Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount, Chapter 6 · Verse 17,18
vers. 17.
But when thou fastest, annoint thine head, and wash thy face,
18. That thou seeme not vntounto men to fast, but vntounto thy father which is in secret; & thy father which seeth in secret, wil reward thee opēly.
Christ the true doctor of his Church, hauing in the former v. sought to reforme the exercise of fasting, from Pharisaicall abuses, doth in these two verses seeke to restore the same to his right vse; not so much intending to command vsus to fast, as to bring vsus to the right maner of fasting.
The exposition. When thou fastest, &c. It seemeth that Christ here speaketh especially of a priuate fast, for besides that he vseth words of the singular number, Thou, Thine, &c. he inioyneth the concealing of it frō others, which cannot be done in a publike fast: and yet the maine thing here inioyned, is the approbatiō of the heart vntounto God, which must be obserued in all religious fasts, as well publike as priuate. Annoynt thine head, & wash thy face: Here Christ alludeth to the custom of the Iewes, who to shew their cheerefulnes, vsed to annoynt their heads with sweet oyntments, and to wash their faces; as we may see by Naomies cōmand to aRuth. 3. 3.Ruth, & by b2. Sa. 12. 10Dauids practise, when he perceiued his child was dead, & would testifie that he had ceased from mourning for it: as also by the speech of Christ, iustifying the woman that annointed his feet with oyntmēt, mine cLuk. 7. 46.head thou diddest not annoint, but she hath annointed my feete with ointment: for as Dauid …aith, God giues oyle to make the face to shine, Ps. 104. 15. But yet these words are not to be taken properly, neither do they bind vsus to annoint our heads when we fast, as may appeare by these reasons: 1. If the words should be taken properly, then should Christ condemne al the fasts of holy men in the old testament, who vsed neither ointments nor washings, but abstained from all such bodily delights for that time. 2. Christ should command contraries, namely, the vse of such things in fasting, as were more proper to feasting, wherin mē vse to be ioyfull & cheerefull. 3. He should inioyne that to some countries, which were not in their power, or at least could not be vsed of thē without excessiue charges; as in this or other cold coūtries, where sweet oiles are rare & costly. The true meaning therfore, must be gathered out of the circūstances of the place: now Christs intent is here, as in the former points of Alms-deeds, & praier, to prescribe vntounto men the approuing of their hearts vntounto God in fasting, by auoyding ostentation therein, & desire of the praise of men: & therfore he names such behauiour, as doth no way intimate a fast vntounto others; meaning thereby, that we should conceale our priuate fasts frō men; as if he should say, when thou fastest priuately so carrie thy selfe, that it may not appeare to men thou fastest, and in all thy fasts seeke onelyonly to approue thy heart vntounto God.
The words thus explaned containe 2. parts; a commandement, and a reason therof. The commandement is two-fold: First, that we should cō ceale our fasts frō men, intimated by wash thy face, & annoint thy head: secondly, that we should seeke to approoue our selues, not to men, but to God in our relgious fasts, in these words, That thou seeme not to men to fast, but to thy father which is in secret. In this first branch of thisPriuate worship must be concealed. commandement we may learne, that the priuate worship of God must be performed priuately vntounto God, & concealed frō men; for that which is here said of priuate fasting, which is a meanes to further our praiers, is true of praier it selfe, & of eueryevery part of Gods priuate worship, for there is the same reason of all: as may thus appeare; First, in al actions of Gods worship, there must be obserued an holy comelines & decencie, which is then done, when they be performed with fi… & conuenient circūstances; that is, publike actions of worship, with publike circumstances, and priuate actiōs with priuate circūstances: as publike praier must be made of a publike person, in a publike place, with an audible & loud voice; & priuate praier must be made in a priuate place, by priuate persons, with a still and lowe voice, & other seemely priuate gestures. Secondly, when priuate worship is performed with publike circumstāces, there are many occasions giuen to ambitiō, pride, & hypocrisie; but being done priuately, these occasions are preuented, & the heart is more free to seeke the approbation of God only.
