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<DATE>2014-06-12</DATE>
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<NAME>Simon Charles</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>A BRIEF and PRACTICAL DISCOURSE OF ABSTINENCE In Time of LENT. Wherein is &s;hewed The popular MISTAKE and ABUSE of the Word SUPERSTITION. Preached at the Cathedral of St. PATRICK DUBLIN on <HI>A&s;hwedne&s;day March</HI> 1. 1681/2.</P>
<P>BY <HI>PETER MANBY</HI> Dean of <HI>DERRY</HI></P>
<P><HI>D&V;BLIN,</HI> Printed by <HI>Jo&s;eph Ray</HI> at <HI>College-Green,</HI> for <HI>William Winter</HI> Book&s;eller at the Sign of the Lord Primates Head in <HI>Ca&s;tle-&s;treet.</HI> And are to be &s;old by the re&s;t of the Book|&s;ellers. M.DC.LXXXII.</P>
<PB REF="2">
</DIV1>
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<DIV1 TYPE="discourse">
<PB N="3" REF="2">
<HEAD>A brief and practical Di&s;cour&s;e of ABSTINENCE in time of LENT.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL>Matth. 4. 2.</BIBL>
<Q><P>And when he had fa&s;ted Forty Days and Forty Nights he was afterwards an hungred.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>NOt to trouble you with any needle&s;s enqui|ries into this my&s;terious <HI>Fa&s;t</HI> of our ble&s;|&s;ed Saviour; I shall treat of it no other|wi&s;e than as matter of example to us, and shall endeavour only the&s;e two things,</P>
<P>Fir&s;t. To evidence our obligation to the Ver|tue of <HI>Ab&s;tinence;</HI> e&s;pecially at this <HI>time,</HI> &s;o &s;o|lemnly ob&s;erv'd by the Chri&s;tian Church ever &s;ince the Apo&s;tles days.</P>
<P>Secondly. I shall recommend it from the con|&s;ideration of tho&s;e good Fruits and Benefits that re&s;ult from it.</P>
<P>As to the fir&s;t; if Ab&s;tinence be a Chri&s;tian duty, the neglect of it mu&s;t be our &s;in; and whe|ther
<PB N="4" REF="3"> we be obliged to it or no, we may &s;oon be advi&s;ed by the many precepts and examples both of the old and new Te&s;tament.</P>
<P>It hath been ob&s;erved long &s;ince, that God was plea&s;ed to impo&s;e on <HI>Adam in</HI> Paradi&s;e only one Precept, and that was <HI>Ab&s;tinence; of the tree of knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat; for in the day that thou eate&s;t thereof, thou shalt &s;urely dye, Gen.</HI> 2. 17. if in the &s;tate of innocence we ought to ab&s;tain, much more in this &s;tate of our corruption.</P>
<P>Examples of the old Te&s;tament are not a few, as of <HI>E&s;ther, Nehemias, Ahab,</HI> the <HI>Ninevites,</HI> of <HI>Da|vid, P&s;al.</HI> 69. <HI>I wept and cha&s;tened my Soul with Fa&s;t|ing.</HI> Upon the&s;e I shall not in&s;i&s;t, le&s;t po&s;&s;ibly &s;ome may imagine them not &s;o obligatory to us Chri&s;tians: but I shall manife&s;t it out of the new Te&s;tament.</P>
<P>Our ble&s;&s;ed Saviour enjoyns it, <HI>Matt.</HI> 6. 17. <HI>But thou when thou fa&s;te&s;t, anoint thy Head and wash thy Face, that thou appear not unto men to fa&s;t, but unto thy Father which is in &s;ecret; and thy Father which &s;eeth in &s;ecret shall reward thee openly.</HI> Here he e&s;tablish|es the duty in pre&s;cribing the manner how we ought to perform it; as in the &s;ame Chapter he advi&s;es concerning Prayer and Almsgiving; <HI>when thou praye&s;t and when thou give&s;t thine Alms, be not as the</HI>
<PB N="5" REF="3" MS="y"> <HI>Hypocrites are, &amp;c.</HI> pre&s;uppo&s;ing and e&s;tablishing all the&s;e Duties, while he directs us in the man|ner of them.</P>
