The fast: As it was delivered in a sermon at St. Margarets in Westminster, before the honorable House of Commons upon Wednesday the 12th. of June 1661. being the day appointed by His Majesty and the Parliament, for a solemn humiliation upon the late abundance of rain, and the danger of famine, and pestilence likely to ensue thereby. / By Tho: Grenfield A.M. Preacher to the Honorable Society of Lincoln's-Inne. Grenfield, Thomas. 1661 Approx. 68 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 19 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2008-09 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A42091 Wing G1937A ESTC R30320 99834868 99834868 39477 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A42091) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 39477) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 1794:9, 2922:8, 2977:26, 1462:13) The fast: As it was delivered in a sermon at St. Margarets in Westminster, before the honorable House of Commons upon Wednesday the 12th. of June 1661. being the day appointed by His Majesty and the Parliament, for a solemn humiliation upon the late abundance of rain, and the danger of famine, and pestilence likely to ensue thereby. / By Tho: Grenfield A.M. Preacher to the Honorable Society of Lincoln's-Inne. Grenfield, Thomas. The second impriession [sic]. [7], 26 [i.e. 30], [1] p. Printed for Henry Brome at the Gun in Ivy-lane, London, : 1661. With a preliminarly license leaf. Numerous errors in pagination. 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Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Fast-day sermons -- 17th century. Sermons, English -- 17th century. 2007-10 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2007-10 Apex CoVantage Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2007-12 Emma (Leeson) Huber Sampled and proofread 2007-12 Emma (Leeson) Huber Text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion Jovis 13 die Junii Anno Regni Caroli Secundi Regis 13. ORdered , that the Thanks of this House be returned to Dr. Earl Dean of Westminster , and Mr. Grenfeild Preacher to the Society of Lincoln's-Inne , for the Sermons they Preached yesterday , and that they be desired to print their Sermons : And Mr. Smith is desired to return the Thanks of this House to Mr. Dean Earl , and Mr. Pryn to Mr. Grenfeild . Will : Goldesbrough Cler. Dom. Com. THE FAST : As it was delivered in a SERMON At St. Margarets in Westminster , before the Honorable House of Commons upon Wednesday the 12th . of June 1661. being the day appointed by His Majesty and the Parliament , for a Solemn Humiliation upon the late abundance of Rain , and the danger of Famine , and Pestilence likely to ensue thereby . By THO : GRENFIELD A. M. Preacher to the Honorable Society of Lincoln's-Inne . The Second Impriesson . Luc. 22. 28 , 29. You are they which have continued with me in my temptations : And I appoint unto you a Kingdom , as my Father hath appointed unto me . Vbi malos praemia sequuntur , haud facilè quisquam gratuitò bonus est . Salust . ad Caesarem . Suum cuique tribue , Hoc fac & vives . LONDON , Printed for Henry Brome at the Gun in Ivy-lane , 1661. To the Honourable the House of COMMONS , Now in Parliament Assembled , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Gentlemen , YOU have desired me to Print my Sermon , and I desire you to Practise it ; because , 't is never so well printed as when 't is practised : And give me leave to tell you , that if I could order you so well , as you can order me , you should practise it as well as I print it : Neverthelesse , I will perform my part . Our present age has been an age of wonders , I offer only three ( and those the greatest of them ) to your consideration : We have had the best of Princes barbarously murthered ; A banisht Prince miraculously restored ; And a loyal people ( as yet ) but badly requited . To the first of these you owe your solemn sorrows , for the second your constant thanks , and to the third your just compassions . For these I was willing to obey your commands , for these I chose my Text , for these I have pleaded , and for these I have done what I never did before , I have printed what was pleaded for them , that , in case they miss of any other or better remembrance , ( as they have done hitherto ) yet they may meet with some slender one at least upon a paper . 'T is confest , you have done your duty well and handsomely to the two first of these wonders , by answering them both , with proportionable and becomming affections ; you have mourned soundly for the first , and reforced lustily at the second : These things you ought to have done , yet not to leave the other undone ; undone it is as yet , and so are they for whom it should be done ; and they can say it from as profound an experience , as any part of Mankind , Eccles . 8. 14. There is a vanity , which is done upon the earth , that there be just men , unto whom it hapneth according to the work of the wicked : Again , there be wicked men , to whom it hapneth according to the work of the righteous . It is this Subject , I am now upon , a very poor one , yet a very good one , and a very good one , because a very Loyal one , and if Novelty makes any thing acceptable ( as it does ) then this paper may challenge your acceptance , because it treats of a Subject never ( as yet ) thought upon , of a Subject never handled by any , but very coursly , very wrongfully . It is now in your power to do them right , that have suffered wrong , and to feed and relieve these hungry ones , and the honour of the Action will be this , that hereby you wil be followers of God : For , the Lord executeth judgment for the oppressed , he giveth food to the hungry , he looseth the prisoners , and raiseth them that are bowed down , Psal . 146. 7 , 8. Be ye therefore merciful even as your heavenly Father is merciful : As he is now , he is merciful both to the just , and to the unjust ; be merciful to both you may , but , to be merciful to the unjust only , and not to the just also , this is cruelty ; if honest men may not have the preference in your mercy , you cannot do lesse , then let them go sharers with others , that have far less ( if at all ) deserv'd it . 