Commentary on the Epistles and Revelation of John, Part 1
Abstinence.
PROV. 23.1, 2, 3.
When thou ſitteſt to eat with a Ruler, conſider diligently what is before thee:
And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.
Be not deſirous of his dainties: for they are deceitfull meat.
KIng Solomon, having ſhewed in the laſt verſe of the former Chapter, that diligence ſets a man in the preſence of Kings, 1 King. 11.18.as it had done Jeroboam in his preſence, becauſe he found him dexterous and diligent, handy, and meet for the work … he here directs ſuch, when ſo prefer'd, how to behave themſelves, if ſet at table eſpecially: 1.verſ. 1. To conſider where to feed, verſ. 1. for a man is forced many times amidſt the variety of meats, wherewith great mens tables uſually ſweat, to eat doubtfully (as one ſpeaketh) not well knowing what piece to pitch upon, what diſh to deal withall. 2. To put a knife to their throat, verſ 2.or in their throat (as Aben-Ezra tenders it) rather then offend by inordinate appetite.Verſ. 3. This is foreign Gal 5 23. from foreign. 3. If yet they finde themſelves over-deſirous of thoſe dainti…s, to bridle themſelves in by main force, to lord it over their luſts, not coveting the cates of a king, but being content with gruell rather, as Daniel and his three fellows, for the keeping of a good conſcience.
Doct. The often inculcating the duty imports: 1. A neceſſity, and that it muſt be done, or we are undone. 2. Difficulty, by reaſon of our ſtrong inclination to intemperance; againſt which therefore keep we a ſtrong guard, curbing and controuling the concupiſcible faculty, about alimentary objects, reſtraining exceſſe both in meats (which is Abſtinence ſtrictly taken) and in drinks, which properly is Sobriety, whereof hereafter in its place.
Abſtinence orders a man in the uſe of meats, that it be neither unſeaſonable for the time, nor unreaſonable for the meaſure.
1. As touching the time. It is a fault not to obſerve due hours of eating, Eccle. 10.16, 17. to fare deliciouſly every day, Luk. 16.19.Mat. 24., 8. foreign, eating, in the preſent tenſe, continuall eating as b…ute beaſts. foreign à privativa par tioula …, & foreign To riot in the day time, 2 Pet. 2.13. To feaſt, when God cals to faſting, Iſa 22.12, 13. which is therefore called a day of reſtraint, Joel 2.15. becauſe we ſhould then reſtrain our ſelves from all meat, if poſſible, for a ſeaſon; that nature may be chaſtiſed, yet not diſabled for duty: Or at leaſt from bread of deſires, as Daniel that man of deſires, Dan. 9.23. He ate no pleaſant bread, neither came ſleſh nor wine in his mouth, &c. for three whole weeks together, becauſe it went ill with the poor people of God. Mr Rogers Martyr,D…n. 10.2, 3. Act. and Mon. Ibid. 1155 Fulvius Argentarius ex authoritate ſenat… in careerem deductus, quòd tempore belli funeſti ipſe ſo… Letari viſ… eſt Plin l. …c. 7 Act. and Mun. fol. 15…4. in a hard time made a motion to forbear one m…al a day. Mr Wiſeheart, a Scotch-Martyr, forbare one meal in three, one day in four, for the moſt part, except ſomething to comfort nature. God threatneth thoſe that do not abſtain in an evil time, Amos 6.4, 7. And the Romans puniſhed it in one that feaſted and looked out at a window, with a garland on his head, in the ſecond Punick war.
2. For the meaſure. 1. We may not neglect the body, defraud our Genius, macerate and unſpirit our ſelves overmuch, as thoſe Col. 2.23. as Timothy, living among the luxurious Epheſians, 1 Tim. 5.23. And as Nicolas Shetterdens wife the Martyr, whom he chides in a letter to her for her exceſſive faſting, though of a pious intention. The mercifull man doth good to his own ſoul: but he that is cruel, troubleth his own f…eſh, Prov. 11.17. This later clauſe Rabbi Levi expoundeth (and Mercer is of the ſame minde) to be meant of thoſe that place the chief ſervice of God in afflicting and pining their bodies,Merc in loc. whereas bodily exerciſe profiteth little.