<P>Likewi&s;e he confirms it <HI>Matt.</HI> 9. 15. <HI>Je&s;us &s;aid unto them, can the Children of the Bridechamber fa&s;t, &s;o long as the Bridegroom is with them; but the days shall come when the Bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fa&s;t;</HI> that is, this vertue of Fa&s;t|ing will be more &s;ea&s;onable after my Death, and then shall it be practi&s;ed by my Followers. And accordingly 'twas verified in the practice of the Apo&s;tles, and fir&s;t Chri&s;tians, immediately after his A&s;cen&s;ion, as we read <HI>Acts</HI> 13. 3.</P>
<P>Again, the Evangeli&s;t St. <HI>Luke</HI> records it, to the perpetual commendation of <HI>Anna</HI> the Daugh|ter of <HI>Phanuel,</HI> that she was a Widow of about Four&s;core and Four years, and departed not from the Temple, but &s;erved God with Fa&s;tings and Prayers night and day. Nay our ble&s;&s;ed Saviour recommends as a means of expelling the Devil, and con&s;equently all naughty &s;ugge&s;tions of the Devil, <HI>Matt.</HI> 17. 21. <HI>Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by Prayer and Fa&s;ting.</HI></P>
<P>La&s;tly, St. <HI>Paul</HI> in&s;tructing the Corinthians a|bout Conjugal Duties, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 7. advi&s;eth them, <HI>Defraud not one the other, except it be for a time, that you</HI>
<PB N="6" REF="4"> <HI>may give your &s;elves to Fa&s;ting and Prayer:</HI> to all which I shall add, that Divines in their Bodies of Di|vinity do all teach the nece&s;&s;ity of this Duty, even our Di&s;&s;enters them&s;elves, though they find fault with it in us, can yet appoint their own times of Ab&s;tinence, and impo&s;e them too, when they think good.</P>
<P>The Application of this Doctrine concerns two &s;orts of Per&s;ons, Fir&s;t the ignorant who have need to be inform'd; Secondly &s;uch as confe&s;s it their duty, but never practi&s;e it. The former I hope may &s;ee their mi&s;take of &s;uppo&s;ing it ra|ther a Popish than Chri&s;tian duty. The later I wish may remember our Saviours words <HI>Luke</HI> 12. 47. <HI>The Servant which knew his Lords will, and did it not, shall be beaten with many &s;tripes.</HI></P>
<P>And now I con&s;ider that it is our Duty e&s;pe|cially at this <HI>time,</HI> &s;o univer&s;ally ob&s;erved by the Chri&s;tian Church ever &s;ince the Apo&s;tles days.</P>
<P>Who&s;oever shall de&s;ire to inform him&s;elf con|cerning the original of the Quadrage&s;imal <HI>Fa&s;t,</HI> will find the chief rea&s;on to have been the Imita|tion of our ble&s;&s;ed Saviours Example: though other rea&s;ons be not wanting;</P>
<P>As the preparing our &s;elves by a &s;olemn Ab&s;ti|nence of Forty days for the Reception of the
<PB N="7" REF="4" MS="y"> ble&s;&s;ed Sacrament at <HI>Ea&s;ter;</HI> whereunto the Chri|&s;tians of all ages (excepting tho&s;e of phanatical Humours) have thought them&s;elves obliged; which rea&s;on is given by St. <HI>Hierom</HI> in his Com|ment on <HI>Matt.</HI> 5. The want of a pious di&s;po&s;ition and preparation before our religious duties of Prayer and receiving the holy Sacrament, is per|haps the rea&s;on that we are &s;o little the better for them.</P>
<P>Another rea&s;on is, that the quadrage&s;imal &s;ea&s;on is much about a tenth part of the year. That God hath commanded the Tenth of all things to be de|voted to his Service; that while nine parts are allowed to our &s;elves, we ought to dedicate a <HI>Tenth</HI> of our days to &s;ome more than ordinary re|collection of our &s;elves and repentance towards God.</P>
