A Fruitful Treatise, Chapter 22
¶The .xxii. Chapter.
MOreouer our sauiour christ also ioineth praier & fastingMat. xvii. together wherhe saith, this kynde of dyuels is not caste out but by fastyng & praier.Mark. ix. To thys kind of fasting doth S. Paul exhort vsus whē he saith:ii. Cori. vi. let vsus giuegive no occasion of euil, that in our offyce be found no faute, but in all things let vsus behaue our selues as the ministers of God in much pacience, in laboures, in watchings & fastings: Also S. Peter Be ye sober, sayth he,i. Pet. iiii. and watch vntounto prayer. And from the contrari doth our sauiour Christ cal vsus away, saying: Take heede to your selues,Luke. xxi. lest at any time your herts be ouercom with surfeting and dronkennes, & cares of thys lyfe, and so the dai (of iudgemēt) come on you vnwares. The prophet Esay thoundereth agaynst them, which despising this godly maner of abstinence, set al theyr minds on bankettyng and belly there. Wo be vntounto thē sayth he: that rise vp early to folow dronkennes,Esaye. v. and to them that contynue so vntyl nyght, and tyll they be set on fyre wich wine. In those companies are harps and lutes, Tabrets and pipes & wyne. But they regard not y• work of ye lord. Agayne he saythe: Wo be vntounto thē yt are strong to sup out wyne, & expert mē to set vp dronkēnes. These giuegive sentence with the vngodly for rewards, but cōdemne the iust cause of the ryghteouse. Therfore like as fyre licketh vp the straw, and as the flame consumeth the stuble, euen so theyr roote shalbe as corrupcion, and theyr blossom shal vanysh away like dust, for they hauehave cast awai the law of the Lord of hosts, and blasphemed the word of the holy, maker of Israel. From beastly bāketting vntounto faithful fastīg & contynual calling on the name of the Lord doth the prophet Ioel cal these belly goddes, saying, Wake vpye drōckards & weepe mourne al ye wine bibbers,Ioel. i. & not without a cause. For he yt hath his bodye loden wyth meat & drinke is no more mete to prai vntounto god then a dead mā is to tel a tale, nether can the minde of such one any more fly vntounto god with heauē ly desires, then a ship to much cū bred with burdens & at the point to sinck, can any lenger flote vpō of ye waters, We hauehave a prouerb no les true then commen among vsus.A true and cōmō prouerbe. When the belly is ful, the body wold be at reast, meaning that he, which hath enfar…ed his belly with delicious meates and costious drīcks, is more mete to stepe like a swine, thē to take any earnest, & weighti matter in hād. We hauehave not red saith .S. Eiprian,Ser. detēt et ieiunio. Christi. ye the godly men did euer take any great thing in hand, except they first fasted. So oft as they wēt about to obtain any thing of God, they fasted, & wept, and watched whole nightes in praier, & weare garmentes of heare next to their flesh, & so withal humblenes, desired god to be benificial to thē. Nether wanted they of their purpose whē they most hūbly fel down at the fete of god & offered vntounto him the sacrifice of a contrite hart, but god was neare vntounto them, yt called on him, & reached forthe hys hand to them yt wer in daunger, & holpe thē that wer in trouble. Again he saieth, praier is of great vertue, whē fasting goeth afore. Basilius magnus saith also, yt fasting is necessari, when we desire obtayne any thyng of the Lord The aūcient fathers of ChristesIn regular Mona. Capi. …. churche godly consideryng how necessary a thing praier is in the Church of Christ, ordayned certayne feastful daies in the yeare,Why fastes wer apointed of y• fathers of Christs Church. on the whych the people shoulde resorte and come together vntounto the temple for to praye vntounto the Lord God. And that they myght come the more deuoutely & pray wyth the greater fruite, they appointed also that the daye before the solemne feast, they shuld fast that they myght be the more apt to pray, whē they come together into the temple.Note. For wher the body is burdened wyth meate, ther the mynde can hauehave no free passage vntounto God. Let thē therfore that fast, appointe their fastynge also to thys vse, that by theyr abstinence they may be the more re pray, & not only to prepare them selues to pray, but also earnestly to gyue theyr mindes vntounto praier, or els what doth theyr fast profit them? To faste from meat and to goo about worldlye matters, what other thing is it, then a mockinge of God, & a derision of christen abstinence as .S.Ambrose. Ambrose saith, doest yu thincke yt he fasteth aright, whiche waking betymes in the morning goeth not vntounto y• church (to prai & to hear the word of god) but as sone as he is vp, gathereth together hys seruauntes laieth abrode his nets, bryngeth forth his dogs, & goeth running about the forestes? Therefore if we faste, lette vsus faste a ryghte, and after the examples of the aū cyente holye fathers lette vsus alwaye couple prayer wyth our fastinge. So shall boothe we, oure fastes & our praiers please God.