CHAP. I. SECT. V. Jewel. Coverdale. Hooper. To this Jewel replies: "I thought M. Harding had known a difference between fasting and abstinence, or choice of meats. True fasting is a religious work, ordained to testify our humility, and to make the flesh more obedient to the spirit, that we may be the quicker to prayer and to all good works. But abstinence from this or that meat with opinion of holiness, superstitious it may easily make a man, but holy it cannot." Having quoted 1 Cor. xiii. 8, Heb. xiii. 9, &c. he adds :"Wherefore abstinence from any one certain kind of meat, is not of itself a work of religion to please God, but only a mere positive policy.”* Coverdale says: "The rest is, that I make answer touching the difference of meats and concerning the marriage of priests: which two points I purpose not to sunder, forasmuch as Paul joineth them together in his 1st Epistle to Timothy, where these be his words: The spirit speaketh, &c.'" Having quoted this and other texts, he says:-" But so false and unrighteous is the judgment of such unreasonable men, that if a Christian man do taste but a little flesh upon a day prohibited by them, immediately without any further advisement, they proclaim him to be a heretic and cast in his teeth such a tradition of fasting, as though a man's salvation depended upon the difference of meats."t Hooper says: “What is fasting? Fasting is a moderate use and taking of meat and drink, lest the flesh should, by abundance and too much of it, rebel and overcome the spirit. And this fast, either it is continually or at certain times used. Continually, when as a Christian man moderately feedeth his body with thanksgiving for necessary nutriment, and not for to abound or surfeit. This fasting and abstinence the Scripture calleth sobriety. 1 Peter v. 66 The fast done at certain times is, also, either private or public. Private, when any man, considering and weighing his own infirmities, bindeth himself from meats and drinks, to tame and overcome the vehement and lascivious inclinations thereof to the obedience and rule of the spirit. 1 Cor. vii. A public fast is, when for a public and common calamity, trouble, or adversity, the magistrates command a solemn and public abstinence and fast. "But in both these fasts there must be used a circumspect and godly diligence, lest in the abuse of fasting we offend and provoke the ire and displeasure of God the more against us. We may offend, first, if we fast for any other purpose than to keep the body in subjection to the spirit: therefore it is to be taken heed of, that we fast not for merit, or for custom. The second is, we offend if we fast in the honour of any creature. The third, if for one fasting day we make three glutton feasts, as the * Defence of the Ap. p. 169. P. S. † Works of Coverdale, p. 484. P. S. fashion is for the most part. I would wish, therefore, that the true fast FASTING. and abstinence were brought in again, and then the Lord would be pleased, I doubt not."* Whitgift says:— "Touching fasting on the evens of such feasts, or rather abstaining from flesh, you know it is not for religion but for policy, and as I think the same is protested in that act where such kind of abstaining is established."+ - * Bishop Pilkington says:"Therefore when any is to be charged with breaking his fast, the person is to be considered, whether he may do it with the health of his body; the kind of fasting, whether it be superstitious to buy forgiveness of sins, and righteousness; the time, that it be not with Jewish observance of days; and the meat itself, that it be not thought unclean by nature and unlawful; and the cause, that it be for taming the flesh, and not to compound with God, or bargain, that for so many days fasting God will reward him with such worldly blessings as shall please him to appoint. * Our Saviour Christ, seeing the Pharisees offended with eating meat, said to them, 'that which enters in at the mouth defileth not the man;' and when they would not be satisfied, he said, 'let them alone, they be blind, and guides of the blind.' So surely to such obstinate blind Papists, as will not learn the freedom of conscience taught in the Scriptures, and serve the Lord in singleness of heart, but put their whole devotion in outward observation of man's tradition, it may well be said, 'let them alone, they be blind, and guides of the blind.' It is the weak conscience that is to be borne with, as St. Paul teaches, saying, 'I had rather never eat flesh than offend my brother,' and not the obstinate wilful blindness of the superstitious that may learn and will not. When he has proved that the Protestants upon their wilful lusts, and not for such necessary considerations as are here rehearsed, have contemptuously broken the fasting days appointed by common order, he may well rebuke them; but there be too many witness, which have heard many of them, sundry times, out of the solemnest places and pulpits in the realm, teach the contrary: therefore, none can believe these his lying words to be true. Breaking thy fast stands not so much in eating any kind of meat, as in the quantity of it, or doing it with contempt of the higher powers and common order appointed; or else in offending the weak conscience which has not learned his liberty given by God in his holy word."