2. We may not pamper the body, cater for the fleſh: preſerve it we muſt, make proviſion for it we may not. Debters we are,Rom. 13. …. to ſee to it, not to live to it, Rom. 8.12. We may not live to eat, but eat to live: leſſe we muſt eat then nature deſires, and yet ſo much as refreſheth nature, and makes us fit for the ſervice of God and man. Take heed to your ſelves, ſaith our Saviour to his Diſciples (And who would have thought that they, who ordinarily fed upon barly-bread, and once had no better a Sundaies-dinner, then a few ears of corn, rub'd betwixt their hands, ſhould need any ſuch Take heed?) that your hearts be not over-charged with ſurfeting, &c. and ſo that day come upon you unawares. Luk. 21.34.But the Goſpel teacheth to live ſoberly, or, temperately, Tit. 2.12. and reckons ſurfeting among the deeds of darknes, Rom. 13.13. the works of wickednes, Gal. 5.21. Such as are manifeſt to be unworthy of us: 1. As men. 2. As Chriſtian men.Plato appetitü aſſi…ilat equo qui ſit foreign, &c In Phaed. 205.
Reaſ. 1. As men we ſhould be abſtinent; it being the excellency of a man above a beaſt; an act of reaſon ſubduing luſt, of the ſuperiour faculties, repreſſing the inferiour ſenſualities. And, as in the iraſcible faculty, it is the glory of a man to paſſe by an indignity; and he is a braver man that can conquer his paſſions, as Jacob did in the rape of Dinah, then that conquereth a City, as his ſons did the City of She…h…m: So in the concupiſcible faculty, it is an high praiſe, To abstain from fleſhly luſts which fight against the ſoul; 1 Pet. 2.12. foreign. Arſ…an … 7. Aquinas viti… vocat max…mè exprobrabile 2. 2. … 142. art. 4. ex Ariſto…, Ethic l. 3. c. 10.to ſay nay to ſenſuall appetite, and peremptorily to deny his carnall ſelf, as David did in the water of the well of Bethlehem, and Alexander in his travels thorow the dry deſerts of India. He was wont to ſay, That it was the baſeſt thing in the world to play the Epicure; and had he held to that principle, he had been ſafe and happy. But when, as a naturall brute beaſt made to be taken and deſtroied, in what he knew nuturally, he began to corrupt himſelf (as both S. Peter and S. Jude have it) be utterly periſhed in his own corruptions. So did the old world,2 Pet. 2.12. Jude 10. Mat. 24 38. So Homer uſeth the word. thoſe monſtrous men of condition. They were foreign, ſaith S. Matthew, Eating as brute beaſts do (ſo the word ſignifies, for otherwiſe it is no fault to eat) when the floud over-whelmed them. Whether it were lawfull for them before the floud to eat fleſh, the Doctours are divided, and I determine not. But after the floud God ſaid to Noah, and his ſons,Gen 9 3. Every moving thing that liveth ſhall be meat for you. But mark that it is added, Even as the green herb have I given you all things, Hexapla in loc.that is, ſoberly, and without curioſity, to take ſuch things as are at hand, as D… Willet interprets it. Nature alſo ſeemeth to teach the ſame thing in giving man ſo little a mouth,Deus homini it a auguſt un ventrem pre re liquis an…anti bus dedit, &c. Chryſoſt. N…h…lo ſu… aſiri… mel…oris animi ta…un …e… ſarum de…icias ſectante…. Ch…y. with a narrower throat, a leſſer belly then other creatures, as Chryſoſtome obſerveth; and in tying concupiſcence to the ſtomack and belly (the loweſt place) as one would tie an horſe or aſſe to the manger, as Plato hath it. A fit reſemblance and good enough for ſuch beaſtly belly-gods, as glut themſelves with Gods good creatures, which they devour, as if their throats were whirlpools, and their panches bottomleſſe: crying out with the horſleech, Give, give, ſtuffing themſelves like wooll-packs, and fatting themſelves like boars, till they be brawned, and have (as Eliphaz ſpeaketh) collops in their flanks. Job 15.27.And wheras they ſhould be (…th they will needs fall below the ſtirrop of reaſon) they ſhould be, I ſay, like Ants and Bees thoſe wiſeſt creatures, and abound rather in pectore ubi eſt animus, quam in ventre ubi eſt ſtercus, in breſt then belly; they re…emble rather the locuſts which have but one gut, and the ſpider which is little elſe then belly. Of the Aſſe-fiſh Ariſtotle affirmeth, That of all other creatures he hath his heart in his belly.Polyhiſt … 22. And of the Dolphin Solinus obſerveth, That he hath his mouth almoſt in his very belly, and that he only (of all fiſhes) moveth his tongue. Such are our greedy-gut Cormorants; they wear their guts in their heads, and their brains in their bellies: they have a tongue alſo to talk for, and of their belly-timber, as that Roman Apicius, that wrote ten books of direction, how to ſet forth a feaſt with all manner of dainties.De … dapum … inſt ruenda Rex Plat. p …2 foreign, &c. This was Laborious loſſe of time, as the Philoſopher cals it: or as another, this was Magno conatu magnas nugas agere. Nature is content with a little, as not to be hungry, thirſty, cold, &c. ſaith Galen, grace with leſſe. And that's the ſecond thing we were ſaying.