This doctrine serues to direct our practise in Gods worship; as first, that we must not reserue our priuate preparatiō to Gods publike worship,… for vsus in God… worship. til we come to the publike congregation; but prepare our selues at home priuately in our chāber or closet: for though to pray eueryevery where1 be lawfull, yet because conuenient circumstances must be obserued inOf priuate preparation to Gods publike worship. all our actions of worship, therefore priuate praier in a publike place is not so seemely nor conuenient; for publike circumstances doe not beseem priuate worship. Quest. What if a man wanted time, or had forgot to prepare himselfe before hand? Ans. Slight pretences cannot iustifie any disorder in Gods worship: & yet if a man will needs there performe his priuate preparation, he must conceale all outward signes of praier, & only lift vp his heart vntounto God; for a good dutie may become offensiue2 by inconuenient circumstances. Secondly, this shews how Christian familiesHow priuate families must worship god must order their priuate exercises of religion, namely, so priuately for voice & gesture, that they may conceale the same from others, beside their familie present: and so must particular persons praying alone, obserue such circumstances as may conceale their praiers from others; for all occasions of ostentation must be auoided, that so the heart may apply it selfe wholly towards the Lord.
That thou seeme not to men to fast. This is the secōd branch of ChristsThe hear must be approoued to God in fasting, & how. commandement, wherein wee learne a second dutie in a religious fast; namely, that therein we seeke to approoue our selues & our action only to God: for which end, we must obserue 3. things. 1. With our fasting wee must ioyne a conuersion of our heart frō sin vntounto God: Ioel 2. 12. Turne you vntounto me with all your heart, & with fasting: there God hath ioyned them together, & they may not be seuered. Now that our hearts mayHow the heart may turne to god in fasting. turne to God in fasting, we must hauehave speciall regard to our behauiour both before, in, and after our fast, whether publike or priuate. Before the fast, we must prepare our selues thereto in an holy manner, by a serious consideration of the causes and occasions of our fast: a worthy example hereof we hauehave in a2. Chron. 20. 3.Iehoshaphat, who considering a fearefull iudgement to be at hand, in the approching of his enemies, was sore afraid, & therupon set his heart to seeke the Lord, & proclaimed a fast. In fasting wee must labour to hauehave more tender affections, & deeper humiliation then ordinarie: 1. Sam. 7. 6. The Israelites humbling themselues in fasting for their idolatrie, in Mispah, drew water, and powred it out before the Lord: which words import their deep humiliation, whether it were by abundant weeping, (as some expound the place) or by powring out water indeed, to signifie, that they powred out their soules before the Lord. After the fast, we must labour for reformation and amendment of life, that our behauiour both towards God and man▪ may be eueryevery way better then before. A notable example hereof, wee hauehave in the Iewes, who hauing renued their couenant with God, vponupon their aNeh. 9. 1.humiliation, did not onelyonly bNeh▪ 9▪ 38.write it, and cchap▪ 1…. 1.seale vntounto it; but bound themselues thereto by dvers. 29.curse & oath. 2. That we approoue our selues & our action to God in fasting, we must be sure we propound vntounto our selues therein the right ends of a religious fast▪ which we hauehave before propoūded; for if we faile therein, and propound other ends vntounto our selues, we corrupt the whol action vntounto our selues. 3. With our fasting we must ioyne the duties of the second table, in the works of iustice, merciemercy, & louelove to our brethrē; for without these, our louelove to God is not sincere: nay, God reiects that bodily humiliation, which is seuered from the exercise of merciemercy & cō passion, as we may see at large, Isay 58. 3, 4, &c. I shewed before that we had iust cause to humble our selues; which when we doe, wee must bee carefull thus to approoue our hearts vntounto God.
Thus much of the cōmandement: now followeth the reason therof, drawne from the promise of Gods reward to them that fast in an holy manner: And thy father which seeth in secret will reward thee openly: that is, seeing thee intend onelyonly to approoue thine heart and action vntounto God in fasting, will giuegive thee an open reward at the last day.
