A Fruitful Treatise, Chapter 11 – Chapter 12
The .xi. Chapter.
FUrthermore the Christen fast ryseth of an hart contrite and sorowful for the sins cōmitted against God, as we hauehave heard heretofore. The popish faste ryseth either of custome or els of supersticyon. For the Papystes in theyr chiefe & solempne fastinge dayes are led wyth no true feare toward God, neyther do they lament theyr syns, nor study by hartie repentāce, true faith & amendment of life to apease the wrathe of God kindled against them for their abominable liuing on those dayes that they fast, more them any other tyme. What Papiste among them forsaketh hys papistry, hipocrisy, supersticion, and idolatry, and gladly receiueth the truth of Gods word? What coueuetous worldling leaueth his couetousnes & exerciseth mercy toward the pore mēbers of Christ? What proud mā giueth ouer his pride, and embraceth humilitie? What adulterer forsaketh hys adultri, and leadeth an honest cō uersacion? what gloton or dronkard giueth ouer hys glotony or dronkennes, and leadeth a sober lyfe? what vsurar leaueth his vsury? what briberer his brybery? what catchepole hys extorcion? what tirante hys tirannye? what whore her whoredome? what rybalde hys rybaldrye? what blasphemer hys blasphemy? what enuious man his enuy? &c. As they begin their fast wt an vnrepentāt & wicked hert, euen so do they continue & end the same, so far is it of, that they hauehave any sorow in their heart for their syns committed against God, whych shoulde earnestlye moue them to forsake theyr meate, and to giuegive them selues wholy to be reconciled vntounto god by repentynge and callyng on the name of God for mercy in Christ Iesu our lord. Their fast therfore is abhominacion before God, forasmuch as in the time of theyr fastyng they gyue not ouer theyr wyckednes, and earnestlye seeke to please God.
Moreouer the Christē fast riseth also of an hert feruētly geuē to godlynes. In thys behalfe also y• popish fast agreeth nothing with Christē abstinence.In what the …ynges of y• papistes consisteth. For the Papystes myndes are set on no true godlines in the time of their fastyng, but altogether on supersticion & hipocrisie. Theyr godlynes, yea rather vngodlynes, when they fast, consisteth in obseruyng the popes ceremonies and mans inuencions. If they fulfyl those, they thynke thēselues godly ynough, when notwithstāding they …e furdest from all true god lines. Nether do they direct their fastes vntounto anye godly end, but as eueri one …antasieth so do thei faste, yea and that for sondry purposes. S…me fast breade and water,The fondenes of the …apists in theyr fastyng…. some eate nothinge but fruit, some taste no kynde of meate or dryncke that is dressed with fyre, some in theyr faste go wolwarde, barefoted, and barelegged some are so scrupulous & supersticious in their fasting, that in the time of theyr faste they wyll neither eate nor dryncke, nor sleepe, nor yet swalowe dow…e theyr owne spittle, If they do they thincke them selues damned. Prouided alway that they also muste be fyrste and laste at churche. If they obserue these fastes, they promyse theym selues, I knowe not howe great rewardes, ane how hie seates in heauen aboud other, and howe many gay garlandes of red roses an… swete violetes, that God and oure Ladye and the blessed saints shal giuegive them after thys lyfe for theyr deuout fastyng and pr…aty paines. O fond folishnes & folysh fondnes, worthy rather to be lamented then to be laughed at. If it be done of a good entent, say they, al is weil whatsoeuer we do. If we fast the blessed Saintes euens,The supersticious worshyppynge of Sayntes. and worshyppe them wyth a Pater noster, Aue and Creede, they wyll do for vsus whatsoeuer we axe. S. George wyl defend vsus in battell agaynst our ennemies. S. Barbara wyll kepe vsus from thondring and litenyng. S. Agasse wyl saue our house from burning. S. Antony will keepe oure swyne. S. Luke wil sa…e oure. Oxe. S. Iob wyll defend vsus from the poxe. S. Gertrude wil keepe oure house from mise & rats. S. Nicholas wyl preserue vsus from drowning. S. Lo… wyl cure our horsse. S. Dorothe wil saue our hearbs & flowers. S Sith wyl bring again whatsoeuer we lose. S. Apoline wyl heal th… pain of our tethe. S. Sweteladde and. Sayute Agnes wyll sende vsus Maides good husbandes. Sainte Peter wyll lette vsus in at heauen gates, wyth a thousande suche lyke. Thys supersticion and idolatry is the godlines of the Papistes. If they fast and serue the saints vntounto this end, & on their feastful daies fare deintely & drynke largelye in the honour of the good saint, they think thei hauehave done much for the saint and hauehave shewed theym selues good, godly and deuout persons. O double vngodlines.
