XXXIX. SERM. yet it is apt to be governed by it, and to humour it so far as to follow not its own reason and judgment, but the more impetuous inclinations of the sensitive part, although it be to its ruin and destruction. 3. Seeing therefore that the soul is the proper seat of holiness, and yet so long as it is in the body, it makes more or less use of it in all human actions, and is very apt to be swayed by it; hence it necessarily follows in the third place, that the keeping the body under by fasting, and so bringing it into subjection to the soul, cannot but conduce very much to the exercise of all true holiness; for by this means the soul being kept always in its throne, with full power and authority over its subjects, the inferior faculties, being under no restraint, its reasonings would be clear, its judgments sound, its counsels deliberate, it would act like itself, a rational and spiritual substance, and so would be as free from all sensual vices as when separate from the body, which inclines it to them; and then it will begin to relish spiritual objects as suitable to its own nature; for it will look upon virtue and vice, not as they are falsely represented by the imagination, corrupted with the humours of the body, but as they are in themselves, and so discern how lovely and amiable the former is, how odious and detestable the latter, and by consequence exert all its power, to follow the one, and avoid the other. To explain this more fully to ordinary capacities, I might descend down to particulars, and shew how keeping the body under, by fasting and abstinence, does of itself conduce to the mortifying of most lusts, and to the quickening the contrary graces in us; for which end I need not instance in gluttony and drunkenness, for these being directly contrary, yea contradictory to true fasting; where this is rightly observed, those vices must needs cease of their own accord, and the contrary virtues of temperance and sobriety take their place: the same may be said of luxury and uncleanness, for that proceeding only from too great a plenitude and luxuriancy of humours in the body, if your bodies be kept under as they ought to be, you will be as much averse from such sins, as ever you were inclined to them. But I shall chiefly consider some other vices, which at first sight may seem more remote to our present purpose, as not depending so much upon the temper of the body; as for example, are you apt to be angry and peevish, to fret and to be disturbed at every little thing that happens, as many are? This commonly proceeds from immoderate diet, or constant feeding to the full, which breeds abundance of choler, and over heats the animal spirits, whereby they are apt to take fire, and be enflamed at every thing that occurs contrary to our present desires; but by constant abstinence the choler would be abated, the spirit cooled, and so the mind reduced into a sedate, meek, and gentle temper. Are you addicted to pride? Although there be a spiritual pride, which degenerate souls are subject to, as well as fallen Angels, yet that which mostly puffs up mankind with vain and foolish conceits of themselves, usually springs from the corruption of the fancy, caused by those malign vapours, which by reason of over much eating are exhaled from the stomach into the head, and there disturb the imagination; but fasting prevents the very engendering of such fumes, and by consequence the corruption of the fancy by them, by which means the mind is able to judge of things as they are, and to see clearly that we neither have, nor can have any thing in the world to be proud of, but many things to be humbled for; and therefore the keeping the body under, is certainly the best way in the world to keep the mind humble and lowly. Are you inclined to covetousness? To dote upon the toys and trifles of this lower world? This also must be ascribed very much to the depraved imagination, representing these little things as in a magnifying glass, and so making them seem to be what really they are not, great and amiable; and therefore as fasting frees the imagination from such exhalations as corrupt it, so it must needs help to the mind's looking upon things as it were with its naked eye, and so passing a right judgment upon them, by which means it is soon brought to contemn and despise the world as much as ever it admired or loved it. Are you dull and heavy at your devotions; not able to pray, to hear, to meditate, or serve the Lord without distractions? Whence comes that dulness? Whence these distrac SERM. tions, but from that hurry of gross vapours in the brain, XXXIX. which obstruct its passages, and crowd about it so disor derly, that the soul cannot without much time and pains rally them together, and reduce them to such an order, as to make any tolerable use of them? And therefore as these distractions are caused by overmuch eating, so they may be cured by fasting: hence it is that none of you but may find by experience that you can never perform any spiritual exercise with that life and vigour, that cheerfulness and alacrity, that constant presence and composure of mind, as when your bodies are empty, and so kept under as to be in a due subjection to the soul. I might instance in many other particulars, from whence to shew how fasting doth of itself conduce much to the extirpation of most vices, and to the planting and growth of true virtue and goodness in us; but most others depend upon, or at least may be referred to these already mentioned, therefore there is the same reason for them, as there is for those; so that we may justly conclude this, with a remarkable passage of St. Hierome in his epistle to Celantia, where speaktom. iv. pt. ing of the very words of my text, he saith, "That fasting and abstinence," Non castitati tantummodo, sed omnibus omnino virtutibus opitulatur, "helps not only to chastity, Episc. ad Celantiam.] but to all manner of virtues whatsoever." [Hieron. ii. p. 818. Ep. cix. 18. But the great and principal reason of all, why it doth so, is still behind, and that is because that fasting is so pleasing and acceptable to Almighty God, that He hath promised a blessing, a reward to it, whensoever it is rightly performed, and that too not by the mouth of a Prophet, an Apostle, or an Angel, but by His own Divine mouth when He was here Matt. 6. 