'T is very possible , ( and , I fear , very probable , ) that many years may not bring forth such a Temper , and Complexion of Parliament , as this is , in which you sit : for 't is a thing as full of Hazard , as the project of the great Elixir , which misses a hundred times , before it hits once ; your children to many Generations may sadly desire to see one of the days of such a Convention , and yet not see it : Therefore , behold , now is the accepted time ; behold now is the day of salvation : To day therefore ( after so long a time ) whilst it is said , to day ; harden not your hearts ; if you do , and ( with Esau ) sell your own , and others birth-rights , afterwards , when you would inherit the blessing , you will be rejected , though you se●k it carefully with tears . You love , and are for Loyalty , I know you are ; and if you be , then cherish what you love : let that tree have the most , and best care and water , the best soil and fence , which gives you the fruit you most love . It was a crueltie no where to be found ; but in a Nero , Ardet Roma , dum cythara canit : And shal we ( as Israel , Amos. 6 , 4 , 5 ; 6. ) lye upon beds of Ivory , and stretch our selves upon our Couches , and eat the lambs out of the Flock , and the Calves out of the midst of the stall ? shall we chant to the sound of the Viol , and invent to our selves instruments of Musick ? shall we drink wine in bowles , and anoint our selves with the chief oyntments , and not be grieved for the Affliction of Joseph ? If so , what will follow ? even the judgment we now fear , ver . 7. the banquet of them that stretched themselves , shall be removed . I am apt to think , that David blusht , when , having obtained rest from all his Enemies round about , and sitting quietly in his house , he told the Prophet , 2 ▪ Sam. 7. 1 , 2. See now , I dwell in a house of Cedar , but the Ark of God dwelleth within curtains ; and they were very course ones too , for they were made of Goats hair : Such a blush would become you , and you will never look so handsomly as when this brings up the Reds into your Cheeks , to consider , that the Lord hath given you rest , and hath set you down peaceably in your houses ; and yet all this while , these Men ( like the Arke ) remain clad in course and torn garments , and though the foxes have holes , and the birds of the Air have nests , yet these men have not a place where to lay down their heads . — pudet haec opprobria nobis Et dici potuisse , & non potuisse refelli . Methinks , 't is enough to make you shake , and sweat again , to consider how open you lye to the just complaints of these poor souls , if they should bespeak you in the language of the Apostle , ( then in a case much like theirs now ) 1 Cor. 4. 8. &c. Now ye are full , now ye are rich , ye have reigned as Kings without us , and we would to God , ye did reign , that we also might reign with you : For we think , that God hath set forth us last , as it were men appointed to death ; for we are made a spectacle unto the world , and to angels , and to men : we are fools , but ye are wise ; we are weak , but ye are strong ; ye are honourable , but we are despised : even unto this present hour we both hunger , and thirst , and are naked , and are buffeted , and have no certain dwelling place : And labour , working with our own hands ; being reviled , we blesse ; being persecured , we suffer it ; being defamed , we intreat : we are made as the filth of the world , and are the off-scouring of all things unto this day . And if this be their Case , ( as indeed it is , ) then , how just and ingenuous will it be for you , to consider it : And remember , that if it be just and good with God , that our light afflictions , which are but for a moment , should work for us a far more exceeding , and eternal weight of glory : then certainly he will not take it well at your hands , if their heavy afflictions , which have been for many years , should work nothing for them , but a far more exceeding and insupportable weight of want and misery . I have forgot the Name , but I remember the Vertue of that great Commander , who when his Army was much distrest in point of Aquation , and a bottle of water was presented to himself by one of his Souldiers , he flung it on the ground , and this after it , God forbid , that I should drink , when my poor Souldiers are perishing with thirst : And the kindnesse of Alexander ( if Curtius may be creàted ) was as great as himself , who in a cold frosty night sitting by a great fire in an open field , and espying a poor Souldier upon an out-gard ready to drop down dead with the Cold , ran to him , took him up in his Arms , brought him to the Fire , set him in his own Chair , rubb'd and chafed him with his own hands , and with much ado brought him to life These wise men knew this to be the way , to oblige an Army to them . I leave this with you , to apply , and to divine what I mean by it ; and withal , you may do well to remember , how many of your own families received both their Honours and Estates from the Norman service : That just Prince thought it his duty to requite his Souldiers , and if you would know the English of Miles , Eques , Comes , &c. which you now wear about your Eschutcheons , they are flowers which grew up out of that Field , far unlike those weeds , which now spring from a service as ingenuous and just as that for which the Herauldy is so much altered , that they yet wear no other badg , then Pedes , Pauper , Famelicus , for being Loyal to their Prince . Methinks , 't is not so handsome , to see a Nation ( that was lately Gules all over ) now to stand checker'd Argent and Sable , and to behold our late great Mercy of our Soveraigns Restauration , like that Pillar Exod. 14. 20. Cloud and darknesse to some , but light to others ; nor are Things well in Tune , when ( as at the building of the second temple , Ezra 3. 13 ) we cannot discern the noise of the shout of joy , from the noise of the weeping of the people , when one part ( the more antient and righteous ) may weep it out with the Poet , — Haec ego , — tulit alter honores , Sic vos non vobis — And another ( more novel and criminal , ) shall triumph it with an O quàm bonum jucundum , &c. Oh how pleasant and profitable a thing it is to fight against our Soveraign ! whereas the truth is , Justice can never speak better sense , then when it doth upbraid such demeriting persons with that Sarcasm of the Apostle , Rom. 6. 21. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ? what fruit would you have from those things whereof you are now ashamed ? For the end of such things is Death . And let no man recriminate this addresse , from the intemperance and debauchery of the Persons , for whom 't is made . I remember the check and aspersion , given of old by the Pharisees to Christ , who censured him for eating with Publicans and Sinners , when he had no where else to go : 'T is a very hard piece of Justice , to censure and condemn men for eating and drinking in publick houses , when they have no Houses left them of their own , to eat and to drink in . If there be Oaths and Atheism , &c. more visible among them , then others , it will lye very much at the doors of their Oppressors . David had lost almost all his Religion by the contemplation of the good successe of evil men , Psa . 