bee the more encreased by the beholding one of another 21 Fourthly we are to abstaine from all carnall delights whereby any one of our sences might bee pleased For the sence of pleasure would abate our mourning diminish the sence of our want and hinder our vnfained humiliation before God Wherefore Ierome saith that fasting is to abstaine not onely from meats but also from all pleasures or allurements And Augustine The Scripture saith he teacheth a general fast not from the concupiscence of meates onely but also from all pleasures of temporal delights Thus are we not only to abridge our tast of meats but also to containe our eies from beholding vanities and pleasures our eares from hearing mirth or musick which in time of mourning is vnseasonable our nostrils from pleasant odours and effeminate smels Our sence of feeling from the vse of the marriage bed which as all married persons are to forbeare vpon consent for such a time of humiliation that they may giue themselues to fasting and prayer so are the Bridegroome and Bride admonished to come forth of their marriage chamber in the time of the fast And all these are to be done partly as meanes of our humiliation in remouing the impediments thereof partly as signes of our humiliation whereby we acknowledge our selues vnworthy of these delights and partly as tokens of our repentance in that by way of godly revenge because all our sences haue sinned we depriue thē all of their seuerall delights And as wee are to make all our sences thus to fast so must wee also weyne our minds from sports and recreations which would not onely hinder our humiliation and godly sorrow but also distract our minds from better meditations in sanctifying the fast And thus haue I shewed that in our fast we are to abstaine from food and some other helps and commodities of this life and also from all outward delights and pleasures 22 Now it remaineth that I should speake of rest from bodily labours and worldly businesse For the time of the fast hath the nature of a Sabboth And by the Prophet Ioel it is called dies interdicti a solemnity or day of prohibition wherein men are forbidden to do any worke as ths Lord expoūdeth that word Leui. 23. It is a day of prohibition or a solemne day You shall do no seruile worke therein And Deut. 16. Six dayes thou shalt eat vnleauened bread and in the seuenth day which shall be a solemnity or day of prohibition to the Lord thy God thou shalt doe no worke So Num. 29.35 For there is the same reason of the extraordinary Sabbath of humiliation and of the ordinary But the ordinary was a Sabbath or rest in which no worke was to bee done yea the Lord threatneth to destroy that person from among his people that shall doe any worke that day And as I said before the law of the weekly Sabbath is to be extended to other extraordinary Sabbaths But on the weekly Sabbath wee may do no worke therefore not in this 23 But let vs consider also why and in what respects rest is required in the day of our fast and bodily labours and worldly businesse forbidden The Lord forbiddeth labour and worldly businesse and commaundeth rest on euery Sabbath not because simply he either liketh of rest or misliketh labour but because bodily labors worldly businesse are a meanes to distract vs from the worship of God and rest from them is a remedy against distraction For euery Sabbath is to be sanctified and set apart from our businesse and affaires and is to bee consecrated to the worship of God And further on the Sabbath of humiliation we take vpon vs after a more speciall maner to worship God and therefore that wee may seriously and entirely intend the seruice of God we are to abandō all other busines and cares For that is better done which is done alone as the Philosopher hath truly said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And it is the counsell of the Wiseman that what wee doe wee should do with all our might For by doing many things our minds are distracted This therefore doth teach vs that with free and entire minds sequestred from all worldly cares we are to be conuersant in the worship of God chiefely when after a more speciall manner we indeuour to humble our selues before him For if bodily labours and worldly businesse bee therefore forbidden because they are meanes to distract vs then may we be sure that distraction it self in the worship of God is much more forbidden For distraction breeds hypocrisie in Gods worship and causeth vs when wee draw nigh to the Lord with our lips to remooue our hearts farre from him 24. Againe the Lord commaundeth vs in all his Sabbaths to rest from labours that this outward rest might be an admonition vnto vs to rest from sinne For why may euery one of vs thinke doth the Lord forbid