Reaſ. 2 2. As Chriſtian men. Nothing more becometh us then Abſtinence. A vertue that very Heathens adored in their Socrates, Anacharfis, Cyrus, Caeſar, and others. The old Gaules were very ſparing in their diet,H…yl. Geo p 85 and uſed to fine any one that out-grew his girdle.…lunts voiage into l. e…nt. The Turks at this day (ſaith one) refuſe all dainties for a piece of fat mutton. And when King Ferdinands Embaſſadours (that brought a great preſent to Solyman the great Turk) were feaſted by the Baſſaes, their cheer was only rice and mutton; and that ſo plainly and ſparingly dreſſed (ſaith the Hiſtorian) as if they had thereby noted our gourmandiſe and exceſſe, who meaſure not our chear by that which nature requireth, but that which greedy appetite deſireth, as if therein conſiſted the greateſt nobility. And the drink for the great Baſſaes themſelves,Turk. hiſt. fol. 7…3. right eaſie to be had, was fair water out of the river Danubius, &c. Wine is a prohibited ware amongſt them (ſaith my former Authour) which maketh ſome drink with ſcruple, others with danger. The baſer ſort, when taken drunk, are often baſtinadoed on the bare feet. And I have ſeen ſome, after a fit of drunkenneſſe,Blunt ubi ſupr… 105. lie a whole night crying, and praying to Mahomet for interceſſion, that I could not ſleep near them. So ſtrong is conſcience, even where the foundation is but imaginary. Now if theſe Gentiles, Rom 2.14, 15, 17.which have not the Law, doe by nature the things contained in the law, and ſo ſhew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conſcience alſo bearing witneſſe with or againſt them; Shall not the uncircumciſion which is by nature, if it fulfill the law, judge thee, who, by the letter and circumciſion, dost tranſgreſſe the law? Doth not that perfect law of liberty, the Goſpel,Jam. 1. foreign. Mat. 5.147. Eph. 5.15. M…t. 5.20. 1 Cor. 10. 2 Pet 2 13. Jude 13. foreign Occumenius de ſ…opul… accipit, qui navigantes remorantur. Tert adverſ. Gent. c. 39. reach men to do ſome thing ſingular? to walk exactly? to exceed Scribes and Phariſees, how much more Turks and Heathens? to eat before the Lord? to eat to the glory of God? to feed with fear of being enſnared by the creature? Which whoſo do not, theſe are spots und blemiſhes, ſaith S. Peter, ſpots and ro…ks in your lovefeaſts, ſaith S. Jude. Tertullian ſpeaking of thoſe love-feaſts, teſtifieth, That great care was taken therein that none ſhould eat or drink more then was meet, but that the poor ſhould have their portion. Some, I confeſſe, exceeded at Corinth, and are ſharply taxed for it by S. Paul, 1 Cor. 11.21. But, for the generall, they were modeſt and moderate: and are therefore ſaid to be virgins (ſuch as went not a whoring in their affections after the creature) and without blemiſh before the throne of God, Revel. 14.4, 5. as thoſe that did eat as in Gods preſence. Deut. 12.18. approving themſelves to him even in their repaſts and common converſation. Philo well obſerveth, that the ancient Jews uſed,Hence ſome drive foreign of foreign. after their ſacrifices, to make their feaſts; and in the temples, that the place and action might minde them of Abſtinence and ſobriety.Exod▪ 18 12. Thus Jethro, took a burnt offering, and ſacrifices for God; and Aaron came, and all the Elders of Iſrael, to eat bread with Moſes father in law before God. Gauden…ius Caſaubonus. Idem qui Graecis divitu… foreign, Plauto D…cta…or. Baronius ex Gaudentio.The Jews alſo had a ſort of officers at their feaſts called Praefecti morum, foreign to ſee that none ſhould eat or drink too much: called they were alſo foreign, the eyes of the feaſt, and in the Goſpel foreign, Rulers of the feaſt, Joh. 2.10. And theſe, they ſay, were to be Prieſts, that with their gravity and authority might over-awe the company, and