What shall I speake of the spiritual exercises, whiche the true and Christen faste requireth to be done in the time o… …asting? If we marke wel the maners of the papists, and notetheyr behauour on theyr fastinge daies, we shall ca…y perceiue that in the middes of their fastinge they are no lesse wicked & vngodlye, no les proud and enuious, no lesse lecherous, and couetous, no les backbitinge and slaunderous no les polling and pillinge, no les churlish and vnmerciful, no les geuen to glotoni & dronkennes, then thei wer afore. They lamēt not their syns, they fall not to faithefull prayer, they call not on the name of God as they oughte, but fle vntounto creatures, they gyue not them selues to the hearinge or readynge of gods worde, which many of them extremelye abhorre, they go not about to leaue theyr idolatri and wish to be better instructed in the knowledge of gods lawe .&c. but continuing stil in their old supersticion & idolatri thei thinke them selues godly inough and good inough. If thei eat no flesh, if thei for beare white meates al is wel whatsoeuer they do, though ther be no repentaunce, no calling on the name of god, no correccion of māners, no amēdmēt of life, God hauehave mercy on vsus, god open their eies & giuegive thē grace to amende,
Hitherto hauehave we learned out of the word of god, what the true and Christen faste is. We hauehave hearde also, howe greatly the popyshe manner of fastinge differeth from the true vse of fastinge whiche the holy scriptures teach. Nowe the order requireth, that we also declare, howe we oughte to faste, that we maye please god and not faste in vaine as the hypocrytes do.
☞Howe we oughte to Faste.The .xii. Chapter
IN declarynge howe we ought to faste, whome shoulde I rather followe then oure sauiour Iesus Christe the teacher of all truthe,Math. vi. whyche saithe: When ye faste be not sad as the hipocrites are. For they disfigure theyr faces, that they myghte be seene of menne to faste. Uerelye I saye vntounto you, they hauehave their reward But thou when thou fastest annointe thy heade, and washe thy face, that it appeare not vntounto men, that thou fastest, but to thy father, whyche is in secrete, and thy father whyche seeth in secrete shal rewarde the openlye, Christ oure sauioure in thys place doth not only rebuke the hipocriticall and supersticious manner of the vngodlye fasters, but hee also teacheth the true manner of fastynge. Of these hys woordes wee learne, that who so euer entendeth to faste a ryghte, hee muste obserue three thynges.Thre thinges are to bee obserued in fastyng. The fyrst is, that hee annoynte his heade. The seconde that hee washe hys face. The thyrde that he faste in secrete. These Phrases annointynge of the heade, and washing of the face with many other seme verye straunge manners of speaking to such as are not perfectly exercised in the …ading of y• holy sc…iptu…es and of the auncient wrighters, it is conuenient therfore, that we learn to know what is meante by them. And no man in this behalf can satisfy our desire better then our golden mouthed Doctoure. S. Iohn Chrisostome,Hom. xlvi Ex cap. vi Math. ix. whose wordes are these.
In the annointing o… the heade, saith he, we knowe that mercy is signified.What it is too annointe the heade. Therfore to annoynte the heade, is to shewe mercye to our neighbour. For that mercye that is done vntounto a pore man, is referred vntounto God, which is the heade of the man, as the Apostle and the lord him self saith.i. Cori. xi. What soeuer ye hauehave done to one of my lessest brothers,Math. xxv ye hauehave done it vntounto me. In the stede of y• which mercye wyth the diuine retribucion as with a certayne he auenlye oyle, we ar poured and shed ouer by hym▪ Math. v.which saith. Blessed are the mercifull for God shall hauehave mercye on them.Ps. cxxxiii Holy Dauid also did knowe the vnccion and anointinge of the celestial oyle in the heade, when he sayde, as in y• ointmente, whiche came down in to the bearde.
But in washinge the face, the puritie of a cleane bodye and of a sincere conscience is knowen toWhat it is to wash the face. be signified so that to washe the face, is to make cleane the face of our hart from al filthines of sin, & from the vncomelines of trespas, and to hauehave a very pure conscience, that we may truly hauehave in vsus the gladnes of celestiall ioye. and the familiaritie and chearefulnes of the holye ghoste.
Hitherto hauehave I rehearsed the wordes of .S. Ihon Chrisostome whereby we maye learne, that to annoynte oure heade is none other thynge, then to shewe oure selues beneficial to the pore members of Christe. Againe, to washe oure face is to make cleane both bodye and soule from synne and wyckednes. If we therefore wyll fast a right after the mind of .S. Iohn Chrisostome, we must first annoint our head, y• is to say, comfort the pore people wt such good as god hath committed vntounto vsus. For the ritches that we hauehave bee not ours, but they be gods, as he saith by ye Prophet,Agge. ii. gold is mine, siluer is mine.…sa. xxiiii The psalmograph also saith, the earth is the lords … al that is contained in it.