me on the day of rest the lawfull workes of may calling Or why doe I cease from mine honest affaires Must I forbeare that which in it selfe is lawfull and may I doe that which is vnlawfull Must I therefore for this time sequester my selfe from my honest businesse that I may attend vanities or sinnes Or doth the Lord enjoyne me rest because hee is delighted with idlenesse and would haue me to doe nothing No verily If he forbid me that which is lawfull much more doth he forbid that which is vnlawfull And if he commaund me to rest from honest affaires it is not because he would haue me idle for idlenesse is the mother of much iniquitie but because hee would haue me attend better matters In a word he forbiddeth me to doe mine owne workes and businesse that I may doe his worke and attend his religion and seruice Lastly there may an outward cause be rendered why on the day of the fast wee are to cease from bodily labours For our fraile nature cannot well beare abstinence and bodily labour together for labour setting the bodie in a heat wasteth the moisture and spirits which are to bee supplied by nourishment otherwise we spend vpon the stocke of our naturall moisture which is as it were the oyle in the lampe of our life 25. We see then wherein the outward exercise doth consist and the particulars from which we are to abstain Now wee are briefely to consider for how long this abstinence is to be obserued The vsuall time of a fast is the space of a naturall day viz. from euen to euen or from supper to supper For as that was the time appointed for the ordinarie Sabboth of humiliation so also of the extraordinarie From euen to euen shall you celebrate your Sabboth And accordingly it is noted of the Israelits fast Iud. 20. of Dauid and his followers 2. Sam. 1. of Iosuah and the elders Ios. 7. that it was vntill the euening And more particularly of
pastimes for if that be vnlawfull on the ordinarie Sabbath much more is it vnseasonable on the Sabbath of humiliation Lastly to sinne for if the workes of our lawfull callings be forbidden on the Sabbath much more the workes of darknes whereunto whosoeuer addicteth himselfe on the day of the fast he celebrateth a Sabbath to Sathan and not vnto the Lord. Againe whereas I said it is to be obserued as a Sabbath of humiliation we learne that we are therein to abstaine not onely from labours as on the ordinarie Sabbath but also from food from exercise of sleepe from brauerie in apparell and from all worldly delights c. 57. Thirdly whereas I add that it is to bee sanctified both publickly and priuatly as a Sabbath of humiliation I signifie that not onely rest is required but also an holy rest and not onely the outward fast but much more the spiritual exercise of prayer and repentance And that this sanctificatioÌ„ of the day of the fast which standeth in vsing the meanes of sanctification is partly publicke and partly priuat The publick is in the assembly for this as euerie other Sabbath is a day of an holy assembly Leuit. 23.27 Ioel. 2.15.16 Here therefore we are to consider the office of the ministers who are the chiefe actors in the publicke sanctification of this and euerie Sabbath and the dutie of the people The office of the minister is noted in generall termes Acts 13.2 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as they performed the publicke function of their ministerie vnto the Lord and fasted more specially Neb. 9 where they are noted to haue read and preached the word of God as before chap. 8. and that foure times and so oft also to haue called vpon the name of the Lord-Likewise Ierem. 36 when Ieremie being shut vp could not go into the house of the Lord he sendeth Barach with a booke written from his mouth wherein were specified the judgements of God threatned against the Iewes that he reading it in the audience of the people vpon the day of the fast they might be brought to a serious humbling of themselues in prayer and to vnfained repentance The dutie therefore of the ministers is to stirre vp themselues in a more than ordinarie measure of zeale to discharge their ministerie both in preaching the word of God and also in prayer In preaching that it may bee through the blessing of God a powerfull meanes to worke in the people those things which in this spirituall exercise are required viz. humiliation prayer with feruencie and faith and repentance In praying that it may be an effectuall meanes in and through the mediation of Christ our Sauiour and auaileable with the Lord for the remouing of those euils and for the bestowing of those good things for which this exercise is vndertaken 58. The dutie of the people is first to bee present at publick assembly for if we will sanctifie a Sabbath vnto the Lord we must