<P>But &s;ome will needs refer the In&s;titution of Lent to politique rea&s;ons only: though it be too antient to have been in&s;tituted upon any &s;uch ac|count. The primitive Church doubtle&s;s intend|ed Devotion, not Policy, in her &s;olemnities of it: and the &s;ame our Church intends now. To ob|&s;erve a time of Ab&s;tinence upon prudential or politick rea&s;ons only, were no fa&s;ting for Religi|on: and it is to be remembred, that the Abet|tors
<PB N="8" REF="5"> of this <HI>prudential</HI> Opinion are not very famous for any Religion.</P>
<P>That it was fir&s;t ob&s;erved in commemoration of our ble&s;&s;ed Saviours Forty days Fa&s;t, St. <HI>Au|&s;tin</HI> affirms; <HI>Quadrage&s;ima authoritatem habet ex Evan|gelio, quia totidem diebus Dominus jejunavit.</HI> And St. <HI>Hierom</HI> writing on the 58th. Chapter of <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> &s;aith, <HI>Dominus quadraginta diebus in &s;olitudine jejuna|vit, ut nobis &s;olennes jejuniorum dies relinqueret.</HI> Our ble&s;&s;ed Saviour fa&s;ted Forty days in the Wilder|ne&s;s, that he might leave us a &s;olemn opportunity of fa&s;ting. And long before St. <HI>Hieroms</HI> days, <HI>Ig|natius</HI> the Di&s;ciple of S. <HI>John</HI> hath left his Opinion, that this time is to be ob&s;erved by Chri&s;tians in memory of our Saviours Forty days Ab&s;tinence. And were it not very antient, our Church could not have thought her &s;elf obliged to the ob&s;er|vance of it.</P>
<P>After its being thus atte&s;ted by the antient Fa|thers, we find it thus cen&s;ured by Mr. <HI>Calvin</HI> in the 4th. Book of his <HI>In&s;titutions; Mera &s;tultitia fuit je|junium quadrage&s;imale ad Chri&s;ti imitationem in&s;tituere.</HI> It was meer Folly and Super&s;tition (&s;aith he) to pretend to ob&s;erve <HI>Lent</HI> in imitation of Chri&s;ts Forty days Fa&s;t; and he gives this rea&s;on for it; Chri&s;t ab&s;tained Forty days, not that he might
<PB N="9" REF="5" MS="y"> leave us an example of the like Fa&s;ting, which was impo&s;&s;ible for us; but that he might mani|fe&s;t him&s;elf a <HI>per&s;on</HI> above the common condition of mortals.</P>
<P>This <HI>Opinion</HI> and this <HI>Rea&s;on</HI> he thinks fit to ad|vance again&s;t the &s;ence of the antient <HI>Church;</HI> and let us con&s;ider it a little, it being all that the Ad|ver&s;ary has to &s;ay in this matter.</P>
<P>And fir&s;t, it cannot be denied that our Saviours Forty days Fa&s;t and Temptation in the Wilder|ne&s;s was a part of that humiliation and tho&s;e &s;uffe|rings he underwent for our &s;ins. He &s;uffered for us (&s;aith St. <HI>Peter</HI>) leaving us an example that we might follow his &s;teps. He was not only our Re|deemer by his Sufferings, but our Teacher by his Example; and if it be an&s;wered, that his Forty days Fa&s;t was too miraculous to be exemplary to us; we may &s;oon &s;atisfie our &s;elves, that the rea|&s;on of all Chri&s;ts Miracles was to be beneficial to mankind; and what benefit could be intended or rea&s;on a&s;&s;igned for that miracle of Ab&s;tinence, unle&s;s this of being <HI>exemplary</HI> to us? to amu&s;e the world with <HI>wonders</HI> was not the de&s;ign of our ble&s;&s;ed Saviour, but to do good.</P>
<P>Chri&s;t ab&s;tained as became him; we mu&s;t imi|tate him according to the &s;trength of our Frailty.