17, upon earth; for our Lord Himself saith, "When thou fastest anoint thine head, and wash thy face, that thou appear not unto men to fast; but to thy Father which is in secret and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." From whence it is plain, that if a man fast not out of vain ostentation to be seen of men, and thought holy, but out of a sincere design to keep his body under, and so fit himself the better for the service of God, that man shall certainly be rewarded for it but what reward shall we have? Why, God will bless and sanctify it to the great ends and purposes for which it is designed. Fasting, as I have shewn, doth conduce much to our being holy, but it cannot make us so; that is only in the power of God, the only fountain of all true grace and holiness; but He being well pleased with fasting, where it is duly observed, doth by His own grace and spirit make it effectual for the subduing our lusts, and for our performance of all holy and good works. For our better understanding of this, we must consider, that although God can work with means, or without means, or by contrary means, as He Himself sees good, yet He ordinarily makes use of the most fit and proper means that can be used for the effecting whatsoever He designs; and it is presumption in us to expect He should do otherwise. But fasting, as we have shewn already, is a very fit and proper means, as of itself conducing much to an holy and virtuous life; and therefore they who give themselves to fasting and abstinence as they ought to do, are always in God's way, using the proper means for the obtaining of true grace and virtue, and so need not doubt but He will bestow it upon them; whereas they who refuse or neglect such means, have no more ground to expect His blessing and assistance, than they have to expect He should work miracles for them. And besides that, although the most High God, the chiefest, the only good, be always ready and free to communicate of Himself, and distribute the graces of His Holy Spirit, it is to those who are rightly disposed for the receipt of them, whose bodies are fitted and prepared for the inhabitation of the Spirit, or as the Apostle words it, "To be the [1 Cor. 6. temple of the Holy Ghost." But certainly no bodies are so 19.] fit and proper for so divine, so pure a guest, as those which by fasting and abstinence, are kept in continual subjection to the soul; for it being the soul that is primarily inspired and sanctified by the Spirit, unless the body be subject to the soul, it will not be subject to the Spirit that is in it, "But the flesh will lust against the Spirit." Whereas if the Gal. 5. 17. body be kept clean and pure, at the beck of the soul, always ready and willing to observe its commands, then the Spirit that enlightens, actuates and quickens the soul, will with great facility diffuse its influences over the whole man, so as to sanctify it throughout; for then the body being subject to SERM. the soul, and the soul to the Spirit; as the Spirit is, so will both soul and body be in their capacities, pure and holy. XXXIX. Exod. 34. Matt. 4. Hence it is that the greatest discoveries that God hath made of Himself to men, and the most powerful effects of the Spirit upon them, have usually been when they were fasting, and so in a right disposition for them. Thus Moses was fasting forty days and forty nights, even all the while that he conversed with God upon Mount Sinai, and received 1 Reg. 19. the law from Him. Elias had fasted forty days and forty nights, when God discoursed so familiarly with him upon Mount Horeb. Our Lord Himself also, though He had no need of it, His body being always perfectly subject to His soul without it, yet He also for our example and imitation fasted forty days and forty nights, even all the while that He was overcoming the Devil, and had the Angels to minister unto Him in the Wilderness. Daniel was fasting when the Angel Gabriel was sent unto him, to acquaint him with the precise time of the Messiah's coming. The disciples at Antioch were fasting when the Holy Ghost in a Acts 13. 2. miraculous manner spake unto them, saying, "Separate Me Dan. 9. 3. Saul and Barnabas for the work whereunto I have called ch. 10. 30. them." To name no more, Cornelius, by whose conversion the door of Salvation was opened to the Gentiles, was also fasting when the Angel was sent to instruct him how to get to Heaven. By all which it appears, that when men are fasting, and so their bodies are subject to their souls, then God takes the opportunity of manifesting Himself and His Will and pleasure to them, and also of directing and assisting them in the way to bliss; and by consequence, that fasting is of greater moment to our being holy, than it is commonly thought to be. [Phil. 3. 21.] Nay, after all, it is very observable, that it is so necessary to our being holy, that we can never be perfectly holy, until we fast perpetually, I mean in Heaven, where our "bodies shall be fashioned like unto Christ's glorious body," and reduced to such an excellent temper, as neither to want nor desire food; then, and not till then will our bodies be brought into perfect subjection to our souls, and our souls to God; so that instead of eating and drinking, we shall be always loving, always rejoicing, always praising, always honouring |