ſee that there were no diſorder. Now a good man, like a good Angel, is ever looking on the face of God: being (as Solomon adviſeth) in his fear the whole day throughout. Prov. 23.17.God, he knows well, is foreign, Alleye: whether therefore he eats or drinks, or whatſoever elſe he does, he does it as in the ſight of God. Cave, ſpectat Cato, could never ſo keep in that Roman from ſurquedry and indecency, as the ſenſe of Gods preſence doth the faithfull Chriſtian. He contents not himſelf with a naturall uſe of his food (as bruit beaſts, and brutiſh ſenſualiſts) but labours to taſt the ſweetneſſe of God, in the ſweetneſſe of the creature. Beſides, he looks upon his meats as a piece of Chriſts purchaſe, and ſees them come ſwimming toward him in the diſhes, as it were, in Chriſts bloud. Himſelf alſo he conſiders, as bought with a price; and therefore reſolves to glorifie God with his ſpirit, and with his body too, which are the Lords.1 Cor. 6.…0.
Ʋſe 1 For Application. It is the ſaying of Hugo Cardinalis, that the devil hath two daughters, Ittam …udae…, hanc E…nicis olim elocaſſe, nano vero …leri …os & ſacerdo te…, &c. Cujus avaritiae totus non ſufficit orbis, Luxuriae …uj… mereirix non ſufficit om…is Act and Mon. fol 1417. Jac. R…v hiſt. pon…if p. 261.Covetouſneſſe, and luxury or riotouſnes: the former he married of old to the Jews, the later to the Gentiles. But now the Popiſh Prieſts and Romiſh Clergy have taken them both from their husbands, and uſe them as their own. We read of one jolly Pope Julius, that called for his Porke-fleſh (forbidden him by his Phyſicians) al despito di Dio, in deſpite of God: and asked why, if God were ſo angry for an apple, he might not be as angry for his cold peacock which he miſſed at table, having commanded it to be ſet up for him againſt ſupper. Another of them (Leo the tenth) is ſaid to have ſpent a thouſand thouſand crowns in one day, at his coronation. The merchants of the earth are ſaid to have waxed rich thorow the abundance of Romes delicacies, Revel. 18.3. And the Kings of the earth, that had lived deliciouſly with her, are brought in bewailing her, ver. 9. The merchants alſo mourn for that none now buy (as they were wont whiles Babel ſtood.). their fine flowers, and wheat, their beaſts, ſheep,foreign. and other viands. The fruits that thy ſoul luſted after, ſay they, are departed from thee (the Geeek word ſignifies Antumn-fruit, their ſecond ſervices, ſuckets, ſweet-meats,Prob …udor! eſt res …aec …to no…ſſima coelo Lege Petrarchoe e…ſt elas qui an…e ducentos annos a…l… pontificiae l…x…n faſtum…, pluquam Sybariticum acriter inſect a…us eſt. and delicate confections, wherewith the Roman Clergy refreſh themſelves even in their pretended faſts) and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee; and thou ſhalt finde … no more at all, ver 14. Look how, when Sodome was ſacked by Kedar-laomer and his company, it is expreſſely noted, That they took all their victuals, and went their way, Gen. 14 11. So ſhall it be done to ſpirituall Sodome (ſo Rome is called, Revel. 11.8. and fitly.) Sodomes ſins were pride, fulneſſe of bread, and and abundance of idleneſſe. Not to ſpeak of the firſt and laſt, who knows not that they (like the Cater-pillars of Egypt) do eat up the fat and beſt fruits of the land. For (ſaith he that made the Anatomy of the Engliſh Nunnery at Liſbon) what the purveyours of the Viceroy have forſaken in the market (as too dear) I have known the Cator of this houſe to buy at unreaſonable rates,Tho. Robinſon his Anatomy, &c. p. 13. for their ghoſtly fathers table, and ſuch of his chickens (the Nuns) as he moſt affected; whoſe greateſt, and indeed only care is to prove skilfull in the confection and dreſſing of ſuch dainty cates, as may beſt pleaſe their wanton palates. And (as Natritiva