dities of other countries may be tranfported, but also may be a neceffary defence to refift the invafion of the adverfary.

For the better understanding of this queftion, it is neceffary that we make a difference between the policies of princes, made for the ordering of their commonweals, in provifion of things ferving to the moft fure defence of their fubjects and countries, and between ecclefiaftical policies, in prescribing fuch works, by which, as by fecondary means, God's wrath may be pacified, and his mercy purchafed. Pofitive laws made by princes, for confervation of their policy, not repugnant unto God's law, ought of all Chriftian fubjects with reverence of the magiftrate to be obeyed, not only for fear of punishment, but also, as the Apoftle faith, for confcience Jake. Confcience, I fay, not of the thing, which of its own nature is indifferent, but of our obedience, which by the law of God we owe unto the magiftrate, as unto God's minifter. By which pofitive laws, though we fubjects, for certain times and days appointed, be reftrained from fome kinds of meats and drink, which God by his holy word hath left free to be taken and ufed of all men, with thankfgiving, in all places, and at all times; yet for that fuch laws of princes and other magiftrates are not made to put holinefs in one kind of meat and drink more than another, to make one day more holy than another, but are grounded merely upon policy, all fubjects are bound in confcience to keep them by God's commandment, who by the Apostle willeth all, without exception, to fubmit themfelves unto the authority of the higher powers. And in this point concerning our duties which be here dwelling in England, environed with the fea, as we be, we have great occafion in reafon to take the commodities of the water, which Almighty God by his divine Providence hath laid fo nigh unto us, whereby the increafe of victuals upon the land may the better be fpared and cherished, to the fooner reducing of victuals to a more moderate price, to the better fuftenance of the poor. And doubtless he feemeth to be too dainty an Englishman, who confidering the great commodities which may enfue, will not forbear fome piece of his licentious appetite upon the ordinance of his prince, with the confent of the wife of the realm. What good English heart would not wish that the old ancient glory fhould return to the realm, wherein it hath with great commendations excelled before our days,

in the furniture of the navy of the fame? What will more daunt the hearts of the adverfaries, than to fee us well fenced and armed on the fea, as we be reported to be on the land? If the prince requested our obedience to forbear one day from flesh more than we do, and to be contented with one meal in the fame day, fhould not our own commodity thereby perfuade us to fubjection? But now that two meals be permitted on that day to be ufed, which fometime our elders in very great numbers in the realm did ufe with one only fpare meal, and that in fish only; fhall we think it fo great a burthen that is prefcribed?

Furthermore, confider the decay of the towns nigh the feas, which fhould be moft ready by the number of the people there to repulfe the enemy; and we which dwell further off upon the land, having them as our buckler to defend us, thould be the more in fafety. If they be our neighbours, why thould we not with them to profper? If they be our defence, as nigheft at hand to repel the enemy, to keep out the rage of the feas, which elle would break in upon our fair paftures, why fhould we not cherish them? Neither do we urge that in the ecclefiaftical policy, prefcribing a form of fafting, to humble ourfelves in the fight of Almighty God, that that order, which was used among the Jews, and practifed by Chrift's Apoftles after his afcenfion, is of fuch force and neceflity, that that only ought to be used among Chriftians, and none other; for that were to bind God's people unto the yoke and burthen of Mofes's policy; yea, it were the very way to bring us, which are fet at liberty by the freedom of Chrift's Gofpel, into the bondage of the Law again, which God forbid that any man fhould attempt or purpose. But to this end it ferveth, to fhew how far the order of fafting now used in the church at this day differeth from that which was then ufed. God's church ought not, neither may it be fo tied to that or any other order now made, or hereafter to be made and devised by the authority of man, but that it may lawfully, for just causes, alter, change, or mitigate thofe ecclefiaftical decrees and orders, yea, recede wholly from them, and break them, when they tend either to fuperftition, or to impiety; when they draw the people from God, rather than work any edification in them. This authority Chrift himself ufed, and left it to his church. He used it, I fay, for the order or decree made by the elders for wafhing ofttimes, which was diligently

"

Hift. 1. ix.

c. 38.

diligently obferved of the Jews; yet tending to fuperflition, our Saviour Chrift altered and changed the fame in his church, into a profitable facrament, the facrament of our regeneration, or new birth. This authority to mitigate laws and decrees ecclefiaftical, the Apostles practifed, when they, writing from Jerufalem unto the congregation that was at Antioch, fignified unto them, that Acts xv. they would not lay any further burthen upon them, but thefe neceffaries: that is, that they should abstain from things offered unto idols, from blood, from that which is Arangled, and from fornication, notwithstanding that Mofes's law required many other obfervances. This authority to change the orders, decrees, and conftitutions of the church, was after the Apoftles' time ufed of the fathers about the manner of fafting, as it appeareth in the Tripartite History, where it is thus written: Touching Tripart. fafting, we find that it was diverfely used in divers places, by divers men. For they at Rome faft three weeks together before Eafter, faving upon the Saturdays and Sundays, which faft they call Lent." And after a few lines. in the fame place it followeth : "They have not all one uniform order in fafting. For fome do faft and abftain both from fifh and flefh. Some, when they faft, eat nothing but fish. Others there are, which, when they fast, eat of all water-fowls, as well as of fifh, grounding themfelves upon Mofes, that fuch fowls have their fubftance of the water, as the fishes have. Some others, when they fast, will neither eat herbs nor eggs. Some fafters there are, that eat nothing but dry bread. Others, when they faft, eat nothing at all, no, not fo much as dry bread. Some faft from all manner of food till night, and then eat, without making any choice or difference of meats." And a thoufand fuch like divers kinds of fafting may be found in divers places of the world, of divers men diverfely used. Eufeb. lib. And for all this great diverfity in fafting, yet charity, v. cap. 24. the very true bond of Chriftian peace, was not broken, neither did the diverfity of fafting break at any time their agreement and concord in faith. To abftain fometimes from certain meats, not because the meats are evil, but because they are not neceffary, this abftinence, Dogma faith St. Auguftine, is not evil. And to reftrain the ufe Ecclefiaft. of meats when neceffity and time fhall require, this, faith c. 66. he, doth properly pertain to Chriftian men.

