THE booke of the Psalmes is a booke Sapientall: set foorth vnto vs by the holy Ghost, and doth serue for manie and diuers purposes. Someof the Psalms serue formu­sicke, as we may know by their ti­tle. Some for Praiers, some for Thanksgiuing, some for Consola­tion, some for Doctrine, some for Prophecie, & some for Storie. All to this end and purpose, to giue vnto vs present remedies against troubles and temptations of the mind and conscience, and to make vs liue in the true faith, feare and loue of the Lord.

[Page 2] Dauid the sonne of Ishai, a man according to Gods owne heart, was called the sweet Psalmist of Israel; who not onely made Psalmes himselfe, but ordained wise and skilfull men to make Psalmes, and to prophecie with all kind of instruments, as Asaph, and his sonnes: Corah, & his sons: Heman, and his sonnes: Ieduthan, and his sonnes. Which Psalmes, or prayses according to the He­brewes, were chiefly ordained to praise God, & to giue him thanks for his blessings and benefits; and are called the Psalmes or the songs of Dauid, because the most part of them were made by him.

This Psalme, in which my text is contained, was made by Dauid, and is called [...], a wishing song or Psalme: and of Apollinarius, [...], a song of a conuer­ted heart; & it doeth containe spe­cially two parts: First, a Petition from the 1. verse to the 30. Se­condly, a praise-full conclusion frō the 30. verse to the end of the [Page 3] Psalme. For the Prophet Dauid being atype of Christ giuē of God, doeth séeme to haue written this Psalme in the name of Christ and of his Church, euen as the Euan­gelicall historie doeth shew it; & as the Apostles thēselues do apply it.

These words which I haue read vnto you being written in the 10. verse, doe containe in them two parts, 1. An Aaction of Dauid. 2. A construction of that Action by o­thers. An action of Dauid, consi­sting of his Passion & Mortifica­tion. Of his passiō, in these words, I wept. Of his mortificatiō, in these words, And chastened my selfe with fasting. The construction of the Actiō, in these words; And this was turned to my reproofe.

I wept (saith Dauid). He wept not heere as he did for Abner, or as hee did for the death of his sonne Am­mon. He wept not here as hee did when he fled from his sonne Abso­lon, or as hee did for the death of his sonne Absolon▪ Hee wept not heere as Iacob did for his sonne [Page 4] Iosep, or as Ezekiah did when hee heard he should die; but hee wept here as Peter did when he had de­nied his master, and as Josiah did when he heard the words of the booke of the Law. Hee wept with care, with compunction, and with contrition of heart, for his sinnes and offences committed against the Lord, euen as hee did in Psalm. 6. 6. where he saith: Eue­rie night wash I my bed, and water my couch with my teares.

I wept, saith Dauid, being a Pro­phet, a Prince, and the seruant of the Lord. A thing not vnfitting, nor vnseemely for a Prophet, a Prince, & the seruant of the Lord in such a case. Because such kind of waeping is a signe of true and heartie repentance; It is the fruit of passion, a token of a broken heart, and (as S. Basill saith,) the food of the soule. And therefore the Lord himselfe saith by his Prophet Ioel 2. 12. Turne vnto me (saith hee) with all your heart, and with Fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning. And our Sauiour Christ himselfe [Page 5] saith Luke 6. 21. Blessed are yee that now weepe, for ye shall laugh. And the Apostle S. Iames saith to the wic­ked rich men, Chap. 5. 1. Goe to now, ye rich men, weepe and howle for your miseries that shall come vpon you.

And chastened my selfe with fasting▪ Insome translations, I wept, & my soule fasted: as it is in Psal. 35. 13. Leuit. 23. 27. And as Apollinarius vp­on this Psalme saith:

I haue broken or subdued my soule with the labours or sweates of fasting.

The Propher Dauid not onely wept, and shewed his passion, but chastened himselfe with fasting, & shewed his Mortification. So did the Apostle S. Paul, as he himselfe writeth, 1. Cor. 9. 27. But I doe cha­sten and beate downe this my bodie, and bring it into subiection: why? Lest when I haue Preached to others, I my selfe should be reproued. So did the Prophet Daniel, as wee may read, Cha. 10. 3. where he saith: I was in heauinesse for three weeks of daies. I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine into my mouth. So did [Page 6] that blessed Hilarion, as S. Hierom writeth in his life, who would say vnto his bodie, thus, as S. Hie­rom there relateth: Ego (Asine) faci­am te vt non calcitres. O thou Asse, (said Hilarion to his bodie) I will make thee that thou kicke not. I will feed thee, not with barlie, but with chaff. J will tyre thee with hunger, J will load thee with great thrist, I will bring thee ouer heats & coldes, that thou shalt ra­ther thinke vpon thy meate than wan­tonnesse.