<PB N="10" REF="6"> We follow his &s;teps whil&s;t we undergo what we can: we cannot &s;u&s;tain tho&s;e extremities that he did; but to do what we can is ever acceptable to him.</P>
<P>Nay further, were this Ab&s;tinence only a <HI>Free-will Offering</HI> of the Church, the <HI>P&s;almi&s;t</HI> will encou|rage it <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 110. 3. <HI>In the day of thy power shall the people offer thee free-will offerings.</HI> Under the Law (we know) the more voluntary the Devotion, the more accepted it was; provided there were no repugnancy to any Divine Precept. And it is &s;o now under the Go&s;pel; as may appear by this one ob&s;erveable in&s;tance <HI>Matt.</HI> 26. 12. <HI>There came unto our Saviour a Woman having an Alaba&s;ter box of Ointment, who poured it on his Head as he &s;at at meat; which when the Di&s;ciples &s;aw, they had indignation, &s;ay|ing, to what purpo&s;e is all this wa&s;t? But</HI> Je&s;us <HI>&s;aid, why trouble ye the Woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me: verily I &s;ay unto you, where&s;oever the Go&s;pel shall be preached in the whole world, this deed shall be told for a memorial of her.</HI> That Free-will Offering which the Di&s;ciples rejected as an impertinency or <HI>Super&s;tition</HI> in this Woman, our ble&s;&s;ed Saviour commends as an expre&s;&s;ion of Devotion. Let us beware of that popular impiety of calling every thing <HI>Super&s;tition</HI> that we do not under&s;tand.</P>
<PB N="11" REF="6" MS="y">
<P>And here perhaps it may not be impertinent to digre&s;s a few words concerning <HI>Super&s;tition;</HI> which is a word, about the true meaning whereof the <HI>people</HI> are generally very ignorant, or very con|fus'd.</P>
<P>Let us therefore con&s;ider 1. what is meant by it in Scripture. 2. What it &s;ignified among the an|tient <HI>Pagans.</HI> 3. How 'tis taken at this day a|mong Chri&s;tians.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t in Scripture meaning, the word <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> which we render Super&s;tition, &s;ignifies &s;upream Worship given to <HI>Daemons</HI> or <HI>Pagan</HI> Idols: for in|&s;tance, <HI>I hate tho&s;e that hold of &s;uper&s;titious Vanities</HI> (&s;aith the P&s;almi&s;t,) <HI>but my tru&s;t is in the Lord</HI> P&s;al. 31. where by &s;uper&s;titious Vanities he means the <HI>Pagan</HI> Deities, which in the old Prophets are u|&s;ually &s;tiled <HI>Vanities; my people have burnt Incen&s;e to Vanity,</HI> &s;aith the Prophet <HI>Jeremy,</HI> 18. 15. Again Saint <HI>Paul, Acts</HI> 17. preaching to the <HI>Athenians,</HI> &s;aith, <HI>Ye men of</HI> Athens, <HI>I perceive that in all things ye are too &s;uper&s;titious;</HI> &s;o our <HI>English</HI> Tran&s;lation reads, but in the <HI>Greek</HI> 'tis otherwi&s;e: Ye men of <HI>Athens</HI> I perceive ye are very much addicted to the Reli|gion of Daemons or fal&s;e Gods. That this was his meaning, appears evidently by the 16th. Ver&s;. of that Chapter; the words are the&s;e, <HI>While he</HI>
<PB N="12" REF="7"> <HI>tarried at</HI> Athens, <HI>his &s;pirit was &s;tirred up in him, when he &s;aw the City wholly given to Idolatry.</HI></P>
<P>The word <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> or Super&s;tition is not often met with in Scripture, and among tho&s;e few places there are none where it &s;ignifies ought but either Religion in general, or el&s;e the Religion of <HI>Dae|mons,</HI> or men deified after their death; &s;uch were <HI>Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>2. Among the antient <HI>Pagans</HI> 'twas a word (as to them) of no ill meaning; but us'd by the mo&s;t (except Athei&s;ts and Epicureans) to &s;ignifie <HI>Re|ligion</HI> in a good &s;ence. It was the mo&s;t common word to expre&s;s <HI>Religion</HI> in general, as the learned Dr. <HI>Hammond</HI> demon&s;trates by many in&s;tances in his <HI>Tract of Super&s;tition,</HI> to which I refer the Reader: but the <HI>Epicureans</HI> by way of contempt were wont to term it Super&s;tition, to fancy any Rewards or Punishments after this life; and Athei&s;ts would call it Super&s;tition to be afraid of invi&s;ible pow|ers, or to think that in nature there is any thing ju&s;t or unju&s;t but only by Law or Cu&s;tom.</P>