reuerence his sanctuarie where as the Lord hath promised his presence so he requireth ours And for this cause as I sayd before this and euerie other Sabbath is appointed of the Lord to be an holy conuocation We must therefore take heed that we absent not our selues without very just and necessarie occasion lest we may seeme either secretly to neglect or prophanely to contemne the presence of Christ the gathering together of the Saints the publicke worship and seruice of God the call of the holy Ghost the meanes of our saluation the publicke occasion of the fast as though neither the publicke judgement nor the common good did concerne vs. But it is to little purpose to be present in the publicke assembly vnlesse we joyne together with the assembly in the sincere worship of God That being assembled together in the name of Christ we may as it were with one consent call vpon God and heare his word praying with humilitie in respect of our own vnworthinesse with reuerence of Gods majestie in sence of our wants with sorrow for our sins with earnest desire to haue our wants supplied our sins remitted and the judgemeÌ„ts of God remoued with faith assurance to find help to obtaine mercie in coÌ„uenient time with promise purpose to amend our liues that in sinceritie and truth we may subscribe to the prayer of the Church and say Amen Hearing also the word with reuerence with attention with faith with desire to profit with purpose to practise with submission to euery part thereof In a word so hearing the word of God as in this our present sute we desire to be heard Vnto these duties of religion and meanes of sanctification we are to joyne a publicke dutie of charitie as a worke of sanctification for it is and hath bene a laudable custome of the Church of God that in publicke fasts there should be publicke collection made for the releefe of the poore 59. But we are not onely publickly to sanctifie the day of the fast but also priuatly both by vsing meanes of sanctification and also by doing workes of sanctification The meanes are especially meditation prayer which are to be vsed both with reference to the publicke sanctification and that not onely before to prepare and fit our selues for the profitable and sauing vse of the meanes which Daniel calleth the setting of his face and the setling of his mind to seeke the Lord but also after to fit and apply the meanes to our vse and besides as priuat meanes by themselues without reference to the publicke The workes of sanctification are the duties of repentance whereof I spake before but especially the workes of mercie and charitie for with such sacrifices God is pleased 60. Wherefore the day of the fast is to bee obserâ—ed and sanctified as a Sabbath of humiliation not onely by outward abstinence rest but also by vsing the meanes and doing the workes of sanctification both publickly priuatly spending the whole day besides the publicke sanctification and the time which is to bee spent in our preparation before and in our meditation afterwards in the priuat means of sanctification as reading meditation prayer in the priuat works of sanctification as the duties of repentance towards God and the workes of mercy and charitie towards our brethren Which course whosoeuer shal take in sanctifying a fast vnto the Lord he shal be sure to obtaine at the haÌ„ds of God either that particular request for which he is an humble sutor vnto the Lord or that which is better the Lord alwayes hearing his children thus suing vnto him and granting their requests as shall be most for his glory and their singuler good 61. HAuing thus set downe the doctrine of fasts according to the rule of Gods word and practise of ours and other reformed churches we are now to take a briefe view of the Popish fast that it may euidently appeare how
euerie day to performe mutuall beneuolence and not defraud one another vnlesse it be by consent for a time that they might giue themselues to fasting and prayer and again come together that Sathan tempt them not through their incontinencie And therefore we are not bound to joyne fasting with our ordinarie and daily prayers but when we haue just and speciall occasion to humble our selues in prayer after an extraordinary maner And our Sauiour Christ noteth that those which do fast do mourne and that the time of fasting is the time of mourning and that in the time of joy it is vnseasonable Now ordinarily the faithfull are to be joyfull and therefore they are not bound ordinarily to fast and in fasting to mourne but when they haue some extraordinarie cause of mourning for as a peece of new cloth put to an old garment maketh the rent worse so fasting vnseasonably imposed vpon men maketh them not better but worse Againe the time of the