Wherewith did the Prophet Dauid chasten himself? with fasting. I wept, and chastened my selfe with fa­sting. So he did in Psalme 109. 23. where he saith: My knees are weake through fasting, & my flesh is dried vp for lacke of fatnesse. So did the chil­dren of Israel in the house of the Lord. Judg. 20. 26. So did Anna the daughter of Phanuel in the Temple of the Lord. Luke 2. 37. So Dauid and his men wept and fasted till euen, for Saul and for Ionathan his sonne, for the people of the Lord, and for the house of Is­rael, [Page 7] because they were slaine with the sword, 2. Sam. 1. 12. And so Dauid himselfe fasted, praied, and lay all night vpon the earth for the childs life. 2. Samuel 12. 16.

Some thinke that abstinence and fasting are one and the same, because they are both imployed a­bout the same matter, and manie times the one is taken for the o­ther. And some thinke that to fast, is nothing else but to liue soberly and conueniently to nature. Ab­stinence euen as temperance, doth bind euery man to keepe and ob­serue it. For as it is not sit for any man at any time to liue intempe­rately, so it is not meet for any mā to admit that which is against true abstinence, because we ought to eate and drinke no more than reason willeth, or necessitie of na­ture requireth.

Fasting doeth not bind all, nor alwayes, but some onely in their time and place. For most certaine it is that our Sauiour Christ and [Page 8] his Apostles, with many others both before and after them liued soberlie and conueniently to na­ture, and yet they not alwayes fa­sted. For if they had alwayes fa­sted, our Sauiour Christ would neuer haue said: The bridegroome Luke 3. 25. shall bee taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those dayes.

And that was turned to my reproofe, Here is the Construction. Dauid was reproued for his wéeping, and for chastening himselfe with fa­sting. By whom? By his enemies, who would destroy him guiltlesse, and were mightie. Psal. 69. 4. By his enemies, who spake against him, tested vpon him, and being drunke, made songs vpon him. It hath not alwayes bene a fault, but a fashion for wicked men to re­prooue and reprehend vertue & ve­ritie in good men. And therefore Iudas grudged at Mary Magdalen for breaking of the bore of oint­ment, and for powring it on Jesus head Mark. 14. 4. The Pharisees [Page 9] reproued Christs Disciples to his face for plucking the eares of Corne vpon the Sabbaoth day, Matth. 12, 1. And our Sauiour Christ himselfe was mocked, scof­fed at, scorned, scandalized, re­proched, reproued and reuiled by the Jewes, by the Scribes, and others, and told that he was a friend to Publicanes and sin­ners, and that hee had in him Bel­zebub the prince of the Deuils. Marke 3. 22.

In the time of the heathen, the Cynicke Diogenes despised all things: the Philosopher Democritus laughed at all things: the Philosopher Heraclitus wept at all things: the Philosopher Aristotle thought hee knew all things: and the carping god Momus blamed and reprooued all things. Enuie and reproofe doe alwaies waite at vertues elbow. For Isboseth shall neuer want a man in his owne campe, Elah a seruant in his owne house, and Dauid a sonne [Page 10] from his owne loines, besides Achitophels, Doegs, and Shimees, not onely to reproue him & reprehend him, but to worke treason and treacherie against him. And ther­fore the Orator saith well in his first Paradoxe, Ista omnia talia videmus: We see all such things, that also wicked men haue wealth, and do hurt the good. And the Prophet Dauid saith truly, Psalm. 11. 2. The vngodly bend their bowe, and make readie their arrowes within their quiuer, that they may pri­uily shoote at them which are true of heart. Thus much of the Phrase. The Matter, as I said before, is an Actiō of Dauid consisting of his Passiō, and his Mortification: & a Cōstruction of that Action by o­thers. In the Actiō, I haue thoght good to obserue these fiue parti­culars.

• 1. What Fasting is.
• 2. How manie sorts of Fasting there are.
• 3. The effects of Fasting.
• 4. The causes of fasting.
• 5. The antiquitie, dignitie and ne­cessitie of Fasting.

[Page 11]In the Construction of the Ac­tion I haue thought good to ob­serue three Particulars, and two Questions.