<P>3. At this day among <HI>Chri&s;tians</HI> 'tis thrown as a word of reproach or defamation on every Devo|tion we don't fancy. Thus to ob&s;erve any &s;pecial Devotion or Ab&s;tinence at this <HI>time</HI> is impiou&s;ly call'd <HI>Super&s;tition:</HI> to bow at the ble&s;&s;ed name of
<PB N="13" REF="7"> <HI>Je&s;us,</HI> to kneel at the holy Sacrament of Chri&s;ts Body and Blood, to be&s;tow any <HI>Ornament</HI> on the Hou&s;e of God, or ob&s;erve any external reverence there, is athei&s;tically call'd Super&s;tition. Thus Di&s;&s;enters will needs pervert this <HI>word</HI> from its ori|ginal and &s;criptural meaning. To worship the true God by a <HI>Liturgy</HI> mu&s;t be Super&s;tition; tho there be &s;carcely a Sentence in our Morning or Evening <HI>Service,</HI> that is not <HI>verbatim</HI> out of the holy Scrip|tures; which no man can &s;ay of their <HI>Prayers.</HI></P>
<P>Again, to &s;wear by a Book, to bapti&s;e Infants, or &s;ing <HI>P&s;alms</HI> mu&s;t be Super&s;tition, &s;ay the Millena|ries, Anabapti&s;ts and Quakers; per&s;ons no le&s;s &s;o|ber in their Morals and conver&s;ant in the Scrip|tures than any Presbyterians what&s;oever.</P>
<P>O but to worship the true God in a fal&s;e manner, is not that Super&s;tition? I an&s;wer, what do they mean by fal&s;e manner? They mean doubtle&s;s all other ways except their own; and that is a fond conceit. Good God! where do the Scriptures tell us, that to pray by the <HI>&s;pirit</HI> is to pray <HI>extempore?</HI> do they not tell us, that to pray by the Spirit is to pray in an unknown tongue? <HI>I will pray by the &s;pirit</HI> (&s;aith St. <HI>Paul) and I will pray with under&s;tanding al&s;o; if I pray in an unknown tongue my Spirit prayeth, but my Un|der&s;tanding is unfruitful.</HI> 1 Cor. 14. 15.</P>
<PB N="14" REF="8">
<P>But humane <HI>Inventions</HI> (&s;ay they) are prohibited in Gods &s;ervice; not con&s;idering in the mean while, that all their own Prayers and manner of Worship are in the opinion of all Chri&s;tians (ex|cept them&s;elves) purely the i&s;&s;ues of their own invention: For truly their <HI>extempore</HI> Prayers (which they call &s;erving of God in &s;pirit and in truth) are either humane Inventions, or divine In|&s;pirations, or a mixture of both: if they are hu|mane Inventions, then are they no better in their own nature, than the <HI>Liturgy</HI> of our Church, which they reject upon that account: if they are divine In&s;pirations, then are they as much the Word of God as any of <HI>Davids</HI> P&s;alms, or as any part of the Bible; and being written from their mouths may become Canonical Scripture: if they are a com|pound of both, &s;till they mingle their own In|ventions with Gods Worship. I wish they would do us or them&s;elves the kindne&s;s to an&s;wer this.</P>
<P>What intelligent unprejudiced man &s;ees not, that in our Churches Litany, nay in one of her Collects there is more of <HI>Sub&s;tance</HI> and In&s;tructi|on than in a million of their <HI>extempore</HI> effu&s;i|ons?</P>
<P>I conclude that Super&s;tition (as &s;ome <HI>people</HI> mi&s;under&s;tand and mi&s;apply the Word) is &s;o far
<PB N="15" REF="8"> from being a Sin, that it may be highly plea&s;ing and acceptable to God.</P>
<P>It is time that I proceed to the &s;econd <HI>Head,</HI> namely, what are tho&s;e good Fruits and Benefits that re&s;ult from the Vertue of <HI>Ab&s;tinence.</HI></P>
<P>And the fir&s;t is a &s;ubduing the extravagancies of our <HI>Flesh.</HI> We may as well hope to be cur'd of a Drop&s;ie by continual drinking, as expect to moderate the Fire of Lu&s;ts without &s;ub&s;tracting the Fewel. They that live after the flesh shall dye, is the frequent voice of Scripture; and every good man will take notice of it; but it is not po&s;&s;ible for the man to live otherwi&s;e; who takes all opportunities to inflame him&s;elf by Drink or idle Company. Bea&s;ts are not cur'd of their ill Conditions by being pamper'd.</P>
