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
to an other end euen to the true humbling of vs before God for our sins which if we do not attaine vnto by these meanes it is not onely not accepted but further prouoketh the wrath of God For God is a spirit and will be so worshiped and though men iudge of vs after the outward appearance yet God looketh to the heart and when this outward abstinence hath beene vsed without these inward graces of humilitie and such like the Prophets haue iustly found fault with them and namely the Prophet Esaie Esai 58.3 Wherefore haue we fasted saie they thou seest it not we haue punished our selues and thou regardest it not Behold in the day of your fast you will seeke your owne will and require all your debtes Behold yee fast to strife and debate and to smite with the fist of wickednesse yee shal not fast as yee doe to daie is it such a fast that I haue chosen Without thâ— which it is nothing woorth that a man should afflict his soule for a day and to bow downe his head as a bul-rush and to lie downe in sackcloth and ashes wilt thou cal this a fasting or acceptable day vnto the Lord and so foorth as it followeth at large in that place Where the hypocrites complaine that they had fasted and had that way punished their bodies greatly and God regarded it not but he answereth that if they were neuer so weake with fasting euen like a bul-rush that can not hold vp the head against the winde yet because they were as cruell and hard-hearted to their brethren as full of contention as before and had not profited to the inward vertues of humilitie and contrition of heart which was the principall end of it therefore he did not accept of it And indeed if we content our selues with this outward abstinence the very brute beasts and cattell euen the bullocks and sheepe at Nineue did keepe as good a fast as we â—ona 3.7 for they were couered with sackcloth and did neither feed nor drinke water Therefore we see what must make all our fasting acceptable vnto God euen that we be furthered by them in al such graces of his spirit in our soules and consciences as the Lord in such cases requireth For as in the Sabbath bodily rest is first commanded yet the sanctifying of the day of rest in the holy worship of God is chiefe As the rest of the Sabbath is to be referred vnto the sanctification of the day and that whereunto the other is referred and without the which the other is nothing worth els they that sleepe all day or the cattell that are not wrought might keepe as good a Sabbath as we So in the day of fast though abstinence from meat be first required yet in it selfe such bodily exercise profiteth little as the Apostle saith but is vsed to another end Therfore as if we wil keepe that fourth commandement we must so rest that hauing our minds bodies drawn froÌ„ all worldly things we might in both be wholly occupied in gods seruice so if we will celebrate a fast vnto the Lord we must so vse the outward ceremony as thereby we might be furthered in the inward vertues of the mind We are then to consider what they be for in them resteth the second part of fasting The second part of fasting consisteth in the inward grace of the mâ—nde for as it was sayd before the whole action consisteth in two things the one outward concerning the body whereof we haue hitherto spoken the other inward apperteining to the soule which now remaineth to be intreated of And that is all those inward vertues of the minde and graces of the spirit which this way the Lord would haue vs furthered in all which are so much the more excellent and therefore the more diligently to be laboured after than the other by how much the soule is better than the body and how much it is better to approoue our selues and our doings vnto the Lord as we shall do in the one then vnto men as we may doe in the other These are of two sorts Heere then we are to consider what these inward vertues be whereto by this outward abstinence we should labour to be furthered which though they be many yet for breuitie and memories sake we will principally consider of two The first is the true humbling and casting downe of ourselues before the high Maiestie of God with sorrow and griefe of heart for all our sinnes in the conscience and feeling of them and of the miserie due vnto vs for the same The second is the assurance and good hope that we should haue through the free mercy of God in his gratious promises of the pardon and forgiuenesse of euery one of them for Christ Iesus his sake vpon our true repentance and vnfained turning from them and so that we being thus reconciled vnto God shall obtaine the things that we stand in need of and by earnest prayer alwayes ioyned vnto fasting wee make sute vnto him for whether it be the turning away or remouing from vs some grieuous iudgement and punishment of his or the bestowing or continuing of some great blessing of his vpon vs or vpon others And these two Esra 8.21 as they be chiefe and principall so they are both of them mentioned in that fast that Ezra kept with the rest of his companie As appeareth in the fast of Ezra and his companie And there at the riuer by Athana I proclaimed a fast that we might humble our selues before our God and seeke of him a right way for vs and for our children for all our substance for I was ashamed to require of the king an armie and horse-men to helpe vs against the enemie in the way because we had spoken to the king saying the hand of our God is vpon al them that seeke him in goodnesse but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him So we fasted besought our God for this and he was intreated of vs. Where we see how he in his returne from Babylon to Ierusalem after the captiuity with many other at such a place proclaimed a fast to these ends both that they might humble themselues before God for their sinnes which were the cause of their captiuitie and might now hinder them from such blessings as they stood in need of and that they might by praier seeke earnestly vnto God with hope that he would direct and blesse them in the waie and defend them from their enimies So in their obedience they did aime at these two inward vertues first â—o bee thoroughly humbled for their sinnes and then by earnest praier to seeke to God with hope that hee would giue them the thing that then they stood in need of euen defence from their enimies in the way and a prosperous iourney to Ierusalem And so in this practise of theirs as in a glasse we most cleerely