• The 1. Particular, what Lent is.
• 2. By whom it was first ordained.
• 3. To what end and purpose it was ordained.

The 1. Question; Whether set daies, and times of abstinence and fasting, ought to bee commaunded by au­thoritie.

The other Question: Whether it bee a sinne wilfully to breake and to despise set dayes and times of absti­nence and fasting commaunded by authoritie.

Fasting (as some define it) is a proper acte of Abstinence, or a cer­taine peculiar manner of Austi­nence. As other some define it, It is a Parsimonie of liuing, and an Ab­stinence of meates. Tertullian saith: That it is a worke of reuerence towards God.

Gregorie lib 5. Moral. saith: That it is, Quando quis pro amore Dei, &c. When any one for the loue of God and [Page 12] his owne health doeth abstaine, not onely from things vnlawfull, but from things lawfull and graunted.

That reuerend Bishop Iewel of Salisbury of famous memory, saith: That it is a religious worke ordained to testifie our humilitie▪ and to make the flesh the more obedient to the Spirit, that wee may bee the quicker to Praier and to all good works. A late excel­lent and exquisite Diuine of ours, saith: That it is an helpe and furthe­rance Perkins Reform. Cathol. pag. 222. to the worship of God, & a good worke if it be vsed in a good manner. For (saith he) it is a worke allowed of God, and highly to be esteemed of all his people and his seruants. The Greckes will haue it to be called [...], of [...] and [...] of not eating, or of eating nothing at all. And the Latines will haue it to bee called Ieiunium, ab intestino ieiuno, because with hunger the bowels are voyd and empty.

In the holy Scripture wee find 4 sorts of fasts.

• 1. A miraculous fast.
• 2. A fast from euill works.
• [Page 13]3. A penitenciall fast.
• 4. A fast from surfetting,

Moses, Elias, and our Sauiour Christ himselfe vsed the Miracu­lous fast; for they fasted 40. dayes and forty nights.

Of the fast from Euil works, the Prophet Esay writeth, Chap. 58. 5. Nunquid est tale ieiunium quod elegi, &c. Js it such a fast that I haue chosen, that a man should afflict his soule for a day, and to bow downe his head? &c.

Of the Penitentiall fast, wee read in the third Chapter of Ionas, the seuenth verse: where the king of the Niniuites at the preach­ing of Ionas proclaimed a fast in these words, Let neither man nor beast, bullocke nor sheepe taste any thing, neither feede nor drinke wa­ter.

Of the fast frō Surfetting, our Sauiour Christ himselfe spea­keth Luke 21. 34. Take heed (saith hee) to your seiues, lest at any time your hearts bee oppressed with surfet­ting and drunkennesse.

[Page 14]Some there bee that make two sorts of fasts.

• A Publike fast.
• And a Priuate fast.

A Publike fast, is that which is per­formed and vsed according to the Prescription of law, the Comman­dement of the superiour, and the Custome of the countrey.

A Priuate fast, is that which is done voluntarily without any constraint or compulsion of the Law.

Some there bee, that make 4. sorts of fasts.

• 1. a Mosaicall fast.
• 2. An Euangelicall or Ecclesiastical fast.
• 3. A couetous fast.
• 4. A Philosophers fast.

Some there be that make 4. other sorts of fasts.

• 1. A Spirituall fast from sinne.
• 2. A corporall fast from eating and drinking.
• 3. A fast of necessitie.
• 4. A Christian and Religious fast.

Of the Spirituali fast from sinne, [Page 15] we doe read in the 7. Chap. of the Prophet Zacharie, the 5. 6. 7. verses.

A Corporall fast from eating and drinking, is of 3. sorts.

• 1. Naturall.
• 2. Super-naturall.
• 3. Ciuill or Politike.

Naturall is that, which is pre­scribed by Physicke, for healths sake.

Super-naturall, is as the pro­hibition of Saul, which Ionathan was angry with, because the people waxed faint.

Ciuill or politike, is that which is for the generall good and bene­fit of the whole Common weale.

A fast of Necessite, is that which we cannot auoid, as in the time of dearth. That great Schooleman Aquinas doth call this fast, Ieiunium ieiunij, a fast, of a fast: because the earth forbeareth her fruits, we for­beare food, and would eate, if wee had it.

A Christian or Religious fast, is either Common, or ordinarie; Speciall, or extraordinary.

[Page 16]Some there be that make seuen sorts of fasts, which be these.