73. Do them right , and try what they will be , surely those consciences , which have worn about them such deep impressions end resentments of Loyalty and Honour all this while , ( and that at so great a disadvantage ) must in charity be hoped to have other good principles of Morality also , which though perhaps they lye now in a swound , yet they may be awakened into practise by your just Encouragements ; and 't is ten to one , but you will thereby restore them , not only to their Rights and Fortunes , but to their wits and vertues . A breath from your lips is able to quicken this field of dry bones into an Army of Vertuoso's . I will not prescribe to your Wisedoms what to do for them nor adventure at reasons of State , why something must be done : There are many and great ones , but you can give them to your selves ; they are those of Religion , which I offer you , and if Justice and Charity be your duties , and the Compasse of your Actions , then this is . If you will do no more for them , yet remember them , give them ( at least ) a place in your Annals and Records ; God has ( among many other Books ) a book of Remembrance , Mal. 3. 16. and in this Book he records the sufferings of good men , Psal . 56. 8. Their tears are put up in his bottle , and written in his Book . And it seems by that passage concerning Mordecai , Hest . 6. 1 , 2 , 3. that it was the manner of the Eastern Princes to record the services and sufferings of good Subjects to posterity , as soon as they were done or suffered : And there were Scribes among the Jews ( if my conjecture fail not ) whose peculiar office it was to do this ; and truly the example of Ahasuerus there , deserves to be commended to the practise of Princes , ver . 1. he was reading one night in his book of Records , and found the good service of Mordecai , in discovering a Treason against his Person . v. 2. and then puts a question ( and it is Questio rege digna ) what honour and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this ? v. 3. 't was answered , there was nothing done for him . But it was not long ere something was . If these and the following lines , may have the happiness to move you to put the some question for our Mordecai's , What hath been done for them ? and upon finding , that as yet nothing is done for them , to put it further to the question , What shall be done for them ? God shal have his will , I my end , they the comfort , and you the honour of so just and brave an Action . Which shall ever be the Prayer of your most devoted Servant in the things of God and his Righteousness . THOMAS GRENFEILD . Lincol'ns Inne , July 6. 1661. ISAY 58. 5 , 6 , 7. 5. Is it such a fast that I have chosen ? a day for a man to afflict his soul ? is it to bow down his head as a Bull-rush , and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him ? wilt thou call this a fast , and an acceptable day to the Lord ? 6. Is not this THE FAST that I have chosen ? to loose the bands of wickedness , to undo the heavy burdens , and to let the oppressed go free , and that ye break every yoak ? 7. Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry , and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house , when thou seest the naked that thou cover him , and that thou hide not thy self from thine own flesh ? YOU are met this day upon a very great and important work , and you have summon'd hither a poor and weak man to assist you in it ; one that had more need to be fasted for , then able to direct others , one who is ( as at no time able , so ) at this time not willing to dresse out the busi●esse before us with Elocution ; and the rather , because as it is the custom of Mourners , to dispoile their garments of all Ribbonds and other dresses when they Mourn ; so I think , if plain garments be fashionable there , a plain Sermon will be seasonable here . This people ( here concerned in the Text ) were a Nation much addicted to outward and formall duties , and among others to this of Fasting ; the second verse before the Text , will describe you this ; And how punctual and ceremonious they were in it , the 5. verse ( which is part of the Text ) does decypher : It seems , this formality ran down the whole current of that generation : for when I look almost home to the end of it ( in the dayes of Christ ) I find the same humour stirring amongst the Pharisees , of whom Christ sayes , Mat. 6. 16. that when they fasted , they were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that is ( as one interprets it ) they would look like Scythians ; and they did ( as is observed in the Text before mentioned ) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that is , they either cover'd their faces with black-hoods , or else ( as one accutely observes it out of Antiquity ) they used a paint or fucus to make them seem sad and mortified ; and the great errour of them was , to think , that when this was done , the Fast was over . Now the businesse of this Text ( with the cohaerents ) is to reprove , and with reproving to reject , this formality of fasting , and to commend and teach the true reality of it . And ( indeed ) these are the parts of the Text. First , a formal fast reproved and rejected , v. 5. Secondly , a reall fast prescribed and accepted , v. 6. And both these are done in the way of expostulation , which argues a more then ordinary vehemency in what is spoken . First , an expostulation in the Affirmative , vers . 5 , Is it such a fast ? which is an ardent Negation , signifying that by no means it is not at all such a fast . Secondly , an expostulation in the Negative , v. 6 , 7. Is not this the fast , &c. Intimating a most vigorous Affirmative : Certainly , assuredly , this is the fast that I have chosen . So that in the first , all formalities of a fast ( when they go alone ) are rejected ; these Jewish formalities in the Text , to afflict the soul , to bow down the head like a Bull rush , &c. And on the same score our Christian formalities of fasting all the day , meeting in the House of publick Worship , making long Prayers , and hearing five or fix Sermons , one on the neck of another ; these ( I say ) when they go alone , are rejected ; and our own observation can testifie , they have been so . And in the second , the real , proper , genuine duties of an ac●ptable Fast are prescribed and directed : and those are two . First the duty of Justice unto men oppressed , v. 6. Secondly , the duty of Charity of men ejected , v. 7. And this is the fast that God hath chosen : That , which ( without any violence ) is deducible from the Text , may be reduced to these three Particulars , within which I shall confine all I have to say . First , that fasting is a duty . Secondly , that God in some cases does reject it . Thirdly , what must be done to make it acceptable . 