facultas est officina generativae, Gluttony is the gallery that incontinency walks thorow) the ſame Anatomiſt ſets forth a great deal of their fleſhly filthineſſe. Elies ſons had a wanton tooth, and this was an harbinger to other luxurious wantonneſſe. Rectè erit, cognate, &c. ſaith Lewis the 11. of France, in a letter to our Edward the 4. Thus it ſhall be with you, Couſen: If you'll but come over to Paris, we'll pamper our fleſh: and you ſhall delight your ſelf in the choiſeſt beauties of the City. After all which, I will bring you Cardinall Burbon, Alb…hebo tibi Card. Borbon is qu…quid peccari…, pro ca qua… habet potellate, ſactlè expiabit. Commens l. 6.who (according to the power committed unto him by the Pope) ſhall ſoon abſolve you from all your ſins. The Papacy is an alluring, tempting, bewitching Religion. Sr Walter Rawleigh knew what be ſaid, That were he to chuſe a Rel…g…on for licentious liberty, and laſciviouſnes, he would chuſe the Popiſh Religion. No ſin paſt, but the Pope can pardon: No ſin to come, but he can diſpenſe with. No matter how long they have lived in any ſin (though the ſin againſt the holy Ghoſt) yet extream Unction at laſt will ſalve all. What marvell therefore, though Papiſts call for their portion here with the Prodigall, Eat and drink with the drunken, and begin to beat their fellows, with that evil ſervant, Matth. 24.49? Cry out with thoſe Epicures in Iſaiah, Come, I will fetch wine, and we will fill our ſelves with ſtrong drinke, and to morrow ſhall be as this day, and much more abundant? Let in eat and drink, for to morrow we ſhall di…, Chryſostome tels us of ſome ſuch in his time, as would uſually ſay,Iſa 56 ult. 1 Cor …. foreign Multi…n …erri, manducä…, quo… apu… inſe…os digera…t. Magnatum galeis & raſis ſacrifi…o…um ver…bus. Give me to day, and take thou to morrow. But of theſe Atheiſts well ſpake S. Austin, Many eat that here, that they must digest in hell. Hell was long ſince ſaid by one to be paved with the ſhaven crowns of thoſe hell-ſprung locuſts, That have, as it were, crowns on their heads (that is, vertices raſos, ſaith Pareus) and a King over then (other locuſts have none, Prov. 3.27.) which is the Angel of the bottomleſſe pit, whoſe name is Abaddon and Apollyon; or the Deſtroier, Revel. 9.7, 10. That ſon of perdition, to whom, though he draw thouſands of ſouls to hell with him, none muſt dare to ſay, What doſt thou? He hath thouſands and ten thouſands of theſe locuſts ready preſt for any ſervice: therefore they are ſaid to be like unto horſes prepared unto battle, Revel 9.7. Pampered they are in their cloiſters, as war horſes in their ſtalls or ſtables, Every one neighing after his neighbours wife, Jer. 5.8. The husbands of bar…en women they ſend in pilgrimage to S. Joyce the Patroneſſe of fruitfulneſſe,Hey! Geog. pag. 285 Ipſi interim eū peregrinantis uxore vel filiabus ſuaviter in moll… lect… …o lutahant. Ca…t. hiſt. Chriſta in Mat 23.4. and lie with their wives in the mean while: Marry they may not, Though they burn like an oven, Hoſ. 7.7. nor meddle with fleſh on faſting-daies, though they make no bones of ſtrange fleſh any day. Are not theſe thoſe ſeducing spirits S. Paul ſpeaks of, that forbid to marry, and command to abstain from meats, 1 Tim. 4.3? They twit us with their much faſting, as once the Phariſees did our Saviours diſciples: And ſhame not to ſay, that we count faſting but a morall temperance, a faſting from ſin, a matter of policy. We could rejoyn and tell them, with more truth; that their faſts are meer mo…k-fasts and worſe; whiles, 1. They abſtain from certain meats only, not all, which is a doctrine of devils, 1 Tim. 4.2, 3. The people they tie to bread and water; the Prieſts fill themſelves, the while with wine, ſweet meats and ſuckets. 