fast hath the nature of a Sabbath wherein we are to lay aside all worldly businesse and the works of our callings which ordinarily we are to follow Neither is it an ordinarie Sabbath but the extraordinarie Sabbath of humiliation wherein we are after a speciall maner to humble our soules and to giue our selues to prayer abstaining not onely from bodily labour and worldly affaires but also from our food and other delights of this life And to the sanctifying of this Sabbath we are bound when the Lord calleth vs to fasting and mourning by some special causes of mourning and humbling our selues which afterwards I shall touch whether they be priuat or publicke But especially we are then bound to obserue this fast when not onely the Lord by some publicke judgement or calamitie either threatned or inflicted doth call vs vnto fasting and mourning but also publicke authoritie hath blowne the trumpet and proclaimed a fast for to such a Sabbath of humiliation the equity of that law concerning the yearly Sabbath of humiliation is to be extended Leuit. 23 Euery person that humbleth not himselfe that day shall euen be cut off from his people 11. And this also I signified in the definition when I sayd that fasting is a solemne exercise of religion to be vndertaken of vs when we are to be humble suters vnto the Lord vpon some speciall and extraordinarie occasion for when I cal it a solemne exercise I do not meane that it is a common vsuall or ordinary exercise nor yet to be performed after a common or ordinarie maner but that as it is vndertaken vpon some speciall vrgent occasion so we ought to stir vp our selues in the obseruation thereof to an extraordinarie measure of humiliation to an extraordinarie feruencie in prayer to a solemne and extraordinarie testification and profession of our repentance And when as it is said in the definition that this exercise is to be vndertaken of vs when we are humble suters to the Lord vpon some speciall or extraordinarie occasion it is plainly signified that this exercise is not at set and ordinarie times to be performed but when it pleaseth God to giue just and necessarie occasion either by our wants or by his judgements of a more speciall and extraordinarie humbling of our selues in the exercise of prayer and profession of our repentance 12. The causes therefore and occasions whereupon this exercise is to bee vsed are these First when we are humble suters vnto the Lord for the obtaining of some speciall benefits especially when some matter of great importance is to be enterprisâ—ed For at such a time an extraordinarie feruency in prayer is required which may be holpen forward by fasting Nehemiah intending to moue Artasbaste for the repairing of Ierusalem first humbleth himselfe before God by fasting and prayer for good successe in that waightie businesse And so did Ezra in his voyage towards Ierusalem proclaime a fast Queene Esther before she durst presume contrarie to the law of the Persians to enter into the kings presence being not called to make sute vnto him for the preseruation of the Iewes against the wicked conspiracie of Haman she with her maids humbled themselues by fasting and prayer for three dayes and required the like fast to be obserued of Mordecay and the rest of the Iewes who were at Susban In like sort the ministerie of the word being a matter of great importance for it is the power of God to our saluation and though it be esteemed folly in the world yet by the foolishnesse of preaching God is pleased to saue those that beleeue therefore the Church of God hath thought it expedient before they haue ordained ministers or sent them forth to the worke of the ministerie to humble themselues before God by fasting and prayer as we may read in the Acts of the Apostles It is reported of Iohn the Euangelist that being intreated by the Churches to write the Gospell of our Sauiour whereby the heresies of Ebion and Cerinthus who denied the diuinitie of Christ might be refuted he made aunswere That hee would do it if first the whole Church would in his behalfe humble themselues before God in fasting and prayer 13. But as fasting is sometimes to be joyned with precation or prayer for some speciall good so more commonly it is joyned with deprecation of euill whether it be the euill of sinne or the euill of affliction For when as men do apprehend thewrath of God for sinne whether it be in the act of their conuersion or otherwise finding themselues or their countrey guiltie of some more grieuous sin it is necessarie that they should humble themselues before God after a more speciall maner And for the better humbling of themselues in prayer and testifying of their repentance to entertaine this Christian exercise of fasting Paul in the first