1. I begin with the first . That fasting is a duty , this is plain in the Text ; where though we have rejectionem modi , yet not rei , of that manner of fasting , not of fasting it self , ver . 4. We have not a peremptory , Non jejunabitis , but a non sic jejunabitis ; and in the 5. verse it is only tale jejunium , not a fast at large , but such a fast that has nothing but formalities , and mediate duties in it vocem & praeterea nihil , a cymbal-fast , that makes a noise and hath no charity ; this Good rejecteth . And the reason is because to the moral goodnesse of an action , there is required not only the matter and bulk of the fact , the manufacture and outward body of it , but many circumstances to make it good . St. Aug. observes it in the point of delivering up Christ unto death , how much the end and intention in an act does diversifie the act it self ; Pater tradid●t filium ( saith he ) Judas Dominum , Christus serpsum , one and the same act ( viz ) the giving up of Christ was mercy in God , love in Christ , but treason in the Apostate : So here , as the Apostle sayes of the law , 1 Tim. 1. 8. that it is good if a man use it lawfully ; so is the duty of fasting , good or evil , as it stands qualified by the end and intention of the persons . In the 4. verse before the Text the fast was evil , because the intention was so , The fast for strife and debate , &c. and verse 6. and 7. of the Text , the fast is allowed to be good and acceptable , if it stand associated with the duties of Justice and Mercy , Clear it is then , that fasting is our duty , and the more clear , because we have occasion for it . The first : one is judgement impending or incumbing , at the door , or in the house . Isa . 22. 12. Israel was in danger of an Invasion , and in that day ( saith the Prophet ) did the Lord call to weeping and mourning . Though we read not of any Prophet , that by word of mouth required the people to it , yet there was vox virgae , Mic. 6. 9. the Rod had a tongue , there was a Summons in the present Providence , there was a Hanibal ad portas , the Persian was at the gates . And lest the Call of Providence should be thought not loud enough , we have an expresse summons from the Word to this duty , Ioel 2. 15. 16 , 17. the 15. ver . gives us the Precept , Sanctifie a fast , &c. the 16. verse summons the Persons , and those are all concerned , the people , congregation , young and old , &c. And the 17 verse gives us the duty , Prayer ; Spare thy people , O Lord , &c. and this was the practise of Israel who like a flock of sh●ep , though in times of safety and peace , they wandred abroad securely in their several pastures ; yet when the Dog , or Woolf drew near , they ran together to this Duty . Secondly , another occasion to this duty , is some important enterprise or undertaking , that has danger and difficulty in it : Thus did Hester , who going to pacifie the anger of Ahasuerus towards the Jews , and to gain his favor ( a thing dangerous , and difficult to be had from so great a Prince ) bids the people fast for this , and not eat nor drink three days , night or day ; and ( I said she ) and my maidens will fast likewise , and so will I go to the King , ( though it be not according to Law , ) and if I perish I perish ; And as the enterprize was great , so the fast made it prosperous : Thus the Apostles , being to ordain , and send abroad Ministers to the Gentiles , ( an affair of greater danger and difficulty , ( and importance too ) than the former ) they prayed unto the Lord and fasted , and having so done , they laid their hands on Barnabas and Saul , and sent them away , Acts 13. 2 , 3. which practise of theirs ( methinks ) give no mean warrant to the observation of our Ember weeks , preparatory to the Laying on of hands . The things must be great and good ; and when so , they must be fasted for ; not for strife and debate , nor to smite with the fist of wickednesse , not for a prosperous Rebellion , or Regicide ( for that 's the English of the former , ) such fasts are to be fasted for , and fasted from , and the late signal confutations given out by Providence upon such fasts , are evidence enough , we ought not to fast for such things . And indeed as all other service , so this of fasting , ( as the Apostle styles it ) Rom. 12. 1. it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a reasonable service . For first ▪ God expects from us , a demeanour suitable to our condition ; and as he was justly condemn'd , that came without a wedding garment to the feast , so may he no lesse that wears it at a fast . Hosea 11. 10. We are required to walk after the Lord in his dispensations , and when he shal roar like a Lyon , then ought we ( like good children ) to tremble ; 'T is a piece of most intolerable insolence , for men to laugh and sport themselves when God frownes : this in Israel was so offensive , that , Isai . 22. 14. because , when God call'd to weeping and to mourning , there was found amongst them joy and gladnesse , eating flesh , and drinking wine ; &c. therefore that iniquity should not be purged from them till they dyed : It seems to be a most unpardonable , and killing iniquity ; it adds wings to the leaden feet of vengeance , and sets on work her iron hands ; it makes her come faster , and strike deeper ; it was this that brought in the deluge upon the antient world , Matth. 