§ He refers to the diversity of fasts, both as to times and manner, in the primitive Church, and adds : "We read that our Saviour Christ eat flesh at his last supper, on Writings, p. 538. P. S. † Defence, &c. p. 595, vol. ii. P. S. It is evident from what follows that he does not object to the observance, but to the abuse. Works, p. 559. P. S. Whitgift. Pilkington. SECT. V. CHAP. I. Maundy-thursday, which day of all Lent is one of the holiest. If Christ then fasted Lent, I speak not this because I would have men to break the common appointed order of fasting without lawful cause; but that I would every man should know the liberty of conscience that Christ has given and taught us in his word. Let every man obey the ordinance of the rulers, which command not anything contrary to God, and let them know also the freedom of conscience that they be not bound men to the creatures which God of love has made to serve, and not to rule us. *** Spiridion, bishop of a town in Cyprus, when his friend came to him on the fasting day, after dinner, bade his daughter Irene dress a piece of bacon because he had no other meat in the house. Nay,' says the man, 'I am a Christian man; I eat no flesh on the fasting day.' Why,' says Spiridion, because thou art a Christian man thou shouldst eat. O worthy lesson, teaching both the marriage of Bishops and also the liberty of meats. Bullinger in his Decades, sanctioned by Convocation, while allowing of Christian discipline for the present necessity, says:: Bullinger. : "There are that say, thou hast not fasted, if by any means thou taste any flesh and there are which prescribe and appoint some certain hours to fast in. But I, for my part, see not any such doctrines to be taught us in the Scriptures. *** Furthermore, we do not read that any laws were ordained in that age which followed next after the preaching of the Apostles, which did command and prescribe any time and order of fasting, or choice of meats."+ SUMMARY. SECT. V.-FASTING. The Church of Rome holds that fasting is propitiatory and obligatory. The Church of England denies both. 1. She makes no distinction of meats. 2. She makes none between fasting and abstinence. 3. She rejects the notion that fasting can put away sin. The object of fasting is threefold, (1) to tame the flesh, (2) that the spirit may be humbled in prayer, (3) to testify our submission to God. The Church of England does not enjoin any mode of fasting, bcause the Bible does not, but leaves her members at liberty "to use such abstinence that our flesh being subdued to the "spirit, we may ever obey godly motions in righteousness and "true holiness." In support of this, citations are given from Royal Injunctions, the Homilies, and the works of Reformers. * Works, p. 562. P. S. † Decades, pp. 431, 432, vol. i. P. S. CHAP. II. INTRODUCTORY RUBRICS, DAILY SERVICES, AND THE PLACE OF PRAYER. SECT. I.-DAILY SERVICES. Service. THE law of the Church as to daily morning and evening prayer DAILY is stated in the rubric at the end of the Preface "concerning the service of the church." "And the Curate that ministereth in every Parish Church or Chapel, being at home, and not being otherwise reasonably hindered, shall say the same in the Parish Church or Chapel where he ministereth, and shall cause a bell to be tolled thereunto a convenient time before he begin, that the people may come to hear God's word, and to pray with him.” The Church does not prescribe that daily services shall be held, but allows of considerable liberty in the matter, in reasonable hindrance, or absence from home. That the Church does not contemplate the holding of daily services as an absolute duty, is evident from the following reasons: sonable I. She makes an exception where the minister is reasonably The Reahindered. The rubric which precedes the above stands as fol- Hinlows in the first book: "And all Priests and Deacons shall be bound to say daily the morning and evening prayer, either privately or openly, except they be letted by preaching, studying of divinity, or by some other urgent cause.” This seems to specify preaching, and reading divinity as amongst urgent causes. drance. II. The Curate is directed to give notice of the service by Dr. the tolling of the bell. Dr. Bloomfield, late Bishop of London, Bloomfield. who was himself favourable to.daily service, says : "That the framers of the rubric did not intend to insist upon an uninterrupted daily performance of divine service, appears, I think, from the direction given to the Curate, that when it is performed he shall cause a bell to be tolled a convenient time before to give the people notice."* III. The Church of England in her services, supposes the The prin ciple of the presence of a congregation. In the Church of Rome, the priest Church of offers up mass for those who are absent. Unless, therefore, England. Charge, 1842. CHAP. II. the Church of England sanctions the principle of public worship SECT. I. without a congregation, she cannot require daily service. Wheatly admits of this hindrance. He says:— Daily Ser 66 'But if, for want of a congregation, or some other account, he cannot. conveniently read them in the Church, he is then bound to say them in the family where he lives."* Wheatly forgets that a reasonable hindrance applies as much to the private as to the public service. IV. It does not appear that daily service has ever been genevice never ral since the Reformation. general. Dr. Pepys. This is evident from the fact that orders and injunctions were issued for the celebration of service on Wednesdays and Fridays, and Holy days, which implies that service was not daily. The following are instances. A.D. 1549, the Royal Injunctions require service on Wednesday and Friday. A.D. 1552, the Act of Uniformity requires attendance at Church on Sunday and Holy days. A.D. 1559, the Royal Injunctions require service on Wednesday and Friday. A.D. 1563, Grindal requires the Clergy in that time of plague to resort to Church on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Holy days. A.D. 1571, the Canons require service on all Lord's days and Holy days. Grindal issues orders similar to those which he had before given. A.D. 1585, the Bishop of London requires service on Wednesdays and Fridays. A.D. 1590, the Archbishop makes a similar requirement. A.D. 1604, the 14th and 15th Canons require service on It is unnecessary to proceed further. It is an incontrovertible fact that daily service has never been general in the Church of England. The same observation applies to the Church of Rome. The late Bishop of Worcester (Dr. Pepys) wisely says:— "I must express my doubts, whether the compilers of our Liturgy ever contemplated the performance of the Daily Service generally in the Parochial Churches of the kingdom. Such a service is, indeed, provided for in the Prayer Book, but then it must be recollected that it was necessary * Rat. Illust. of Com. Prayer. |