<P>Whil&s;t we can deny nothing to our Appetites, no marvel if we &s;uffer tho&s;e inconveniencies that render our Lives more unhappy than that of the Brutes. Refraining our &s;elves is but nece&s;&s;ary to the Happine&s;s of this pre&s;ent life, as well as to that of a better. <HI>Ab&s;tinence</HI> hath been the practice of good men in all Ages for the defeating of Temptations and preventing the Vices of de|prav'd nature.</P>
<P>But &s;ome may &s;ay, I have tryed, but am not
<PB N="16" REF="9"> &s;o happy as to find any &s;uch effect of it; I an&s;wer, it can hardly be, if thou art in earne&s;t; joyning thy Prayers and &s;incere endeavours, not being a <HI>traytor</HI> to thy &s;elf.</P>
<P>A &s;econd Advantage is, to a&s;&s;i&s;t us in our Pray|ers by &s;ub&s;tracting from the nourishment of tho&s;e <HI>de&s;ires</HI> that would otherwi&s;e trouble our good thoughts: e&s;pecially it will &s;ugge&s;t to us this re|flection, what crazy and tottering <HI>Tabernacles</HI> our Bodies are, unle&s;s upheld every day by the &s;up|plies of Food and Nourishment. Indeed our trouble and &s;orrow for our &s;ins can &s;carce be real without it. <HI>Jejuna quia pecca&s;ti; Fa&s;t</HI> becau&s;e thou ha&s;t &s;inned, in a pious revenge upon thy &s;elf, in a real abhorrence of thy &s;in.</P>
<P>If the Heart be unfeignedly di&s;contented for &s;in, it will a&s;&s;uredly give &s;ome outward evidence of it by way of <HI>pennance:</HI> and he that never ab|&s;tians at all, may ju&s;tly &s;u&s;pect the reality of his Repentance.</P>
<P>3. Through the merits of <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> it is a means to conciliate the Favour of God and Forgivene&s;s of our &s;ins. Upon the preaching of <HI>Jonas</HI> the peo|ple of <HI>Niniveh</HI> believed and proclaimed a <HI>Fa&s;t;</HI> and the King of <HI>Nineveh</HI> &s;aid, <HI>Let every one turn from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their</HI>
<PB N="17" REF="9"> <HI>hands,</HI> Jonah 3. 7. and then follows (ver&s;. 10.) <HI>God &s;aw their works and repented of the evil that he had &s;aid he would do unto them.</HI></P>
<P>Nay God was plea&s;ed to take &s;o much notice of <HI>Ahabs</HI> hypocritical Fa&s;t, as to &s;pare his Kingdom until the Reign of his Succe&s;&s;or. <HI>And it came to pa&s;s that</HI> Ahab <HI>fa&s;ted and lay in Sackcloth, and the Word of the Lord came to</HI> Elijah <HI>the Tishbite, &s;aying, &s;ee&s;t thou how</HI> Ahab <HI>humbleth him&s;elf before me; I will not bring the evil in his days, but in his Sons days I will bring the evil.</HI></P>
<P>To conclude this matter, with a few particular Directions.</P>
<P>When we <HI>fa&s;t,</HI> let us do it cheerfully, not Pha|ri&s;aically with a &s;ad coutenance: let us do it with re&s;pect unto God and not unto men; knowing that of him we shall receive <HI>the Reward of the In|heritance.</HI></P>
<P>Let every Chri&s;tian limit him&s;elf according to his &s;trength, ab&s;taining between the two extreams of too much Indulgence and too much Severity; giving to the poor and di&s;tre&s;&s;ed people the quan|tity or value of that Diet from which he ab&s;tains.</P>
<P>I know it is objected by &s;ome, that the <HI>Clergy</HI> them&s;elves are not exemplary to us in this matter. But although this were true, it is certainly no ex|cu&s;e
<PB N="18" REF="10"> for you or me: 'tis as much as to &s;ay, thou wilt not go to Heaven, becau&s;e &s;ome <HI>Clergymen</HI> have no mind to go there.</P>
<P>The Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> in&s;tructs us how we ought to <HI>fa&s;t,</HI> in reproving the manner of the Jewish Ab|&s;tinence, <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> 58. 3, 4. is it &s;uch a Fa&s;t that I have cho&s;en; is it to bow down the Head as a Bulrush, and to &s;pread Sackcloth and Ashes un|der him? wilt thou call this a Fa&s;t and an accep|table day to the Lord? is not this the Fa&s;t that I have cho&s;en? to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppre&s;&s;ed go free? is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are ca&s;t out to thy Hou&s;e; when thou &s;ee&s;t the naked that thou cloth him, and that thou hide not thy &s;elf from thine own flesh.</P>