• 1. A Pharasaicall fast.
• 2. A gluttonous fast.
• 3. A deceitfull fast.
• 4. An inordinate fast.
• 5. A superstitious fast.
• 6. An hereticall fast.
• and 7. a diuelish or satanicall fast.

A Pharasaicall fast, is to fast with hypocrisie and dissimulation, to get an applause and opinion of holinesse among the people, of which Christ himselfe speaketh in Matth. 6. 16. Moreouer when you fast, looke not sowre as the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces, that they might seeme vnto men to fast.

A Gluttonous fast, is not to keepe the lawes of due temperance in fasting. Of which S. Hierome writeth in his 2. lib. against Iouinian: where some (saith hee) which were to fast, the Dinner or Supper be­fore they began their fast, would eate so much that they were not well able to digest it in two dayes after.

[Page 17] A Deceitfull fast is to vse wine, or any other meate or drinke before or after meales, vt fallamus ieiunium, that wee may deceaue or cosen our fast.

An Inordinate fast, is to keepe no order of Christian charitie and wisedome, but to passe ouer the meane of reason, as well in kée­ping it, as in leauing it.

A Superstitious fast, is to apply ones selfe rather to the manners of the Jewes, the Saracens & the Mahumetans, then of the Chri­stians; or to thinke one selfe not well to haue fasted, if one breake his fast before the starres appeare in the night. Or to fast in dayes exempt from fasting by the lawes and custome of this Land, not with any good or godly cause, but with contempt and disdaine of them.

An Hereticall fast, is to fast with the custome and minde of the Ma­nichêes, Nouatians, & other He­retikes; or doubtfully to obserue [Page 18] times which they out of a certaine error haue consecrated to fasting.

A diuelish, a satanicall fast, is to obey the law of fasting, and yet to make no end of sinning, but to continue and perseuere in the wic­ked custome and delight thereof.

A rare and renowmed Diuine of ours, whose iudgement is best to be followed in this matter, doth make thrée sorts of fastings:

• 1. A Morall.
• 2. A Ciuill.
• 3. A Religious fast.

Morall fasting, is the practise of sobrietie and temperance: when as in the vse of meates & drinkes, the appetite is so restrained, that it doeth not exceed moderation.

Ciuill fasting, is when vpon some particular and politike con­siderations, men abstaine from certaine meates. As in this our common weale, the lawe doth en­ioyne vs to abstaine from flesh meate in this time of Lent, vpon Fridayes and Saterdayes, and other times of the yéere.

[Page 19]A Religious fast is, when the dueties of Religion are practised in fasting; as the exercise of Praier and humiliation.

The effects of Fasting, are ei­ther speciall for our selues, or ge­nerall for the whole Common­weale. Speciall for our selues; to bridle the wantonnesse of the flesh, and to make it the quicker to Praier, and to all good workes. General for the whole Common­weale, to preserue the brêed of cattle, to maintaine the Princes nauie, and the Calling of the Fish­erman.

And the like is affirmed by our moderne Diuines, that the Prin­cipall and right ends of fasting are thrée.

1. To make the mind the more attentiue in the meditation of the dueties of godlinesse to bee per­formed.

2. That the rebellion of the flesh may bee subdued: For the flesh be­being pampered, becomes an in­strument of all, and all licentious­nesse▪

[Page 20]3. To professe our guiltinesse, and to testifie our humilation before GOD, for our sinnes and offences committed against him.

This is proued by many places of Scripture, as Numb. 30. 14. E­say 5. 11. Rom. 14. 21. where the A­postle saith: Non est bonum, It is not good, neither to eat flesh nor drinke wine, whereby thy brother stumbleth or is offended.

This is proued by many exam­ples of the Scripture, as of Dauid, Daniel, Tobias, Cornelius, Paul, and others.

This is proued by the testimo­nie of the ancient fathers, and especially these: of that learned father Saint Austin, lib. 3. Chap. 5. against Faustus, where hee saith: Non ideo carnes prohibentur quia malae sunt, sed quia illarum epulae carnis lux­uriam gignunt. Flesh is not therefore Ser. 66. sup. Cant. forbidden because it is ill, but because the banquetting thereof breedeth riot. Of S. Bernard, who saith: Abstineo à carnibus, &c. I doe abstaine from [Page 21] flesh, lest whiles I doe too much nourish the flesh, I doe also nourish the vices of the flesh. And of Chri­sostome in his seuenth Homilie vp­on the first Chapter of Genesis, to­wards the latter end of the Ho­milie, where hee saith: Abstinen­tia propter hoc recepta est. Abstinence is for this cause receiued, that it may bridle the wantonnesse and riot of the flesh.

