A Fruitful Treatise, Chapter 20 – Chapter 21
¶The .xx. Chapter.
THe seconde cause whye wee ought to vse fastinge is,To fast to gyue vntounto the poore. that we abstaining from meates, maye hauehave to giuegive vntounto the pore and hongry the more liberallye. For this kind of fasting pleaseth God greatly, when he seeth that we hauehave so put on the bowels of tender mercy & are led with such and so harty compassion toward our pore neighbour, that we can not finde in our hearte he shulde want, yea rather then he shoulde lacke, we wil spare it out of oure own belli & giuegive it him, god right wel accepteth this fast, and blesseth the faster wyth plentye and abundaunce, as the wisemā saith He that hath pitie on the poore,Proue. xix maketh the Lord his debter, and loke what he layeth oute, it shal bee payed hym agayne. Unto thys manner of fastynge dothe God exhorte vsus by the Prophet,Esay. lvi… where he saieth, breake thi bread to the hongrye, and lede the neadye and wayefaringe men into thyne house. Whē thou seest a naked man, couer him, and despyse not thi flesh. What it is to breake thy bread to the hongri, we heard afore in the .xiii. chapter.Toby. x…. The angell of God tolde Thobye▪ that when fastinge praier and almes deedes go together, that is good and accepted in the Lordes sight It is written in a certaine …oke called Pastor (the author wherofHermas S. Paules Dyscip…e. they say Hermas. S. Pauls disciple was) on thys manner: On that daye that thou shalte faste, thou shalt taste nothing at al but bread and water, & whē thou hast coūted the quantitye of the meat that thon wast wont to eat on the other daies, the cost y• thou shuldest make on that daye that thou fastest lay it vp,Mark… & folow. & giuegive it to the widow, to the fatherles childē, or to the poremā, and so shalt thou fast a good fast, that he which hath receiued it of the, may fil his soule, and that his praier may go vntounto the lord for the. If thou fulfillest thy fast on this māner, as I commaund the, thy sacrifice shalbe acceptable to the Lorde, and thy fast shalbe written in the boke of life.In Leui. Cap. vi. Home. x. Origen saithe, we finde in a certaine boke, that the Apostles saide, blessed is he that fasteth to thys ende, that he maye nourishe the poore man.A notable sentence. The fast of suche one is wonderfully accepted before God. Hereto pertaineth the sayinge of.Quest. C. xx. S. Austen, mercy dyd commende and greatly setforthe the praier and fastinge of Cornelius.Actes. x. For hee beinge ryche and a wealthye man fasted. He dyd not onlye faste, but he also fed them that wanted, that theyr fulnesse myghte make his faste acceptable. Agayne in a nother place he sayeth,Serm lvi de tempo. before all thynges, that whyche we were wonte to eate at our dynner, on the fastyng daies let vsus bestowe it on the poore. Oure goulden mouthed Doctoure in a certayne homilie councelleth vsus,In Gene. Home. vii. that when so euer wee faste, we should be lyberall to the poore, and gyue theym largelye of oure goods. In a nother place he also sayeth, he that eateth hys meate and is not hable to fast,Home. ix. In Gene. let hym geue the larger almes, lette him be the more diligent in praiing, let him hauehave the more feruēt desyre to heare the word of God. Here Chrisostome estemeth almesse among other vertues of so hie price, that if ther be ani which can not abyde to fast for y• weaknes of theyr bodye, yet if they be plenteous in doinge the workes of mercye and in prayinge and hearing the worde of God, they are not refused of god, but accepted as good Christians. Mercye therfore and almes is a precious thinge in the sighte of God▪ and ought to be exercised of the faithful, when so euer occasion is geuen whether they faste or not.
Mercye,Toby. xii saieth the aungell, is bet…er then to hoorde vp…e treasures of golde. For mercye delyuereth frō death clense the sin, & causeth to find euerlasting life.
Thus hauehave wee hearde that Christen menne oughte to vse theyr faste vntounto thys ende, that they abstaynynge frome meate and drincke mighte hauehave wherof to geue the more abundantlye to the poore, to feede the hungrye, to clothe the naked, to relieue the sicke, to healpe the endebted, and to comforte the neadye. O blessed are they that so faste.Rara auis in terris. But wher are they, and we shall commende them, and call them blessed? For great and commendable thynges dooe suche woorcke amonge theyr neyghboures and Christen brethren.
¶The .xxi. Chapter.
THirdly if we wyll vse fasting aryghte,Fasting to serue prayer. we must vse it vntounto this ende also, that by the dilygent doing and often exercyse therof we may be made the more apte to praye and to lifte vp oure heartes vntounto the Lord our God with feruent praiers, humble supplications, and heartye thanckes geuinge. For vntounto this ende serued fasting in times past, as dyuers histories of the holye scrypture do declare. If anye mysfortune or greuous plage chaunced at any time to the people of god,Iudi. xx. then streightwaies they fasted, as we reade in the boke of iudges. Againe, if anye plage wer threatned thē by the Prophetes of god for theyr wyckednes,Ionas. iii as we reade of the Niniuites, or if they perceiued anye great euyl to be at hand as wee reade in the histories of the Israelites,i▪ Reg. vii. of Iehosaphat, Iudith,ii. Para. xx Esther. &c. then fell they straightwaies to fastinge.Iudit. iiii. and .viii.
And theyr fastes wer taken vntountoEsther. iiii this end, that they might humble theym selues in the syghte of God, and be made the more mete for to pray, & to swage the wrathe of God. Nether do we read, that anye solempne fast was proclaymed at any time,Why the godly men vsed fastynge in times past but it was done to this end, that the fasters might the more quietlye and frely serue god, and cal on his holy name, by feruent and cōtinual praier. And as we read this in the olde testamente, so lacke we not the like examples in the newe. Is it to bee doubted, but that oure sauyoure Christe in that time of his longe and solempne faste ioyned to his faste prayer?Math. iiii. He withoute doubt prayed vntounto God hys father all that tyme, that by his preachinge whyche was at hande, manye myghte bee tourened from theyr vngodlynesse vntounto the true worshippinge of God, from wickednes of life vntounto innocencye of mā ners, We reade also that the godlyeLuke. ii. Matrone Anne serued God in the temple wyth fastynge and prayer both day and night. The Apostles likewise after Christes ascenciō did alwaies ioin to their fastinge,Actes .xiii. and .xiiii. praier. In like manner reade we of the vertuous manne Cornelius, whiche ioined to hys fastinge bothe prayer and almes deede,Actes. x. And the aungel sayde vntounto Thobye, prayer is good wyth fastinge.Toby. xii. Esdras sayd lykewyse to the Iewes. We fasted & prayed vntounto the lord,i. Esdr. viii & we had good lucke. Quene Esther also sente woorde to Mardocheus,Esthe. iiii. saying, gather together all the Iewes, and praye for me, but se that ye neither eat nor dryncke .iii. daies and three nyghtes, and I wyth my maides wyl fast & pray lykewyse. Again Eliachim the priest saied to ye children of Israel, whē they were in greate sorowe and danger of theyr enemyes.Iudit. iiii. Be ye sure, that the Lord wil hear your petycyons if ye contynewe stedfaste in fastynges and prayers in the syghte of the Lorde. Thus se we, that the godly people both of the olde and of the new testamente, ioined alwaies for ye most part fasting and praier together, thincking them selues thē to fast wel, whē their faste was accōpained wyth prayer, as it is wrytten, prayer is good with fastinge. S.Toby. xii. Peter also saith, be ye sober and watche vntounto prayer.i. Pet. iiii.