Page images
PDF
EPUB

us of obtaining our requests; whether they be for averting God's judgements, or deriving his mercies upon us, in our pub. lic capacity or private.

These are some of the spiritual benefits, for I omit to mention the corporeal ones, though very confiderable, which recom mend fafting. And furely they are at leaft fufficient to keep every pretender to seriousness from deriding it, or thinking meanly of fuch as practise it. Though any one may judge, or find, it ever fo useless to himself; yet he cannot well know what it may be to others. And therefore, the rule of fcripture is in this fenfe perfectly just let not him, that eateth, defpife him, that eateth not*. If he doth, his contempt may light on characters of the highest eminence in wifdom and goodness; as it happened in the cafe of the royal pfalmift: the reproaches of them, that reproached thee, are fallen upon me. I wept, and chaftened my foul with fafting; and that was turned to my reprooft.

But as we ought, by all the prudence we can, to fpare o thers the guilt, and ourfelves the uneafiaefs and provocation, of fuch unkind treatment: fo we should be yet more careful not to deferve it in any degree and fhould therefore take diligent notice, that the text contains,

JI. A caution against using this practice amifs. Our Savi our indeed prohibits exprefsly no other abuses, than such as hypocrites committed: and mentions, of thofe, only one in particular. But as he certainly meant that, merely for a speci men of many; and defigned, that all fhould be avoided; it will be useful to fet before you others also, molt of which are condemned exprefsly fomewhere in the word of God; and all im plicity here.

Fafting is a duty, not for its own fake: for neither meat, nor abftaining from meat, commendeth us to God but for the fake of its good effects. Proportionably therefore, as in any perfon's cafe it is found, on impartial and full trial, to fail of thofe effects, or to produce bad ones, which outweigh or equal them, it ceafes to be a duty; any farther than the obligation of fetting no hurtful example, and giving no offence, may juttly demand regard. And as the cafes of different perfons differ extremely, it is either wicked tyranny, or pitiable unskilful. nefs,

Rom. xiv. 3.

† Pf. lxix, 9, 10.

1 Cor. viii. 8.

ness, to enjoin, as the church of Rome doth, all persons to abHain, fo often, and for fo long together, from eating fileth; and ail persons of fuch an age, and such a state of life and health, to eat only once in a day, or little more, of what they are fuffered to eat. Preferibing fuch rules, as thefe, to the whol world, muft bring hardfhips and diftreffes on millions of perfons, efpecially the poor, from which they can receive no good, but may fuffer much harm. It will give them wrong notions of religion, as confifting principally in outward obfervances; and multiply grievoufly the temptations of fin, by adding imaginary duties, that will often be more difficult than the real ones. They allow indeed fome occafional exceptions from theft general rules: and yet, even did they alio allow perfons to judge for themselves, when their circumftances came within th fe exceptions, it would still be a fource of endless doubts and fcruples to timorous minds. But befides the uncertainty, whe ther they may in confcience defire to be excepted, they are fub. jected to the will and pleasure of others, whether that defire fhall be granted; 'and to a large expence for it, if it be: Ard thefe and other difpenfations are one fund of wealth to the clergy and court of Rome, which they have used to the vikt purposes. But in order to our judging rightly, in what degree this will be expedient for us, divers things cught to be confi dered. Not many indeed of our church, in the prefent age, rus at all into exceffive aufterities: very far from it, God knows. But if any do, they ought to be warned: and though none did here, the christian doctrine ought to be vindicated from the im putation of leading to fuch extremes any where.

Fafting confifts in abstaining, wholly or in part, from our ordinary food. Abftaining wholly the former part of the day is undoubtedly the natural, and fhould be the general method of doing this. But they, in whofe cafe good reasons forbid t may, by properly reftraining themselves in the latter part, keep their faft to all good purposes, after they have, in comma speech, broken it. Continuing a total abftinence longer than a day can hardly ever be, and fo long feldom is, either useful or fafe. And though a confiderable approach towards abftinence for the whole day, if conducted prudently, may be allowed at proper intervals for fome fmall time, when defigned for feli punishment in great faults; as indeed leffening our faft into a trifle, on any occafion, public or private, would be mocking

God,

God, cheating ourselves, and giving scandal or bad example to others: yet when fubduing irregular appetites and passions is the end in view, moderate severity, and barely, if at all, exceeding the ftrictness of an exact and rigorous temperance, but long continued, will be moft effectual.