The causes of fasting are many, and specially 4.

• 1. The Holy Ghost.
• 2. The Commandement of God.
• 3. Faith.
• 4. Repentance.

The Holy Ghost is the cause, for three reasons.

1. Because by Nature wee are giuen to gluttony and drunken­nesse, which naturall vices wee doe not leaue without the grace of the holy Ghost.

[Page 22]2. Because it is not sufficent to abstaine from gluttony and drun­kennesse, vnlesse the heart doeth also cōsent thereunto. 3 Because Fasting is a good worke, and all good workes are the fruits of the holy Ghost. Gal. 5. 22.

The Commandement of God, is the cause, for 2. reasons. 1. Be­cause it is expressed in the Com­mandement of the Lord, that wee should abstaine from gluttony and drunkennesse. 2. Because the Lord by his commandement doth require of vs such Abstinence, and forbids the contrary.

Faith is the cause; because with­out faith it can not bee well done, nor acceptable vnto the Lord. For whatsoeuer is without faith, is sinne: and without faith it is impossible to please God.

Repentance is the cause: because fasting is a true signe thereof, and an outward meanes whereby wee doe acknowledge our guiltinesse and vnworthinesse of the least be­nefits of Almightie God. And [Page 23] therefore the fasting of the Nini­uites was a signe of their repen­tance; and their repentance a signe and fruite of their faith, whereby they beleeued the prea­ching of Ionas.

Thus much what fasting is: How many sorts of fastings there are: Of the Effects of fasting: and the Causes of fasting. Now of the Antiquitie, Dignitie & Necessitie of fasting.

Fasting is no new inuention, nor any late vpstart. The Antiquitie of it doeth make it venerable; and the Perpetuitie of it vntil this day doeth highly grace it. Some haue deriued it from Paradise, & made it as auncient as the first man A­dam. For the forbidding of the tree of knowledge of good and e­uill, they say was a law of Absti­nence.

The Stories of Gentilitie and Poetry, doe shewe the Antiquitie of fasting most plainely. For Ceres had her fast, Iupiter his fast, and Priamus in Homer bewailes the [Page 24] death of his sonne Hector with fa­sting, and in dust. Besides, the Patriarkes vsed it, the Prophets for­sooke it not, and our Sauiour Christ and his Disciples departed not from it.

The Dignitie of fasting is great, eminent, and very excellent: for it is the exercise of nature, theprac­tise of Gentilitie, & the Law and the Gospel of Christ himselfe. It is comfortable, Diuine, Medici­nable, Spirituall, wholesome, and an instrument to euerie good work. It doeth administer wisedome, it doeth extinguish the wicked de­sires of the flesh, doeth lift vp the mind to heauen, it doth vnit man with God, and as Tertullian sayth, It doeth cast out deuils. Nay our Sauiour Christ himselfe so sayth, as wee may read in Matth. 17. 21. where it is said; This kind of de­uils is not cast out but by Fasting and Praier.

It is strange to see what the an­cient fathers haue written of fa­sting, [Page 25] & how much they haue attri­buted thereunto. Athanasius saith, Lib. de Virg. That it is the meate of the Angels, and that hee who doeth vse it, is to bee thought of Angelicall order: Great (sayth hée) is the force of Fasting. Great things and excellent things are done by it. Basil saith thereof thus: Ie­iunium Ser. 1. de Ieiu. Prophetas ingenerat, &c. Fasting doeth breed Prophets, and doeth adde strength to the mightie. In warres it doeth adde fortitude: in peace, it doeth teach quietnesse.

And that I may speake in a word, as many holy Fathers as haue béene, thou shalt finde them all to bee directed and guided to leade a life worthy of God, by abstinence and fasting. Isydorus sayth of it thus: Est res sancta, opus coeleste, &c. It is an holy thing, an heauenly worke, a gate of the kingdome, a forme of the king­dome to come: and hee that doeth it well and holily, is alienated from the world, is made spirituall, and is ioyned to God.

[Page 26]The Necessitie of fasting is such and so great, that in this our com­mon weale, set dayes and times of Abstinence and fasting, are ap­pointed for ciuill and politike re­spects; and (as I said before) to maintaine the Princes Nauy, to preserue the breed of Cattell, and the calling of the Fisherman.