Thus ye have heard, good people, firft that Chriftian fubjects are bound even in confcience to obey princes' laws, which are not repugnant to the laws of God. Ye have alfo heard that Chrift's church is not fo bound to

V.

Luke v.

obferve any order, law, or decree made by man, to prefcribe a form in religion, but that the church hath full power and authority from God to change and alter the fame, when need thall require; which hath been fhewed you by the example of our Saviour Chrift, by the practice of the Apoftles, and of the Fathers fince that time.

Now fhall be fhewed briefly what time is meet for fafting, for all times ferve not for all things: but, as the Ecclef. iii. Wife Man faith, All things bave their times. There is a time to weep, and a time again to laugh, a time to mourn, and a time to rejoice, &c. Our Saviour Chrift excufed his difciples, and reproved the Pharifees, because they neither regarded the ufe of fafting, nor confidered what time was meet for the fame. Which both he teachMatth. ix. cth in his anfwer, faying, The children of the marriage cannot mourn, while the bridegroom is with them. Their question was of fafting, his anfwer is of mourning, fignifying unto them plainly, that the outward faft of the body is no faft before God, except it be accompanied with the inward faft, which is a mourning and a lamentation of the heart, as is before declared. Concerning the time of fafting, he faith, The days will come, when the bridegroom fhall be taken from them; in thofe days they fball fafl. By this it is manifeft, that it is no time of fafting while the marriage lafteth, and the bridegroom is Matth. vi. there prefent. But when the marriage is ended, and the bridegroom gone, then is it a meet time to faft. Now to make plain unto you what is the fenfe and meaning of these words, We are at the marriage, and again, The bridegroom is taken from us; ye fhall note, that fo long as God revealeth his mercy unto us, and giveth us of his benefits, either fpiritual or corporal, we are faid to be with the bridegroom at the marriage. So was that good old father Jacob at the marriage, when he understood that his fon Joseph was alive, and ruled all Egypt under King Pharaoh. So was David in the marriage with the bridegroom, when he had gotten the victory of great Goliath, and had fmitten off his head. Judith, and all the people of Bethulia, were the children of the wedding, and had the bridegroom with them, when God had by the hand of a woman flain Holofernes, the grand captain of the Affyrians hoft, and difcomfited all their enemies. Thus were the Apoftles the children of the marriage, while Chrift was corporally prefent with them, and defended them from all dangers, both fpiritual and corporal. But the marriage is faid then to be ended, and the bridegroom to be gone, when Almighty God fmiteth

us

us with affliction, and feemeth to leave us in the midst of a number of adverfities. So God fometimes ftriketh private men privately with fundry adverfities, as trouble of mind, lofs of friends, lofs of goods, long and dangerous fickneffes, &c. Then is it a fit time for that man to humble himfelf to Almighty God by fafting, and to mourn and bewail his fins with a forrowful heart, and to pray unfeignedly, faying with the Prophet David, Turn away thy face, O Lord, from my fins, and blot Pfal. li. out of thy remembrance all mine offences. Again, when God fhall afflict a whole region or country with wars, with famine, with peftilence, with ftrange diseases and unknown fickneffes, and other fuch like calamities; then it is time for all ftates and forts of people, high and low, men, women, and children, to humble themfelves by fafting, and bewail their finful living before God, and pray with one common voice, faying thus, or fome other fuch like prayer: Be favourable, O Lord, be favourable unto thy people, which turn unto thee, in weeping, fafting, and praying: fpare thy people, whom thou baft redeemed with thy precious blood, and fuffer not thine inheritance to be destroyed, and brought to confufion. Fafting thus ufed with prayer is of great efficacy, and weigheth much with God. So the angel Raphael told Tobias. It alfo appeareth by that which our Saviour Chrift anfwered to his difciples, demanding of him why they could not caft forth the evil fpirit out of him that was brought unto them. This kind, faith be, is not caft out but by fafting and prayer. How available fafting is, how much it weigheth with God, and what it is able to obtain at his hand, cannot better be fet forth, than by opening unto you, and laying before you fome of thofe notable things, that have been brought to pafs by it. Fafting was one of the means, whereby Almighty God was occafioned to alter the thing which he had purpofed concerning Ahab, for murdering the innocent man Naboth, to poffefs his vineyard. God pake unto Elijah, faying, Go thy way, and 1 Kingsxxi, Jay unto Abab, Haft thou killed, and also gotten poffeffion? Thus faith the Lord, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, fball dogs even lick thy blood alfo. Bebold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy pofterity: yea, the dogs hall eat bim of Abab's flock that dieth in the city, and bim that dieth in the field fall the fowls of the air eat. This punishment hath Almighty "God determined for Ahab in this world, and to destroy all the male-kind that was begotten of Ahab's body, befides

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