Abftaining from particular forts of food, from flesh-meat for inftance, as the strongest and most pleafing fort, if it be not hurtful, is very proper; and on public fafts efpecially, as being the common and most visible mark of compliance with whať public authority enjoins. But ftill this abftinence, befides that laying a great ftrefs upon it leads to fuperftition, or at least af -fords it countenance, may, to fome persons, be no felf-denial at all, but confiftent with most luxurious indulgence. There are many, to whom several sorts of fish are more delicious, than land-animals; and perhaps full as nutritive. Nay, methods have been invented, by which the palate is hardly ever fo much pleased, as when it is pretended to be mortified. The true direction then concerning the fare of our fafting seasons, is that, which the example of the prophet Daniel furnishes: In those days I ate no pleasant bread: that is, nothing contrived to gratify or provoke the appetite, but the plainest of wholesome diet. That we ought to be full as abftemious in what we drink, as what we eat, is very clear; and both are put on a level in the fame paffage of Daniel: Neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth. The fcripture alfo condemns every other needlefs indulgence at fuch times. Wherefore have we fafted fay they, and thou feeft not? Behold, in the day of your faft, ye find pleafure. Nor can there be a doubt, but intemperance, or even excess of gaiety, either defignedly preceding a fast, as is common in the Romish carnaval, or following one, as I fear may fometimes be the cafe in other churches, intirely destroys the religious ufe of it.

Deluding ourfelves by fuch contrivances, and attempting to impofe upon God the performance of fome fmall part of what he requires, inftead of the whole, is as real, and more abfurd and fatal hypocrify, than endeavouring to deceive our fellowcreatures. It therefore comes directly under the prohibition of the text and we have peculiar need to be on our guard against it at prefent. Of late years we have obferved public. fafts with more ftrictnefs and devotion, than had been feen amongst us in the memory of man. And fo far all was well.

But

But have we been afterwards uniformly pious and virtuous, watchful against all fin, and occafions of fin, attentive to our spiritual fate and the great concerns of eternity? Or have we thought, that crowding the churches for a day, and abstaining from a folly or two for a winter, perhaps with an ill will, was religion enough to fave the nation and our fouls? If any thing like fuch imaginations have taken hold of us, we have adulterated and debased a powerful remedy into an ufelefs and milchievous palliative, and while we truft to it, are farther from the hope of a radical cure than ever. And were we to amend more thoroughly but for a fhort time only, our cafe will be very little better. O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? 0 Judah, what shall I do unto thee? For your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early due it goeth away *. Let us therefore, now and at all times, confcientiously beware of this, and every error, in respect of religious mortifications. Let us neither fuperftitiously over-value, nor profanely despise, inftitu. tions for that purpose: neither treat ourselves with unprofit able harshness, nor with hurtful indulgence: neither be influenced by fervile dread, nor by irreverent prefumption :` neither fubmit our confciences to the commands of men, as if they were doctrines of God; nor contemptuously reject proper helps for obeying the laws of God, as worthless inventions of men: neither exalt the means into the fame rank with the end, nor hope to arrive at the end without the means. Let us, after the example of the holy apoftle, fo run, as not uncertainly; fo fight, as not beating the air: but, with strict and yet prudent difcipline, keep under the body, and bring it into fubjection t. For every man, that firiveth for the maflery, is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible ‡.. Which that we may obtain, &c.

• Hof. vi. 4.

t1 Cor. ix. 26, 27.

1 Cor. ix. 25.

SER.

SERMON

LXXXVIII.

ON GOOD CHARACTER, OR GENERAL ESTEEM OF Mankind.

PROV. xxii. 1.

A good name is rather to be chofen, than great riches.

IT

T feems very natural to wish, that amidst the great variety of things, which on various accounts appear defirable in this world, we could pass a right judgment concerning the proportionable value of each: that fo we might determine, what fhare of our attention they feverally merit; and, when they interfere, which ought to have the preference. Yet this we find to be, in moft cafes, far beyond our skill. Whether power, or wealth, or eafe, an active or a contemplative life, a private station or a public, this profeffion and employment or that, be more eligible; always hath been disputed, and always will. For the decifion will depend on circumftances too numerous and too uncertain to be confidered with exactnefs. And indeed it is for the intereft of mankind, that the anfwers to questions of this fort fhould be involved in obfcurity. For, suppose we all knew how to chufe, yet we could not all have our choice. And, as the whole muft confift of very different parts; it is well that our not knowing, which condition would be the best for us, contributes to our receiving, as we are bound, whatever falls to our lot, with a chearful acquiefcence in the appointment of Providence.

But though our Maker's wisdom hath left us greatly in the dark about fuch matters, in which, taking one courfe or another is but feldom of confiderable, if any, importance to the moft important of all things, the performance of our duty: VOL. II.

Хуу

yet,

« PreviousContinue »