Of this, I will say euen as a zea­lous and Religious Diuine of ours saith in the conclusion of the 12. point of Fasting: It were (saith he) to bee wished, that fasting were more vsed of all Christians, in all places: considering the Lord doeth daily giue Perkins Refor. Ca­thol. pag. 231. vs new and speciall occasions of publike and priuate fasting. These words of our Diuine we find to be true: for the All-great, and Euer-gratious GOD of Heauen, hath of late giuen vnto vs new and speciall oc­casions of both priuate and pu­blike fasting.

You know, how after the death and dissolution of our late Soue­raigne of happy memory Queene Elizabeth, wee all feared great tro­bles [Page 27] and tumults to arise amongst vs: And yet we saw that our peace and prosperitie was not eclipsed, by reason of our good and godly King, whom the louing Lord of Heauen hath placed vpon the seat of this kingdome, to rule his peo­ple with a wise and prudent heart.

You know, how the Almightie Lord hath shaken the sword of the deuouring Angell manie yeeres together vpō the Citie of London, and vpon most cities, townes, and villages of this Land, to rowse vs vp (if it might be) from the sleepe of sinne and securitie, and to make vs humble our selues vnto him with fasting, prayer and repen­tance. You know how mightily and miraculously the same Lord hath deliuered vs out of the very iawes of death and destruction; and from a treason, What treason? A treason of such horror and monstrous nature, that the tongue of man neuer deliuered the like, the eare of man neuer heard the like, the heart of man [Page 28] neuer conceited the like, and the malice of any earthly and infernall deuill neuer practised the like.

And you know also, how this great Lord hath made the seas & the waters but this last yeere to rage and to rore vpon this Land, with vnheard & vnséen flowings, inundations and risings, to the drowning of Corne and Cattle, Men, women and childrē, yea, and of whole Parishes. If now wee doe not conuert from our wicked waies, and giue our selues to fa­sting, praier and amendement of our liues, surely, surely, some hea­uie, yet iust iudgements, yea, some great and grieuous plagues and punishments are like to come vpon vs; which God for his mer­cies sake, Christ for his merits sake, and the Holy Ghost for his Names sake, withdrawe, with­hold, and keepe from vs. Thus much of the fiue Particulars ob­serued in the Action. Now of the three Particulars and the 2. Que­stiōs obserued in the Construction. [Page 29] What Lent is. The name of Lent was not at first idely giuen, nor without great reason & graue consideration. For it doeth signi­fie a time of forty daies, according to the Greeke and Latine denomi­nation.

Men in ancient times haue re­uerenced this number of 40. with so great obseruation, that they ce­lebrated a feast thereof which they called [...], a feast of forty daies. This number of fortie hath not lightly bêen neglected, nor lewdly, nor loosely beene reiected, because it was thought a mysticall and wholesome number, and verie sig­nificant in the religiō of expiation, penitencie & great mysteries. For forty daies and forty nights the Gen. 7. 4. raine was vpon the earth. After forty daies the waters ceased, and Gen. 8. 6. Noe opened the windowes of the Ark which he had made. Moses was in the mount, how long? 40. daies Exod. 24. 18. and 40. nights. The destruction of the Niniuites was deferred, how long? till after forty daies.

[Page 30]The children of Israel had 40. man­sions in the wildernesse. The chil­dren of Israel were 40. yeeres in the wildernesse, and before the time of that mysticall number was out, they could not enter into the land of promise. Moses, Elias, and Christ Of this number see, Gen. 6. 3. and 18. 29. himselfe fasted 40. dayes and forty nights. Our Sauiour Christ was forty weekes in the wombe of the blessed Virgin. Forty dayes from Numb. 18. 34. & 33. 38 & 13. 26. his Natiuity he remained in Beth­leem, because he was offred in the Temple. Forty moneths hee Leuit. 12 4 preached publikely. Forty houres he lay in his Sepulchre, and the fortieth day after his Resurrectiō he ascended into Heauen.

Al which, some Diuines in times past haue written not to bee done without the secret mysterie and proprietie of this number. Also, this number of forty, is a number of affliction and repentance, and therefore the Prophet Ezekiel slept fortie dayes vpon his right side for the tribe of Juda.