<P>To this Ab&s;tinence (as is meet and requi&s;ite at this time) let us joyn an hone&s;t confe&s;&s;ion of our &s;ins; which our Church pre&s;cribes to be done by the rule of Gods <HI>Commandments.</HI></P>
<P>Let us therefore reflect upon our pa&s;t lives, and charge our <HI>Memories,</HI> &s;o officious in other things, to recollect our &s;ins with their aggravating cir|cum&s;tances; as fir&s;t again&s;t the fir&s;t <HI>Table.</HI></P>
<P><HI>I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt have none other Gods before me.</HI></P>
<PB N="19" REF="10">
<P>Thou ha&s;t not in obedience to this Precept lo|ved God above all things; but ha&s;t loved thy &s;elf and thy own wretched <HI>Intere&s;t</HI> above all things. Nay, thou ha&s;t never regarded any man, further than thou thought'&s;t him in &s;ome mea&s;ure capable to &s;erve or to hurt thee in that point. Thou ha&s;t &s;erv'd God more out of fear or re&s;pect to thy Re|putation than love or gratitude to him. Thou ha&s;t not in thy adver&s;ity put thy tru&s;t in God; and in thy pro&s;perity ha&s;t too much pre&s;umed on his Goodne&s;s.</P>
<P><HI>The &s;econd Commandment, Thou shalt not make to thy &s;elf any graven Image,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Thou ha&s;t hated the Idolatry of bowing before a <HI>Crucifix</HI> or Picture of thy Saviour; but not that of &s;acrifi&s;ing all to thy worldly Intere&s;t, thy Plea|&s;ures or Avarice, which the Scripture calls Ido|latry, <HI>Coll.</HI> 3. 5.</P>
<P><HI>The third, Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Thou ha&s;t taken his Name in vain by perjury or idle &s;wearing: thou ha&s;t broken thy Vows and Promi&s;es which thou made&s;t to God.</P>
<P><HI>The fourth, Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Thou ha&s;t not kept the Lords day and other
<PB N="20" REF="11"> holy days by giving attendance to his publique Service, or behaving thy &s;elf reverently in the Hou&s;e of God.</P>
<P>Al&s;o again&s;t the &s;econd <HI>Table</HI> thou ha&s;t &s;inned, not &s;o loving thy Neighbour as thy &s;elf, that thou ha&s;t &s;eldom thought of doing to others as thou would&s;t be done unto.</P>
<P><HI>Honour thy Father and thy Mother,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Thou ha&s;t not been &s;o obedient or &s;erviceable to thy natural Parents as thou ought&s;t to have been; and again&s;t thy civil Parents, the <HI>King</HI> and Royal Family, thou ha&s;t been guilty of &s;editious words and thought; medling too much with them that are given to <HI>change.</HI> As for thy <HI>&s;piritual</HI> Parents, to &s;ay nothing of per&s;onal di&s;ta&s;ts, which are hard to be avoided, where the <HI>Superior</HI> is a proud or in&s;olent or peevish per&s;on; proud to his Inferiors, <HI>timerous</HI> and obliging towards his E|quals and Superiors: but thou ha&s;t maliciou&s;ly bent thy &s;elf again&s;t the whole <HI>Order,</HI> for the in|troducing of Confu&s;ion and <HI>Anarchy</HI> into the Church.</P>
<P>Likewi&s;e again&s;t the <HI>Sixth Commandment</HI> thou ha&s;t offended many ways.</P>
<P>Thou ha&s;t murdered thy Adver&s;ary with thy Heart and Tongue, though not with thy Hands:
<PB N="21" REF="11"> or thou ha&s;t dealt unmercifully with thy Neigh|bour, not relieving his nece&s;&s;ities when it was in thy power to do it. Thou ha&s;t rejoyced at other mens misfortunes.</P>
<P><HI>The &s;eventh Commandment, Thou shalt not commit Adultery.</HI></P>
<P>Thou ha&s;t made it thy bu&s;ine&s;s to corrupt thy Neighbours Wife or thy Neighbours Husband.</P>
<P><HI>The eighth, Thou shalt not &s;teal.</HI></P>
<P>Thou ha&s;t purloined thy Neighbours Goods, which thou ha&s;t never yet re&s;tored; or circum|vented him in his ju&s;t pretences.</P>
<P><HI>The ninth, Thou shalt not bear fal&s;e witne&s;s again&s;t thy Neighbour.</HI></P>