24 , 38. because they were eating and drinking , &c. therefore the flood came , and took them all away . Secondly , a discreet observation of judgments ( either near us or upon us , ) will naturally beget such a temper of mind in us , as will produce this duty ; For in the way of a natural operation , when we are in pain , in fear , in danger , or under any sort of discontent , we weep , we cry , we pray , we fast ; when he flew them ( saith David ) then they sought him . Damocles ( though set down at a plentiful Table ) yet could not eat bit , because of the Sword , that was so subtilly hung over him ; where ever there is a prospect or fear of a judgment , it will produce this ; 't is true , if a man were a beast ( and they are little lesse that do so ) void of fore-sight and consideration , he might be allowed to graze on though it thunders , and like the swine eat his meat as lustily an hour before his throat is cut , as at any time before ; And let not our Hilariors take it ill , that I cannot range them amongst any other sort of Cattel : For to be senselesse and sensual at the approach of judgments , is for want of judgment ; the very Heathens themselves ( when in this Condition ) were not strangers to this duty : Nineveh fasted from the King to the Beggar , and from the Beggar to the Beast for the threat that Jonas gave them : And this also makes it a reasonable service . Thirdly , the reason of this duty further appears , in that the very outward act of fasting doth qualifie and dispose a man unto those other duties , that are more material ; for if Prayer , Confession , Contrition , are duties that do much conduce to deliverance and mercy ; and if it be Gods usual method never to take us up till he finds us on our knees ; when are ' we so fit for these duties , as when we fast ? For the corruptible body ( as you have it Wisd . 9. 15. ) presseth down the Soul , and the earthly Tabernacle weigheth down the mind that museth upon many things . Now we have many things to muse upon in this duty , and fasting unclogs the soul , and takes off that mire and dirt that hangs about the wings of the mind , whereby it mounts much higher in all spiritual acts ; And therefore the caveat of Christ is good , Luke 21. 34. Take heed to your selves , lest at any time your hearts be over-charged with surfeiting , and drunkenesse ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word is ) ne ingraventur , lest your hearts be made heavy . Intemperance takes off the wheels of the Soul , and makes it drive heavily . A duty then it is , in that there are just occasions of it , and strong reasons for it : but let it be never so much a duty , and never so often done , yet in some cases God rejects it . And this translates me over into the second particular , which is to make inquiry in what cases , and for what causes , God does reject the fastings and humiliation of men . Rejected they are , it seems , sometimes : For in thever ▪ before the Text we find an expresse prohibition : You shall not fast as you do this day ; and though it may seem strange to find a Yea and a Nay in God , to command and inhibit the same thing ; to make it sometimes a duty , and yet charge it as a fin ; there must be some reasons for this , and it nearly concerns us to inquire what they are . First , then God rejects our fastings , when he finds nothing else but form and outward solemnity in them : It is the saying of Christ , Luke 16. 15. That which is highly esteemed among men , is abomination in the sight of God. What is highly esteemed among men you may find it 1 Sam. 16. 7. Man looketh on the outward appearance , but God does not , he cannot indure an out-side when it goes alone . Here in the Text God abhors their humiliation for this very reason , in that they made it up with a bundle of Ceremonies , gestures , cryings aloud , forbearing meat , looking sad , and wearing sack-cloth , and so did only Histriones agere personate a fast , and were no more concerned in 't , than the Actors are concerned in the matter of the plot , Secondly , God rejecteth our humiliations , when they are set on work meerly for the removal of judgments , or the attainder of mercies ; to fast meerly for the one , as St. James tells us , that there is a faith of Devils , so we may call this the fast of Devils : that eternall humiliation and contrition that is now practis'd in Hell , and those Howlings , Weepings , and gnashings of Teeth , that are there among the damned , are the result and effect of their never-dying torments . And to fast meerly for the attainder of the other , is no better then the fast of dogs and swine , who howl and make a noise because their Trough is empty ; and God gives it no better name , when he tels them , Hos . 7. 14. That They did not cry unto him with their heart , but howled upon their beds and assembled themselves for Corn and Wine : It is therefore the proper errand of an humbled people to confesse their sin , and to beg pardon and grace , and let providence take care for the rest ; especially , when it stands encircled in a promise , that if we seek these first , ex abundanti , all other things shall be added to us . It concerns us of this Nation to consider this , and rightly to state the reason of our humiliations : for we have had fastings for judgments ( and have on this day , ) but not one as yet for sin . Thirdly , 't is not every fasting for sin that God accepts , but in some cases does reject it , though it be for sin ; And that is , when we humble our selves for such sins , which lye in our own power to reform and remove : There is the same Non-sense and Absurdity in this case , as when an able lusty fellow lies in a ditch and cries , God help . We have a pregnant instance of Gods rejection of our fastings in this case , in that of Joshua , Josh . 7. 6. A sin was committed by Achan and concealed and the people for that sin were defeated more then once by the men of Ai ; Joshua a publick Magistrate ( upon this ) fell to his humiliation , rent his cloaths , fell to the Earth upon his face ; put dust upon his head and prayed ; But all this God rejects , and in the 10. verse gives a smart check unto it , get the up , wherefore lyest thou thus upon thy face ? and in the 13 verse calls him out to practise , Up , sanctifie the people , and made a diligent enquiry after the accursed thing ; God hath given the Magistrate a Sword , and he must not bear that Sword in vain . When sin and prophanesse abound in a Nation through the Magistrates neglect or Cowardice , 't is not his nor our fasting will remove it ; because he hath a more effectual means in his hands to do it : And in Gods account such a fast is as ridiculous as if an husband man coming into his Vineyard , and finding it ore-run with Bryars and Thorns , should fling aside his pruning hook and fall to his prayers , that God would weed them out . Fourthly , God rejects the fastings of men when they except and reserve the practise of some beloved bosom sins unto themselves ; this is noted with a more then ordinary indignation , Jer. 7 , 9 , 10 , 11 , Will you steal , murther , and commit adultery , and swear falsly , &c. and come and stand before me in this house which is called by my name , and say , we are delivered to do all these abominations ? is this house which is called by my name , become a den of robbers in your eyes ? behold I ( even I ) have seen it , saith the Lord. We may English it thus , will you come and fast before the Lord for fear of Famine and Pestilence , and put exceptions to Rebellion , Regicide , Oppression , and the detainder of other mens bread ? Is this the fast that I have chosen ? one such Dalilah is enough to destroy the strongest Samson ; one such Agag , is sufficient to undo the tallest Saul ; one excepted sin , will make void the best of fasts and as long as Achan , with his wedge and garment lay undiscovered , unbrought out , let not Israel except to prosper ; such a day as this ought to be a day of slaughter , and if God at another time will deal impartially with us for our sins , then it concerns us now to deal impartially with them , and not to roul any one ( no not the most beloved one , ) as a sweet morsel under the tongue , for fear it prove as the book which was given to Saint John to eat , though sweet in the mouth , yet bitter in the belly . I have known the whole work of a Chirurgion defeated , by such a partiality as this ; and , because he searched not at the bottom , though he skinn'd it over to the eye , the wound did fester and suppurate , and he was forced to begin again : If you will make suant work in your fasting , bring out the bottom of your sins , do not keep back a part , and this may heal the land . Fiftly , The fastings of men are rejected , when they will not be convinced of some sins that they are so indeed , as in the case of shedding innocent blood , when we have shed it , and call it justice ; fast while you will in this perswasion , God will not accept it , 't is plain enough Isa . 1. from the 10. to the 15. ver . In the 10. ver . God gives his own people very sad names , Rulers of Sodom , and people of Gomorrha ; and in the following verses , he gives all their services a very sad reception : To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me ? I delight not , &c. Who hath required this at your hand , to tread my courts ? incense is an abomination to me , the new Moons and Sabbaths , and the calling of assemblies I cannot away with , it is iniquity even the solemn meetings my soul hateth them , they are a trouble unto me , I am weary to hear them ; and when ye spread forth your hands , I will hide mine eyes from you ; yea when you make many prayers , I will not hear . A strange dislike ! and were there not a reason given for it , never enough to be wondred at , That God should abandon the very service that he does command , and what 's that reason ? God that does nothing without the highest reason gives you his in the bottom of the 15. ver . ( and indeed it is like some cholerick distemper in the bottom of the stomack , which makes us vomit up all we eat , ) Your hands are full of blood : When bloud is upon a Nation unacknowledged , unrepented , it mars all the services of it . Lastly , God does reject the fastings of men when they are undertaken to promote bad ends , and wicked purposes : such a fast was that of Jezabel , 1 Kings 21. 9. She proclaimed a fast , that under the colour of a trespass against that proclamation , she might obtain the life and vineyard of Naboth : And the fastings of Israel are here rejected in this Chapter , because they were undertaken to promote strife and debate , and prosperously to smite with the fist of wickedness : And in the 3 ver . more especially the reason is given , because in the day of your fast you finde pleasure , that is , ( as the vulgar renders it , ) invenitur voluntas vestra , You bring with you your own wills , desires , designs , and hope to carry them on by fasting ; and , as it follows , you exact all your labours , Omnes debitores vestros repetitis , You beg of God a prosperous vengeance upon those you think have wrong'd you ; such low and base ends do no more justifie a fast then when a Robber prays for an advantageous Encounter , or a Pirate for a fair wind at Sea ; If we thus bring in the tables of Money-changers into the house of God , and come here to truck with him , for the grant of our own desires , he will over-throw those tables , and scourge out such Merchants : If we fast to satisfie our own ambition , cruelty , or covetuousnesse , we pervert the end of this duty , by bringing that hither to be cherished , which should be brought hither to be slain ; and truly ( if I might have leave to give my judgment , ) I cannot understand why so great a defeat has been given out from God , upon those many humiliations ( seemingly to me very solemn and serious , ) which were acted by this Nation , and especially in this place , for these last 20. years , insomuch as we might expostulate as this people did in the 3. ver . Wherfore have we fasted , and thou seest not ; wherefore have we afflicted our Souls and thou takest no knowledge ? I say , I can give no reason for such disappointment , but this , we proposed base and degenerate ends in our fastings , we fasted to devour the comforts of other men with a better stomack , and to make our selves rich by their ruine . You see then that the fastings of men may be rejected , and you have seen in what cases , 't will now be seasonable to put such a question , as he did in the Gospel , Good Master , what good thing must I do that I may obtain eternal life ? so here , what good thing must we do , to make our fasting acceptable unto God ? The answer to this , you will have in the third particular upon which I am now entring . The proper ingredients therefore of a Fast to make it acceptable are not for to seek , for you may quickly find them in the 16 , & 17. ver . of Isa . 1. Cease to do evil , learn to do well . First , Cease to do evil , then do we fast indeed when we fast from sin ; 't is not our witholding meat from the body but our withdrawing all sorts of supplements from our lusts , that makes a fast ; The lusts of our hearts have wide mouths and craving stomacks ; Ambition , would never cease aspiring , till it perch on the circle of the world ; Covetuousnesse would ingrosse all the riches of the Indies ; Revenge , would glut it self with the blood of others ; and it is the work of those that fast , to tye up these , and keep them short , to lay siedge to them , and intercept their provisions , the best way to k●ll them , is to starve them out ; That expression of the Apostle is very apt , Gal. 5. 