooll and vpon that day in their New-Moones to dance Farre be it my brethren that we should say they keepe the Sabbath And againe Qui in obseruatione Sabbati c. They who keeping the Sabbath doe not continue in good workes and prayer which is to sanctifie the Sabbath and sanctification is where the holy Ghost is are like to those little Flies ingendred in the mud which disquitted the Egyptians And De Consensu Euang. lib. 2. cap. 77. speaking of that flight in winter and on the Sabbath day mentioned Luke 21. by Winter he vnderstands the Cares of this life and by the Sabbath surfeiting and drunkennesse agreeable to Christs admonition ver 34. Quod malum Sabbati nomine c. Which euill is therefore signified by the name of the Sabbath because this was as now it is the impious custome of the Iewes vpon that day to flow in delights all one with our Authors ioyfull Festiuitie or necessary recreation while they were ignorant of the spirituall Sabbath And de Genesi contra Manichaeos lib. 1. Iudaei carnaliter obseruando Sabbatum non nouerunt The Iewes by keeping the Sabbath carnally knew not the Sabbath But our Author allowes of ioyfull Festiuity and necessary recreations in their due time onely not in time of diuine seruice Neither did the Iewes omit their diuine seruice in their Synagogues both Maâ—ins and Euenâ—ong And yet spending the rest of the day afterwards in such ioyfull Festiuity as the Author allowes as done in due time S. Augustine cals them prophane and impious and that they might better spend the rest of the day in spinning For the worke of a mans honest and lawfull calling is at all times to be preferred before the workes of the Diuell that come not within the compasse of any Christian mans Calling being renounced and disavowed in our Baptisme And because the sanctification of the Lords day is so mightily impugned and cryed downe not onely by such Ministers of Sathan as are Popishly affectâ—d by their precept and precedent by the prophane rabble rout especially in those places where there is not a settled Ministry of the word Let me adde a word or two more in Gods cause that we may not so easily suffer prophane wretches like swine to trample the Orient pearle of Gods glory so prophaned on his owne day in the mire S. Augustine saith againe Prâ—ponitur Dies Dominicus c. The Lords day is preferred befode the Iewes Sabbath in the faith of the Resurrection and not in the