act of his conuersion fasted and prayed three dayes together when as the people of Israell returned to the Lord their God from idolatrie and lamented their former sinnes they being assembled at the commaundement of Samuell do testifie their humiliation and repentance by a solemne fast wherein they drew as it were buckets of water from the fountaine of their hearts poured the same before the Lord saying We haue sinned against the Lord. Ezra when he vnderstood how the people of Israell had joyned in mariage with the heathen people contrarie to the law of God he prayed and fasted greatly mourning for the trasgression of the people And afterwards the people themselues were assembled with fasting with sackcloth and earth vpon them and hauing separated themselues from the strange wiues with whom they had beene mingled they confessed their sinnes and the iniquities of their fathers 14. But when as our sinne hath not only deserued the anger of God but also hath prouoked him either to threaten his judgements and as it were to lift vp his hand to
that fasteth for his sins and committeth them again who will heare his prayer or what doth his fasting helpe him 45. But for as much as Augustine saith It is but a slender fast to abstaine onely from sinne vnlesse we also adde good workes therefore wee must know it is our dutie especially on the day of the fast not only to eschew euill but also for the present to be exercised in well doing and for the time to come to purpose and to promise amendement The duties wherin we are to be exercised are both the duties of pietie and religion towards God which in the time of the fast are to be performed in a speciall manner and also the duties of loue and mercie towards our brethren as to execute true judgement to shew mercie and compassion euery man to his brother For is not this the fasting that I haue chosen sayth the Lord to loose the bands of wickednes to take off the heauie burthens and to let the oppressed goe free and that ye breake euery yoke Among the rest the dutie of almes-giuing and relieuing the poore is commended vnto vs as it followeth in the Prophet Is it not to deale the bread to the hungry and that thou bring the poore that wander vnto thine house When thou seest the naked that thou couer him and hide not thy selfe from thine owne flesh for so he calleth thy poore brother Then shall thy light breake forth c. then shalt thou call and the Lord will answere thou shalt crie and be will say here am I. If thou takest away from the middest of thee the yoke the putting foorth of the finger whereby is meant euen the least injuries and wicked speaking if thou poure out thy soule to the hungry that is if with the bowels of compassion thou doest relieue his need freely and chearefully and refresh the troubled soule then shall thy light spring out in the darkenesse and thy darkenesse shall be as the noone day that is thine aduersitie and affliction shall be turned into peace and prosperitie 46. Wherefore it hath beene and is the custome of the godly in the time of their fasts by doing workes of mercie and giuing almes to relieue the poore For as our Sauiour hath joyned the doctrine of these three together almes prayer and fasting so must we after the example of Cornelius joyne them in practise For as the Lord hath promised to shew mercie to the mercifull and to answere their crie so on the other side he that stoppeth his eare at the crying of the poore himselfe shall crie and not be heard And surely vnlesse we will fast for sparing after the manner of niggards who will be glad of so good a pretence to spare from their bellies to depriue their families of their ordinarie allowance for the increase of their worldly estate wee ought to giue so much to the poore as by our abstinence is saued Vt ieiunium tuum saith Ierome non sit lucrum marsupij sed saturitas animae that thy fast be not the gain of thy purse but the saturitie of thy soule For as Augustine sayth Then are our fasts acceptable to God when as they whom need doth force to fast are refreshed by vs. And againe Ieiunium tuum te castiget sed laetificet alterum Let thy fasting chastise thee but let it comfort another So fast that thou mayest be glad that thou hast dined in another that eateth by that meanes for the Lord loueth a chearefull giuer for when a poore man eateth of thine allowance in him Christ who affirmeth himselfe to be hungry in his poore members doth dine And elsewhere Accipiat esuriens Christus quod ieiunans minus accepit Christianus Let Christ being hungrie in his poore members receiue that which the fasting Christian hath spared Castigatio volentis fiat sustentatio non habentis Let the chastisement of him that hath and is willing to forbeare be the sustenance