24. They that are Christs have crucified the flesh : now , crucifixion is to fasten and bind down a living creature to that which is crosse and contrary to it . Our lusts are those living creatures , and to crucifie them is to feed them with contraries ; Pride , would have a Crown of Gold give it a Crown of thorns ; Luxury , would have the generous wine , give it vinegar mingled with gall : 't is no fasting except this be done , and therefore Saint Bernard , doth elegantly upbraid a fast that is kept without this , Carnem non commedis , sed comedis fratrem , à vino abstines , sed ab inju●iis tibi non temperas ; 't is a sad fast to forbear bread and meat , and the while to devour the flesh and blood of thy brother . Secondly , Learn to do well , this indeed is the very glory and accomplishment of a fast . But what that doing well is , that 's the question : To Worship God is to do well , to hear , to pray , is to do well , but yet this is not the doing well here required ; yea , this doing well is rejected and spurned at of God , if there be no other sorts of well-doing going with it ; and what that is you have in the 17. ver . of Isai . 1. Relieve ( or righten ) the oppressed , judge the fatherlesse , plead for the Widdow . T is clear then that the duties of Justice and Mercy are not only the Ornaments , but the essentials of a fast ; they are made so in the Text , where there are any bands of wickednesse they must be loosed , any heavie burdens they must be undone , any oppressed ones they must go free , any yoke it must be broken , any that are hungry thy bread must be dealt unto them , any that are poor and cast out they must be brought to thy house , any naked thou must cover him ; and good reason , for in the bottom of the verse , he is thine own flesh , at what widenesse soever we are differenced by other things in the world , yet the poorest man alive is thy own flesh , and in all thy acts of mercy to him , thou art merciful to a part of thy self ; This is the fast , and how importunately the Spirit of God harps upon this string , and points us ( as it were with the finger ) to this , even to this sort of duty , you may further see in Zach. 7. 9 , 10. where , after a reproof given to their formal fastings , verse 5. a rule is subjoyned for them what to do : Execute true Judgment , and shew Mercy and Compassion every man to his Brother , and oppresse not the Widdow , nor the Fatherl●sse , the Stranger , nor the poor , and let none of you imagine evil against his Brother in your heart . It is a strange preference , and much to be wonder'd at , which God gives to the duties we owe to man , before those we owe to himself ? methinks it were enough to say , that the second Commandement is like unto the first Math. 22. 39. but to say , first go and be reconciled to thy Brother , and then come and offer thy gift ; to say , I will have Mercie rather then Sacrifice , as Gods goodness in this to be wondred at , so mans duty from this is to be concluded on , that our works of Mercy , Justice , Charity , must be done by us with as great a zeal , and with a greater earliness , then those very services which we do to God. There is now left nought remaining to trouble your patience with , but my application and your practise . You are here mett in the house of God , and what to do ? to fast ; and for what ? the suspicions and fears of a famine like to come upon us , from our late abundance of Rain , threatning to spoil the Fruits of the Earth . 'T is very well , that any thing will drive us home to God ; but yet it is observ●ble how early we are in this duty ; we fast for a judgement that is not yet upon us , further then the fear and suspition of it : It would be much more ingenuous to be early and quick in fasting for the sins of the Nation , as we are for the dangers of it : those ( I am sure ) are ripe enough and ready for the sickle ; we are much beyond the Suspicions of sin , we are under the Commissions of it ; and yet , as yet , we have had no fast for these . It would very much beautifie the beginnings of this blessed revolution , and fortunate change of things we live under , to begin with such a fast as this : but , it seems , we love our bellies very well , and , as some followed Christ for the loaves , so we fast for fear we shall want the loaves ; we fast for fear that we shall fast . But since it is so , that the work of this day stands stated to my hands , upon this bottom , it will be convenient before I can direct you how to be rid of this judgement , to give you my judgement whence it comes : For assuredly 't is no brutum fulmen , no arrow shot at rovers , no accident slipp'd out of the womb of chance without any signification in it : no , no ; as God is the highest Reason , so all that he does comes from it , and is guided by it ; his very judgements themselves are reasonable judgements : and therefore though many things come forth from God , the causes of which shall not be known untill the day of the revelation of his righteousness ; yet in the generall he bids us believe , and would have us know , that he hath not done without cause all that he hath done , Ezek. 14 23. Well then , a reason for this judgement there is , and what is it ? to tell you that it is Wickednesse in the general , is to fling an whole loaf at your head , and not to cut it for you ; but yet the Psalmist tells us so , Psal . 107. 34. He turneth a faithfull land into barrenness for the wickednesse of them that dwell therein , and as God told Adam , Gen. 3. 17. that the ground was cursed for his sake ( that is , for his sin , ) so if our ground now be like to undergoe a Curse , it is for our sins ; And for what sins ? Certainly , for some sins above others ; for , as the Clouds send down no other waters then what the Earth sends up ; so there is something comn up from us before God , that has drawn down our present judgements on us . There have been divers interpretations past on this late abundance of Rain ; The Star-gazer charges it upon some notable configuration in the Heavens , but yet ( as our late Astrologers confessed they could not read our late revolution , and blessed return of the King in any conjunction of the Planets , but gave it clearly up to be a Miracle : ) so if you now examine their Almanacks , you shall not finde a word fore-telling all this foul weather ; which makes me think , it is more then a naturall ▪ it is a judicial effect . And therefore others ( that are no good friend to our present welfare ) will adventure to make a malicious glosse upon the present judgement , and whisper it , at least in corners , that it is for the Kings coming in , for our importunate desires of his return , and for our great rejoycings at his presence : And they observe ( with some pleasure to themselves ) the great Rain that fell at the first treatment of his Majestie in the City , the great Rain and Thunder upon the