other thing in him to recompence anie or al of these losses and so his heart is not yet humbled But when he seeth how many waies he standeth guiltie before God and what a great account hee hath to giue vnto him that hee seeth his sinnes to be more in number then the heires of his head or the sandes of the sea and then how many punishments and plagues in this world and in the world to come are dew to him in soule and body for euer and euer according to the manifold curses of the law of God and his immutable iustice contained in them this shall bee able to make him cast away all his pride conceit in himselfe or in any thing else and to thinke of himselfe as he is indeed in himselfe to bee a most vile creature and so to crie out of himselfe as the Apostle doth â—om 7.24 O wretched man that I am who shall deliuer me from the bodie of this death Now the holie spirit of God worketh this in vs by the true vnderstanding and right vse of the lawe of God set downe in the tenne Commandements We are brought to the sight oâ— our sinnes by the true vnderstanding and right vse of the law and also of the blessings promised to those that keepe the law and the curses denounced against them that breake it which are to this end annexed to the same law According to which lawe if men not partiallie examine themselues they shall see both how many duties they haue left vndone and also how manie sinnes they haue committed against God men For that is as a cleere glasse to let vs see the least spot or blemish in our face that is the least sinne committed in our life Psal 119.105 and as a light vnto our pathes and a lanterne to our feete to let vs see how one thing differeth from another good from euill euen as the difference of colours is easily discerned when a light commeth in which was not before and to be short it is a rule to shew what is crooked and what is straight that is what is agreeable vnto or what differeth from the will of God which is the perfect rule of all righteousnesse And we are â—rther humâ—led by considering the â—romises and â—urses anâ—exed to the â—aw Then if wee come to the promises of the law we shall see howe manie good things which God of his meere mercy had promised and others haue inioied we haue lost through our own default both for soule and bodie for our selues and ours for this life also and for the life to come and so in what an vnhappie estate we are in in our selues And though this be verie much to humble a man to thinke thus much good haue I wilfully lost yet if we further coÌ„sider the curses not onely dispersed in the whole Scripture but specially set down at large Deut. 28. for sin to to be brought vpon vs in soule and bodie and otherwise as incurable sicknesses diseases terror feare of minde scarcitie and famine the sword and such like in this worlde besides eternall destruction of soule and bodie in hell fire after this life these will let vs see our miserie much more that so we might feele acknowledge what vile wretched creatures we be men and women that haue iustly brought vpon our selues so great calamity We are then for the better humbling of our selues before God as at other times so especiallie in the day of fasting to giue our selues to the serious and earnest meditation of these things namely of the law of God and that in euery commandement and applie it to our conscience and the appurtenances also of the same law that is the promises made to the obedient and the punishments threatned to the disobedient and pray to God for his good spirit that it might worke vpon vs euen vpon our hearts that by this meanes wee might come to that measure of humilitie that is meet for vs so great sinners to come vnto and that he would cast vs downe vnder his holie hande euen so low as his owne children should be for want of which our hearts are hardened though our estaâ—e be so desperate and forlorne as at all other times so euen in the day of fasting wherein greatest humiliation is required And besides all this to further vs in this most excellent vertue of humiliation which in time will lift vs vp as high as wee were cast downe before according to the Prouerbe of Solomon Pro. 15.32 Especiallie how the Lord from time to time hath verified the same Before glory goeth humilitie we must also consider the execution of these iudgements vpon men from time to time that we might know God to be iust and will assuredly doe as he hath saide and that he hath not threatned in vaine as many men doe imagine that so wee might feare and tremble when wee shall see as it were others beaten for the like sinnes before our faces And these iudgements wee must well weigh both generally brought vpon whole nations and countries Gen. 6. as how hee spared not the olde world when all flesh had corrupted their waies but brought an vniuersall deluge vpon it and how hee ouerthrew Sodom and Gomorrha Gen. 19. and the rest of the cities for their filthinesse yea how he spared not the ten tribes of Israel 2. King 17. 2. King 24. 25. Lam. 1.3 nor Iudah it selfe but caried them both captiues out of their owne country for their idolatrie other sinnes And also his iudgements particularly broght vpon priuate men Genes 25.33 27.33 Heb. 12.16.17 Gen. 21.10 Gal. 4.29 as how Esau was cast off from Gods people for his profannesse how Ismael was put out of his fathers house and so out of the Church of God for his scorning and mocking wherewith hee persecuted his brother 2. Sam. 18.9 and how Absolon was hanged between heauen and earth by the haire of his head for rebelling against his father Hest 7.8.9 how Haman was hanged vp vpon an high gibbet for his pride against men 1. King 22.38 and king Herod eaten vp with vermine for his intollerable pride against God and men 2 King 9.35 how Ahab and Iesabell were slaine for their oppression of Naboth so that the dogs did licke the bloud of the one 2. Sam. 12.10.11 and deuour the carkase of the other yea how Dauid was grieuously punished for his adulterie and wrong done to Vriah 1. Cor. 10.8 and 23000. in one day destroied for their filthie fornication and to conclude how the Lord from time to time in all ages and places hath not spared men in their sinnes that so we might not onely see in them what wee haue deserued but how he is readie to punish also for there is no respect of persons with him And not onely vpon the wicked but vpon his owne children And in all these wee must
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