2. In ſetting certain faſting daies under pain of damnation, whether the times be better or worſe. 3. In making them a ſervice to God, and yet conſecrating them to the Saints. 4. In aſcribing merit thereto. 5. In making ſhamefull fale thereof. Their faſts alſo are often times prefaces and pretexts to their abominable villanies, as in the Gun-powder-treaſon: They proclaimed a faſt, with wicked Jezabel, for the ſucceſſe of the great crack and black-day, wherein theſe Harpies thought to have made but a break-faſt of us all. Nor bleſſed be the Lord, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth, Pſal. 1 24.6. O that he would once at length put into the hearts of the Kings of the earth to hate the ſcarlet whore, and to eat her fl…ſh, as it is prophecied, Rev. 17.16.Sanderus illued regi… Hen 8 Apoph…hegin mire …xagitat, …orverum … eiſe penitits diſturbandos, no iterim ad coha…tandum convolent. Sand. ſchiſm Angl …. Diruendiſunt etiam pſi …oni…rum …di, …e redeant Ziſce dictum apud La…at in Deut. … ſruges conſumere na…. to deſtroy thoſe crows-neſts, the Monaſteries and religious houſes (as they call them) that they build no more there, as our Henry the eight did, turning out thoſe ſlow-bellies here (as Ziſca alſo did in Bohemia) the Abbey-lubbers, I mean, that lived upon the ſpoil, having their ſouls meerly for ſalt to keep their bodies from putrifying. Their whole life was to eat and drink, and ſleep, and ſport, &c. as if they came into the world, as rats and mice, only to devour victuals, and to run ſqueaking up and down, as the Phariſees did to widows houſes, which they devoured under a pretence of long praiers, Mat. 23.13. Such as theſe are the verm ne of the world, the body-lice of man-kinde, the excrements of humane ſociety, &c. are therefore worthy of utter execration and ejection.
Ʋſe 2 Let every ſervant of God count it a foul ſhame to be a ſlave to his palat.Dum …alato quid fit optimun jul…, coeli …ala…un non ſuspexit. Epi…r…s dicebit ſe cun love etiam para…um eſſe de joea…itate conte…dere, ſi aqua… hab…re… & offam, …. Epicurius (ſaith Ennius) whiles he looked too much to his palat, lookt not at all to the heavenly palace. Howbeit, if Aelian may be credited, Epicurus was wont to ſay, That if he might have but a morſell of meat, and a mouth full of water, he would hold himſelf as happy, as the happieſt. A ſtrange ſpeech from him that placed the chief happineſſe of a man in ſenſuall pleaſures. But what ever his opinions were, his life was temperate, ſaith Tully. Jacob (a far better man) deſired no more but food to eat and clothes to put on, Gen. 28.20.Epicurei mihi videntur metrùs dicere, quam facere … de Finib, l. 2. A little of the creature ſerves turn to carry us thorow our pilgrimage. If we have food and raiment, let us therewith be content, 1 Tim. 6.8. Wh…re note, ſaith a Greek Father, that he ſaith, having food, not fine fare, and raiment not ornament. Meat and drink are the rich…s of a Chriſtian, foreign … & pot… divitiae unt Chriſtianorum foreign C…em.ſaith Hierome. Bread and cheeſe with the Gospel is good chear, ſaith Greenham. It is but a little, that a godly man ſtands in need of, ſaith Clements Alexandrinus. If you'l be content to pleaſe Dionyſius, you need not eat green herbs (ſaid the Paraſite to the Philoſopher). And if you'l be content (ſaid the Philoſopher to the Paraſite) to feed upon green herbs, you need not pleaſe Dionyſius. Eliſha dined more comfortably with his coleworts (the coloquintida excepted) and Elias with his cake on the coals,Non t…niorem illum a ſim…ag…e, ſed eraſſiorem & dom. ſt…cum. Horat. Oppon…t …a…m libis & piacentis, l …. ep. 10 Vitae conſervativum. and cruſe of water, then all Jezabels prophets, with the murdering morſels they met with at her full Table. Our Saviour taught his diſciples to pray for bread (down-tight