<P>Thou ha&s;t often accu&s;ed him out of envy, ha|tred or malice: thou ha&s;t loved to &s;peak all words that might do him hurt: thou ha&s;t been too apt to receive and propagate ill Reports of him, not knowing whether &s;uch Reports were true or fal&s;e.</P>
<P><HI>The tenth, Thou shalt not covet thy Neighbours Hou&s;e, thou shalt not covet thy Neighbours Wife,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Thou ha&s;t entertained dishone&s;t and uncha&s;t thoughts, running into the occa&s;ions thereof; as Drunkenne&s;s, Intemperance, idle Company, <HI>&amp;c.</HI>
<PB N="22" REF="12"> Thou ha&s;t coveted thy Neighbors Goods, Means or Fortune, and envied his Reputation: in all the&s;e things thou ha&s;t flattered thy felf, not re|garding the All-&s;eeing eye of God, &s;o thou migh|te&s;t e&s;cape the notice of men.</P>
<P>Thus if we confe&s;s our &s;ins, God is faithful and ju&s;t to forgive us our &s;ins; but the <HI>Scripture</HI> adds another nece&s;&s;ary <HI>word, he that confe&s;&s;es and for&s;akes his &s;ins shall find mercy,</HI> Prov. 28. plainly admonish|ing us of the va&s;t mi&s;take of that Confe&s;&s;ion or Sorrow for &s;in, that never produces any alterati|on of the <HI>Man,</HI> nor <HI>Fruits</HI> meet for Repentance.</P>
<P>And thus I do not reckon <HI>Ab&s;tinence</HI> as any ver|tue con&s;idered by it &s;elf alone; only I &s;ay that we cannot &s;erve God and our own Appetites at once.</P>
<P>To fare <HI>deliciou&s;ly</HI> every day, remitting nothing of our wonted <HI>Satisfactions,</HI> argues but &s;light ap|prehen&s;ions or a dead faith of the la&s;t <HI>Judgment;</HI> and of that Account which every man mu&s;t ren|der of all his thoughts, words and actions. You may ob&s;erve the Prophet <HI>Daniels</HI> practice, <HI>Daniel</HI> 10. 2. <HI>In tho&s;e days I</HI> Daniel <HI>was mourning three whole weeks; I ate no plea&s;ant Bread, neither came Flesh nor Wine into my mouth; neither did I anoint my &s;elf at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled:</HI> and this he did without any command that we read of.</P>
<PB N="23" REF="12">
<P>To conclude all with a word or two. I have been hitherto exhorting to Ab&s;tinence and Con|fe&s;&s;ion of Sins. Give me leave al&s;o to mind you of <HI>Alms-deeds;</HI> for the&s;e mu&s;t go together. True Charity will oblige you to remember not only the mendicant poor; but al&s;o tho&s;e <HI>poor,</HI> whether Widows or Families that have lived in plenty and are ashamed to beg; and let your <HI>Charity</HI> in this be as &s;ecret as po&s;&s;ible: and thank God that he has given you the opportunity and ability to do it.</P>
<P>For a <HI>Gentleman</HI> to be able to find Mony for his needle&s;s and impertinent Debauches, and none for the Relief of a poor Family, is an Objection that he can never an&s;wer at the la&s;t <HI>Judgment.</HI></P>
<P>To all this let us add a vigilance over our &s;elves for the time to come; let us watch and pray that we fall not into the &s;nare of the Devil when tempted by him. Let the time pa&s;t of our lives &s;uffice to have wrought the will of the Flesh.</P>
<P>There be two &s;orts of Sins again&s;t which our ble&s;&s;ed Saviour commands us to watch, that the day of the Lord &s;urpri&s;e us not; fir&s;t Surfeiting and Drunkenne&s;s, that is, the plea&s;ures of the Flesh. 2ly. The Cares of the World.</P>
<P>Of the&s;e grand enemies, which war again&s;t our
<PB N="24" REF="13"> Soul, it concerns us to be apprehen&s;ive; and to pray to God diligently to deliver us from all the deceits of the Flesh, and from all the deceits of the World; that is, from all the flattering vain opinions of our wordly Intere&s;t or Dignity.</P>
<P>Ble&s;&s;ed is the man who has the Grace and Wit to de&s;pi&s;e the fallacious and flattering enjoy|ments of the World; <HI>looking not at the things which are &s;een; but at the things which are not &s;een; for the things that are &s;een are temporal; but the things that are not &s;een are eternal.</HI></P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