S. Austen doeth call the time of [Page 31] Lent, tempus venerabile, a venerable Ezek. 4. 6. Ser. in Sab. ante Qua­drag. time. S. Bernard doeth call it, tempus Christianae militiae, A time of a Christian warfare. Gratian and others of the Ser. 1. de Quadrag. Part 3. di­stinct. 5. fol. 579. ancient fathers doe call it, Decima dierum, the tenth of the dayes; Or the imitation of Gods conuersation: be­cause in it wee doe pay vnto God the tenths of the yeare.

Some of the ancient fathers haue gone so farre, that they haue thought Lent not to be an humane institution, but a diuine and Apo­stolicall tradition, and first broght into the Church by y ^e Apostle Peter. Where as likely & somewhat pro­bable it is, that the first Institutiō of Lent was by Telesphorus, the 6. Pope in Rome, as some doe rec­kon him, a thousand foure hun­dred and three score yeares since and more. For this Telesphorus first Platyna in vit. Teles­phori. ordained that full seuen weekes before Easter all Clarkes should fast frō flesh, because (as they then thought) there ought to be a diffe­rence in fasting, euen as the life of the Clergie ought to bee differing [Page 32] from the life of the Laitie, which time was called Quinquagesima, as Gratian writeth, 1. part. distinct. 5.

This time of Lent in ancient times hath beene diuersly begun, diuersly obserued, and about it there haue beene diuers tontenti­ons and controuersies. The Ea­sterne Church beganne their Lent on Quinquagesima. Other some be­ganne it on Sexagesima, as in the time of Bede. Some other on Quadragesima, as Mediolanum, & all Greece. Some vpō Ashe-wensday, and some vpon an other time.

This time, in times past also hath bin diuersly obserued. Some in this time haue abstained from all things which had life in them, as Pythagoras did. Some haue ea­ten onely birds. Some haue eaten onely fishes. Some haue abstai­ned from egges and all kinde of flesh meate; And some haue eaten nothing but dry meate, as Socrates doeth write, lib. 9. Chap. 38.

There haue beene also diuers contentions and controuersies a­bout the continuance of this time [Page 33] how long it should be fasted: when some would fast but one day, some two daies, some a weeke, some 2. weeks, some more, & some 40. daies as Ierenaeus writeth, lib. 5. Chap. 24.

By reason of these differences and diuersities about this time of Lent, and because this time was first ordained and cōfirmed in the Church of Rome, and yet is speci­ally obserued therein: some there be that count this time a time of superstition, & would haue no Lent at all, scorning in very lawfull pol­licies to be imitators of the Papa­cie; and like self-witted Captaines disdaining to vse any stratageme vsed before of the enemy, althogh the putting of it in exploit might giue them assured victory.

To such kind of people, that may well and truely be said, which our Kings most excellent Maiestie spake at the conference at Hampton Court. No Church (said his Maiesty) ought farther to separate it self from the Church of Rome, either in doctrine, or in ceremony, then she hath departed frō her self, when she was in her flourishing [Page 34] Or that which reuerend Hooker doeth write in his 5. lib. of Ecclesi. Poll. It is not our best pollicie (saith he) for the establishment of sound Religion, in all things to haue no agreement with the Church of Rome, although vnsound.

The end and purpose why and wherefore Lent was first ordai­ned, was, not onely to preserue the breede of Cattell, to maintaine the Princes Nauie, and the Calling of the Fisherman, but especially for the worthy receiuing of the blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist [...]. or Lords Supper. For in the be­ginning of the primatiue Church, many came to the holy mysteries promiscuously without any prepa­ration. Which when the ancient fathers vnderstood, and saw the great harme and hurt that did a­rise of that negligent comming to that holy Table, they established a Preparatiō or Correctiō, & decreed forty dayes of fasting, praying, hearing of the Word of God, and comming to the Church: that in those dayes the people being dili­gently [Page 35] purged by praier, by fasting, by reares, by compassion, and by other such meanes, they might come to these holy mysteries with purer consciences and better deuotion.

The time of Lent was ordained at this time of the yeere, in the Spring time, for three reasons.

1. By reason of heate encreasing, and abundance of humors or moi­sture growing or comming on.

2. To preserue brêed and en­crease: because at this time there is a generall bréed and encrease of all things,

3. Because of the feast of the Lords Resurrection, which requi­reth a peculiar Preparation. For the general receiuing of the Eucha­rist or Lords Supper, did alwaies fall out in the spring time.