brown bread) not bisket or manchet: and daily bread, or (as the Syriack hath it) bread of neceſſity, as Suidas, ſuch as wherewith we may ſubſiſt, as Brentius, ſuch as may hold life and ſoul together. And the wanton Iſraelites, not content with their bread from heaven, but luſting after quails, had their wiſh, but a curſe withall. Not, but that it is lawfull to feaſt, to eat of the fat and drink of the ſweet, and ſend portions to the poor, as they did Neh. 8.10. God hath allowed us not only for neceſſity or conveniency, but for honeſt affluence and delight, as Pſal. 23.5. Gen. 43.34. Our Saviour himſelf was at feaſts (as at the marriage at Cana in Galilee: and ſurely if feaſting ever be in ſeaſon it is at the recovery of the loſt rib:) the people alſo were allowed to feaſt thrice a year before the Lord, and at every ſuch time to pleaſe their appetite, Deut. 14.26. Thou ſhalt beſtow thy money for what ſoever thy heart deſireth, &c. Yet. as the Aegyptians carried about a deaths-head in their feaſts to reſtrain their inordinate appetite: ſo it muſt be remembred, that the belly was the firſt ſword that the devil drew againſt us, and doth it ſtill, and that, if thou let out thine appetite, it may cut thy throat. Be not therefore deſirous of dainties: for they are deceitfull meat. E…t ſuch things as are ſet before you, as our Saviour bad his Diſciples, Luk. 10.8. be it but homely,foreign Quicun que appoſitus ſuevit cibus. Bez…. Quotidiè exiguo pa…e & balece contentum eſſe. Melanch Neſcio qu… Satan id curat, uti negare non liceat, & tamen ſeciſſe …oceat. Tom 1. epiſſ▪ p. 625. ſo it be wholſome. Luther (as he was a ſmallmeat-man, and a great faſter, ſo) for many dai…s together, ſaith Melancthon, I have obſerved him to concent himſelf with a little piece of bread and a herring. Being often invited to feaſts, he came not, leſt he ſhould loſe ſo much time: as himſelf complaineth in a certain Epiſtle: I loſe a great deal of time through invitations: And I know not what Satan procures it, that I cannot ſay nay, and yet it repents me to have done it. Be not amongſt wine-bibbers, amongst riotous eaters of fleſh, or fleſhmongers, as one rendereth it. For the drunkard and the glutton ſhall come to poverty, &c. Pro. 23. 20, 21. That's one motive to temperance.
1. Spend-thrifts entomb their anceſtours in their bowels. As they turn rents into ruffs, and lands into laces,Motive 1. Singul…s auri…s bina …ut …e…a …ependunt … D… guione … Horat…s hang their patrimonies at their ears, as Seneca ſaith; wear a pretty grove, an indifferent farm on their backs: ſo do they waſte their ſubſtance with riotous living, as that Prodigall, Luk. 16.13. Ingluvies & tempeſtas, barathrum que macelli. The Prodigall is called foreign quaſi foreign, ſaith Clem. Alex. One that is unſaveable, or one that is undone by himſelf,foreign ſaith Aristotle: So was Cleopatra, Heliogabalus, Vitellius, and (to omit many others) M. Livius, who when he had waſted a great eſtate in luxurious living, jeſted at his own folly, and ſaid, That he left nothing for his heir, Praeter coelum & caenum, more then air and mire. Another,Phan…a lex, quâ …aveb… nequis car…s obſo … …res tantum ba…urt qu… parerent, Scaevola…. Tuberonem, Ruffum Macrob. Veat…r moleſtus cliens. foreign. Magiſter artis …ngen… que lar…itor Venter. Sub… morimur quia m…thus vivi…us. Sen. Motive 2. hearing that there were but 700 crowns left of a vaſt eſtate that he had left him, hanged himſelf. The belly is a troubleſome client, ſaith one, an evil beaſt, ſaith another; an ingenious Artiſt, ſaith a third. What birds ſoever flie, what fiſhes ſoever ſwim, what beaſts ſoever run about, are buried in our bellies (ſaith Seneca) what marvell then though we our ſelves are ſoon brought to burial? And let that be a ſecond Motive to moderate feeding.