This text the Papists doe notably abuse, to prooue 2. heretical conclusionsPopish conclusions. touching fasting: First, that fasting in it selfe for any good ende, is a Ipart of Gods worship, because it hath a promise of open reward, euen lifeBellar. de bo… oper. in pa…t. l. …. c. 6. & 11. euerlasting, made vntounto it, as before was made to praier & almes-deeds; and therefore must needes be of the same nature with them: for things indifferent▪ & bodily exercises, profit little, that which hath the promise is a part of godlinesse, 1. Tim. 4. 8. Answ. This promise is made to him that fasteth, not to the worke; and that not simply for his exercise of fasting, but for his repentance, conuersion, and inuocation, which goe with fasting, and are furthered thereby. But they alleadge, that Luk. 2. 37.Annath serued God with fastings and with praier. Answ. In the old testament, fasting was a part of Gods worship; for it was commanded to be performed the tenth day of the seauenth monethmonth: and then also was the making and performing of vowes, a part of religious worship, commanded of God. Now in all likelihood Annah had bound her selfe by vowe to God, to that course of praier and fasting, and therfore was approoued of God therein. But now in the newe testament wee hauehave no cōmandemēt for set fasts or vowes, & therfore the case is not the same, and so her example cannot prooue the thing for which they alleadge it: indeed we hauehave the vow of moral obedience made in baptisme, but that eueryevery one is bound to performe that takes God for his God, though he should not vow it. Again, a man may be said to serue God in praier and fasting as Annah did, because praier is a true part of Gods worship, and though fasting in it selfe be not the worship of God, yet beeing ioyned with praier, it is a notable furtherance thereunto: and beeing so performed vpō iust occasion, it is a part of his worship, because he requires it.
The second conclusion which the Papists would gather hence is; that II. Popish conclusions. Bell… ▪ d… bon. ope…. in part▪ l▪ …. c. 11.Fasting satisfieth Gods iustice, and merits remission of sinnes and life euerlasting; because this promise of open reward is here made vntounto it. Ans. We must know, that the promises of God for remission of sinnes and life euerlasting, beeing grounded vponupon Christ, are onelyonly made to them that be regenerate and beleeue in Christ; and so they are not made to him for his works sake, but for his faith whereby he is in Christ, and so indeede are made vntounto him for Christs sake onelyonly, in whome we grant, that God of his free grace makes himselfe a debter by his promise to eueryevery beleeuer that doth any good worke: yet the debt is not due to vsus for any thing we doe, but due to Christ who hath merited it, and in Christ due to vsus. But it will be said, that works are oft mentioned with Gods promises, and especially faith, which is a worke. Ans. True: but yet the reward promised is not giuen for works sake, nor yet for faith; but for Christs sake, whose merit imputed to vsus is receiued by faith, which faith we testifie by workes: and so according to our faith and works, we receiue a reward of God, but not for them: as Christ said to the Centurion, fMath. …. 13. How fasting shall hauehave a reward.As thou hast beleeued, so be it vntounto thee. Thus then must we conceiue of this promise made to fasting; though in it self it be a bodily exercise: yet being done in obedience to God vponupon iust occasion, by him that beleeueth in Christ, & beeing ioyned with praier and conuersion to God, it is a worke of faith, and shall hauehave a reward.
Now this gracious promise made to fasting in this holy maner, must stirre vsus vp to a louelove of this exercise, and to the practise of it, so oft as iust occasion is giuen. And vndoubtedly one speciall cause of the continuall renuing of Gods iudgements among vsus is, because we humble not our selues by praier and fasting vnderunder Gods mightie hand. It were therefore to be wished, in regard of the manifold iust occasions, that publike fasts were more often commanded by publike authoritie, and priuate fasts more conscionably vsed in eueryevery family.
And thus much of the fourth part of Christs Sermon, containing a reformation of abuses in Almes, Praier, and Fasting: out of all which we must learne this one thing which Christ principally intends; to wit, in all holy duties to auoid hypocrisie, endeauouring to doe them with that simplicitie and sinceritie of heart, whereby we truely desire to hauehave God and not man the seer and approouer of them. And so shall our workes be not only good in themselues, but in vsus, and acceptable vntounto God: otherwise, if we doe them in ostentation, or for other sinister respects, the hypocrisie of our hearts defiles our good workes, and so makes them vnacceptable vntounto God▪ and vnprofitable to our selues.