I might speake more and much of these Particulars, but I will conclude them with the saying of a worthy & praise▪ worthie Knight in a booke which he writeth of the relation of the religion of the west [Page 36] parts of the world, where he saith thus: I am so far off (saith he) from thinking the instutition of Lēt to be su­perfluous, or the restraint in it vnprofi­table, that I rather encline to the cu­stome of the Greeke Church, who be­sides their great Lent, haue three other Lents also in the yeere, though the other neither so long, nor in them so strict an obseruation. Thus much of the 3. Particulars. Now of the two Questions. The first Question.

Whether set daies and times of absti­nence and fasting ought to be comman­ded by authoritie.

Fastings are either of mens own frée & voluntary accord, as their particular deuotion doeth mooue them thereunto; or els they are publikely enioyned in the Church, and required at the hands of all men, Montanus (as Eusebius writeth) was the first author of these ap­pointed times of fasting, & of this [...], of this set lawe-making of fasting. For which cause manie there bee that reiect and renounce the same. But most certaine and assured it is, that set daies and [Page 37] times of fasting appointed in spi­rituall considerations to bee kept of Christian people, tooke not their beginning either from Montanus, or frō any other whose heresies may preiudice the credit & due estimati­on thereof, but haue their ground in the law of nature; are allowable in Gods sight, were in all ages heeretofore vsed, and may till the worlds end be obserued, not with­out singular vse and benefit.

They haue their ground in the law of nature, because they teach vs to kéepe order and moderation, sobrietie and temperance in our meates and drinkes. For nature doeth content her selfe with a litle. Nature is our best guide, which if we follow, we shal neuer go astray. And therefore Cyneas the Philoso­pher was of this opiniō, that when the gods framed Nature, they went beyond their owne skil, why? because the maker (quoth hee) is subiect to y ^e thing made. They are allowable in Gods sight, because they are daies partly of pēsiue hu­miliation and sorrow, and partly [Page 38] a signe of duety, deuotion, and re­uerence towards God.

They were in all ages héereto­fore vsed for preuention of disor­ders and riot, for the preseruation of Cattell, and the maintenance of Sea-faring men, because the decay of the one, and the waste of the other, could not well bee pre­uented without such politike order and consideration.

They may till the worlds end be obseruéd not without singular vse & benefit, because they draw men to penitency, to temperance, to so­briety, to all Christian duety and deuotion, and to the generall good, and publike profit of the whole Common-weale.

Some there bre that would proue set dayes and times of Ab­stinence and fasting out of the Scripture, and specially out of these places; Leuit. 16. 29. The tenth day of the seuenth moneth, ye shal hum­ble your soules. Leuit. 23. 27. The tenth day of this seuenth moneth, shal be a day of reconciliation. And Zach. 7. 5. [Page 39] When yee fasted and mourned in the 5. and 7. moneth.

Trueth it is, that these set and prescribed fasts in Leuiticus were commanded of God, as a part of a legall worship, which had their end in the death of Christ. And trueth it is also that the fasts spo­ken of by the Prophet Zacharie were appointed vpon occasion of the present afflictions of the Church in Babilon, which ceased vpon their deliuerance. But our set dayes and times of Abstinence and fa­sting are appointed and comman­ded to be obserued, not for consci­ence or religions sake, but for Ci­uill and Politike regards; and not for the priuate good, but for the generall good of the whole Com­mon-weale. Which if they were left to the peoples owne choise, li­bertie and will, it may soone bee coniectured what would follow thereof: because the corruption of the time is such, and the wickednes of mans nature is so exorbitant, that it is a hard matter to hold the [Page 40] ordinarie sort of people within the lists of duetie, obedience, and good order, without the cōmandement of the superiour, and the seueritie of good lawes. For which cause very necessary it is, yea a good and godly thing it is, that set daies & times of abstinence and fasting should be appointed and comman­ded by authoritie. Which no one will dislike or disdaine, vnlesse hee bee like vnto Aerius, who opposed himselfe against fasting, and said: These set fasts away with them, they are Ephipha. haer. 75. Iewish, and bring men vnder the yoke of seruitude. If I will fast, let me chuse my time to fast, that Christian liber­tie be not abridged.

I might prosecute this Question more at large, but I hope euerie charitable Christian, and equally-minded man and woman is heere­in satisfied. And therefore I will conclude it with this argument or this syllogisme.

• Whatsoeuer is for the general good and publike profit of the whole Cōmon­weale, [Page 41] that ought to bee appointed and commanded by authoritie:
• But set dayes and times of Abstinence and fasting are for the generall good and publike profit of the whole Common-weale.
• Therefore they ought to bee appointed and commanded by authoritie.