2. Gluttony is the bane of the body. For many more periſh by intemperance then by violence, by ſurfeting then by ſuffering. Epicures are as deſperate as ſouldiers, and meat kils as many as the musket. It is holden for c…rtain,The New-landers cure by S Will. Vaugh. p 23. That in every two year there is ſuch ſtore of ill humours and excrements engendered in the beſt body, that a veſſel of an hundred ounces will ſcarce contain them.foreign vew De Ninia …ſſyr. rage … Athenens Dip. noſ. lib. 2. What ſhall we then think of thoſe greedy gully-guts, that barrell up Gods good creatures in their bellies, and maſt themſelves like hogs of Epicures-heard? How do they haſten their end, and, as it were, dig their own graves with their teeth. Plures pereunt crapulâ quam capulo, la…cibus quam lanceis, &c. The board kils more then the ſword: for life is a lamp: and exceſſe of meat doth ſhorten the one, as too much oil doth extinguiſh the other. Let this warn our irregulares gulares, that make their gut a gulf, and fur their teeth with exceſſive eating, hatefull to God, hurtfull to themſelves. Let them take heed that they hug not themſelves to death; and, by pouring on too much oil, quite put forth the light of life. Tennismenſa ſanitatis mater, ſaith Chryſostome. Socrates is ſaid by ſobriety to have had alwaies a ſtrong body: Gorgias and Gal…n to have lived to an 120 years,Galen. de ſanit. tuend 1 5 … 12. by riſing ever from the Table with an appetite. Herodicus as ſtudent in Athens, the moſt weak and ſickly of any that then lived, by the teſtimony both of Plato and Aristotle: yet by temperance protracted his life to an incredible length.Cuffes d…ffer of Ag…s, p. 99. Augustus never drank bat thrice at one meal, and lived near 80 years. And Q. Elizabeth of England did ſeldom eat but-one ſort of meat, roſe ever with an appetite,New land cu…e 23 foreign H…ppoc. Camd Elizah, Pr…face. Motive 3. and lived about 70 years. K. Edward 6. called her by no other name then his ſweet ſister temperance: ſhe knew, That much meat, much malady.
Laſtly, For the ſoul. Many a mans table is a ſnare to him: whiles ſulneſſe breeds forgetfulneſſe, and that both of God and his works, Iſa. 5.12. and of men and their miſeries, as in Nabal that Pamphagus, thoſe Cormorants Amos 6.6. and Dives. It breeds alſo wantonneſſe, as in thoſe Iſraelites that eat and drank and roſe up to play: blockiſhnes and ſtupidity, as in the old world,Gula veſlibulum luxuriae. Dio in vita Vitel…ij. Vitell. trepidus, dein temulentus. Tac. Hinc foreign Epulae ſine …ine petitae Non ulla numina expaveſco caelitum, Sed victimas uni Deorum maxim… …entri offero, deosignoro caeteros Cyclops ap Eurip. Baltaſar, Vetellius, others: drunkennes as in Nabal: curſing and ſwearing, as Job ſuſpected by his children, at their feaſt. It emaſculates the ſpirit, as we ſee in Solomon; whoſe luxury drew out his ſpirits, and diſſolved him. It indiſpoſeth men to thoſe exerciſes that are to be performed by the minde, which is now taken up with the thought of what ſhall we eat, what ſhall we drink, &c? A full belly neither ſtudies well, nor praies well. They ſerve not the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, that ſerve their own bellies, Rom. 16.10. How can they, when their kitchin is their ſhrine, their Cook their Prieſt, their Table their Altar, and their belly their god, Phil. 3? &c.