of him that hath not and faine would eat And to conclude Cyrill In a certaine booke sayth he we find it said of the Apostles Blessed is hee who fasteth to that end that he may feed the poore 47. And as we are thus for the present to be exercised so for the time to come we must vnfainedly purpose and faithfully promise amendement in performing duties heretofore omitted and in eschewing sinnes heretofore committed And to this purpose it shall bee needfull for the better setling of our resolution to bind our selues by a solemne vow and with the Iewes in the booke of Nehemiah to put our seales vnto it that so we may impose a necessitie vpon our selues of well doing and we are to know that it is a happie necessitie which forceth vs to better things The necessitie of this vnfained purpose to be had in this exercise is euident because without it wee remaine in our impenitencie And being impenitent sinners the Lord will not heare vs as the Lord threatened the impenitent Iewes When they fast sayth he I will not heare their crie Ierem. 14. And therefore vnlesse wee repent of our sinnes and resolue to amend this exercise which wee being suters vndertake for the obtaining of our sute is performed of vs in vaine For this wee are to know to be assured of That the Lord heareth not impenitent sinners Wherefore true is that saying though of an Apocryphall booke Prayer is good with fasting almes and righteousnesse 48. And thus we haue heard what the religious fast is and the parts also wherein it doth consist Now we are to consider the sorts of it for the religious fast is either priuat or publicke The priuat fast is that which is obserued priuatly as the fast of some one man or of a priuat familie And this is to be vndertaken either for priuat or publicke causes for priuat concerning either our selues and those that belong to vs so fasted Annah 1. Sam. 1. Cornelius Act. 10. Dauid 2. Sam. 12 or others as Dauid for those that prooued his enemies and Darius though an heathen for Daniell when he was cast into the Lyons den But we are to fast priuatly not onely vpon priuat occasions but much more vpon publicke causes For as it is the dutie of the faithfull priuatly to mourne for publicke calamities and common corruptions which ordinarily are the fore runners of common calamities so also they may fast therefore And such was the fast of Nehemiah chap. 1. and of Daniel chap. 9. In priuat fasts our Sauiour Christ requireth that they be so secretly performed as that vnto men we may not seeme to fast but onely to our heauenly father who seeing in secret will reward vs openly And for as much as the day of the fast hath the nature of a Sabbath wherein we are to cease from bodily labors and worldly businesse therefore those which bee vnder the gouernment of
plague ceased Which doth teach vs that the meanes to pacifie the wrath of God and to remooue the plague is to offer vp our heartie prayers vnto the Lord signified by incense in the name and mediation of Christ our high priest who standing before the altar with his golden Censer perfumeth the prayers of the faithfull with the odours of his owne sacrifice and maketh them acceptable vnto God And for the better humbling of our selues in prayer and testifying of our repentance it is very needfull that as in all other publick calamities so in this of the pestilence we vndertake this exercise of fasting Onely this we are to be admonished of That in places of infection the vtter abstinence from food is not so precisely to be vrged but that the people may yea ought to take something before they come abroad as a preseruatiue against infection 53. Lastly for the time of captiuitie we haue the example of the Iewes who during their captiuitie in Babylon obserued foure fasts in the yeare the first in the tenth moneth because on the tenth day of that moneth Nabuchadnezar with his armies began to besiege Ierusalem the second in the fourth moneth because on the ninth day of that moneth king Zedekiah and the men of warre flying out of the citie of Ierusalem were taken by the Chaldeans the third in the fift moneth because on the tenth day of that moneth the temple was ouerthrown and the citie sacked the fourth in the seuenth moneth because therein Gedaliah together with the Iewes and Chaldeans who were at Mispeh were slaine whereupon the rest of the Iewes who were left flying into Aegypt for feare of the Chaldees there was an vtter desolation in the land These fasts they took vpon them to obserue during their captiuitie that therein they calling to mind the former judgements of God as it were in foure degrees for their sinnes they might the better be humbled to implore the mercie of God for the time to come But when as these fasts by long custome grew ordinarie and many of the Iewes obserued them for custome rather than conscience insomuch that they thought this custome was to be obserued after their deliuerance frō captiuitie the cause of their mourning and consequently of their fasting being taken away and accordingly mooued that question Zach. 7 the Lord as he reprooueth their former hypocrisie in resting in the outward fast without repentance so he promiseth them for the time to come that if they would truly repent and walke in the obedience of his wayes their daies of fasting and mourning should be turned into daies of feasting and joy 54. From whence we are to obserue that if we according to the examples of the faithfull in the scriptures shall in the time of our distresse turne vnto the Lord with all our hearts and with fasting and prayer humble our selues before him the Lord will take away the cause of our mourning and turne our fasts into feasts The which I speake not as though this exercise had been altogether neglected among vs For to Gods glorie and to the stopping of our aduersaries mouths the Papists who know not what the true exercise of fasting meaneth it is to be acknowledged that howsoeuer we haue not beene so frequent in this exercise as were to be wished yet notwithstanding vpon diuerse publick occasions there haue beene publick fasts obserued and solemnized among vs with good and happie successe As for example in the time of the great plague Anno 1563 after the great earthquake Anno 1579 after intelligence had of the Spanish inuasion Anno 1588 in the time of the famine Anno 1596 and 1597 and now of late in this time of the pestilence Anno 1603. Besides the priuat and secret fasting of the faithfull as it hath pleased God to mooue them either by priuat or publicke occasions 55. The third thing to be obserued are the persons who when a publicke fast is proclaimed are to obserue it The Prophet Ioel besides those of yeares appointeth that the children euen those that sucke the breasts should be assembled to the fast And the Niniuits proclamation for obseruing the fast was extended not onely to all men women and children but also to their cattell The reason whereof was twofold first that the pitifull sight and lamentable crie of the children and cattell might encrease their sorrow and secondly that they might be brought to a deeper sight and more serious acknowledgement of the heinousnesse of their sinne which had pulled vpon them such an vniuersall judgement of God as should not onely afflict themselues but also extend to the very infants yea and to the bruit beasts But this practise is to bee reckoned among the ceremonies which in those times were vsed to augment their sorrow and increase the sence of their sinne and is no more to be imitated of vs than their sitting in the ashes the renting of their cloths their girding of themselues with sackcloth their putting of earth vpon their heads and such like among vs the Lord requireth no more to obserue the outward fast than such as by reason of their vnderstanding and discretion may the better be fitted thereby to humble themselues before him in this solemne exercise of prayer and repentance For the outward fast obserued as it is ordinarily among the Papists without any exercise of religion concurring therewith is nothing worth But to all those that are come to yeares of discretion and are exempted by some present necessitie is the equitie of that law to be extended Leui. 23. Euerie person that humbleth not himselfe on the Sabbath of humiliation shall euen be cut off from his people 56. There remaineth the fourth and last thing viz. how the publicke fast is to be obserued And this also I signified in the definition when I sayd it is to be sanctified both publickly and priuatly as a Sabbath of humiliation Where three things are to bee noted for first when as I say it is to be obserued as a Sabbath which before hath bene proued we are to vnderstand that therein a double rest is required the one outward from bodily labours and worldly businesse the other inward from sinne And contrariwise that the profanation of this Sabbath is condemned whether it be by neglecting the outward rest and imploying the time in bodily labours and worldly affaires or else by abusing our rest either to idlenesse or to vanitie or to sinne To idlenesse when men resting in the outward rest imagining that nothing else is required at their hands do nothing and by doing nothing they do euill as appeareth by the disjunction included in that question of our Sauiour Christ Luke 6 Is it lawfull on the Sabbath dayes to do good or to do euill Whereby our Sauiour plainly signifieth that if we do not good on the Sabbath day we do euill To vanitie when as men giue themselues to sports and