day of his Coronation , and the great Rains that have continued ever since , and they make bold with Scripture to prove this to be the cause of the judgement , from 1 Sam. 12 17. where Samu●l tells the people thus : I will call unto the Lord , and he shall send thunder and rain : that ye may perceive and see that your wicednesse is great , which ye have done in the sight of the Lord , in asking you a King. But I question not , but this interpretation is too private and wide enough : Therefore to come nearer home , What may the sins be ? Truly the Nation stands now guilty of such sins , that I could find in my heart rather to pray for a famine then to pray against it ; For as fasting in the way of a physicall operation is good to cure many diseases , so there be many sins ( especially those of pride and luxury ) which famine would be an excellent means to remove , by removing the food and fomentations of them . What our sins are , may be read in the very face of the Judgement ; that , as the Hetrurians of old erected a Colledge of wise men to be their fulminum interpretes , their Expositers of Thunder-bolts ; and as Physicians now by the signature they observe in a plant , will guess shrewdly , what it is wholsome for , and hurtfull to : So there is a signature in the present judgement , and by the Features and Complexion that is in it we may Calculate its Nativity , and judge whence it comes . First , then , what think you of the sin of Sabbaoth-breaking ? a sin now more frequent , impudent , and unpun●sh●d , then in those late black days , in which greater sins were counted none at all ; This blessed day is now as much mangled and broken , as once the Lord and Master of it was ; and as the Poet deriding the immoderate dresses of a girle , told her that she was minima pars sui , so is this day , so divided , and loaden with affairs and sins , that it is now become the least part of it self , and you may seek for a Sabbaoth , in a Sabbaoth , and yet not find it . And whereas it is an holy day , now other days are innocent to this , those we spend upon our callings , this upon our sins , and now do but see how this judgment is fitted to this sin , Lev. 26 34. where Moses tells the people that the land should enjoy her Sabbath , and lie desolate : because the men of the land will not keep their Sabbaoths , therefore the land it self shall keep hers ; and such a Sabbaoth is now l●ke to be kept for this year by a great part of our land . Secondly , next what think you of the sin of swearing ? a sin whereby the devil cheats a man more then by any , by being damned for it , and getting nothing by it : never did bullets fly thicker in the hottest battel , then oaths now in this wicked City ; you cannot passe the streets , but your ears will be box2d by an oath at every step , and 't is a wonder to me , if these arrows which are shot bolt up right and levell'd point-blanck at God , do not recoyle upon the heads of those that shot them ; but how this sin does more particularly contribute to the judgment we now fear , you may see Jer. 23. 10. where we are told that because of Oaths ( Curses ) the land mourneth . There is a sort of ground which husbandmen do call weeping ground , and 't is barren and good for little ; we have such now , whole Counties lie bathed in the tears of Heaven , and that because of Oaths ; for if by them we pull God out of Heaven , and tear him in pieces between our teeth , if we use his name so vainly as if there were no such being , 't is no marvell if the Clouds tumble down upon us , when we leave none in Heaven to govern and hold them up : He that thinks or lives as if there were no God , shall be cared for here , as if there were none . Thirdly , what think you of the sin of Adulterie ? whether this may not beget a Famine , Jer. 5 , 7 , 8. When I fed them to the full , they then committed Adultery , and assembled themselves by Troops in the Harlots houses , they were as fed horses in the morning , every one neighed after his neighbours wife , shall I not visit for these things saith the Lord ? and what is the visitation for these things ? you shall find it verse 17. a famine , this that we fear , though coming another way , yet from the same sin ; They shall eat of thine harvest , and thy bread which thy Sons and Daughters should eat , they shall eat of thy flocks and thy herds , they shall eat of thy Vines and thy Fig-trees ; &c. and it is a pun●shment both just and proper , if thou borrow strength from the creature to squander it away upon unlawful beds , 't is fit that God should take the creature from thee : If a stallion grow unruly , tye him up to an empty rack . Fourthly , what think you of Intemperance ? a sin that brings forth this suspected judgment , both physically and judically too . Physically 't is no marvel if there be a scarcity when we fill our Tables to such a height to feed a few , as will suffice for many ; committing a miracle contrary to that of Christs , who fed 5000 , with five loaves , and we feed but five with some scores of dishes . And judicially this judgement lies much at the door of this sin , to wit the Luxury of man , for if you marke it , this plague of Rain hurts not the grasse so much as the grain , the horse and oxe are provided for well enough , nay the Country man tells me that Cattle are like to be gainers by 't , it is because they are temperate ; but 't is the Luxurious and debauched part of mankind that are like to be the losers , in that Wheat and Barley are the greatest sufferers in this deluge : and he that told me that the Barrels of Beer and the Buts of Wine were seen to swim about the Cellars here in Town , made me presently think , It was to punish our Drunkennesse ; For as a Father spils the Wine and breaks the Cup when he sees his child but in danger to be fluster'd ; so God does language it in this judgement , that it was our Luxury that brought it , by destroying the Tooles and Utensils of that sin . Fifthly and lastly , I will mention one sin more which ( I fear ) hath contributed somewhat more than the rest to this judgememt , and that is our publick defayler in the duties mentioned in the Text , The want of Justice and Charity ; and indeed ( to tell you the truth ) I chose this Text , and have spoken all this while upon it , onely to introduce what followes ; and give me leave to be very plain and home with you . There is a party yet alive in England ( if they be alive and indeed 't is as much as they are ) that have been , and do still own the name of , true English-men ( for the rest live only by an Amnesty , and are English-men but of one year old ; ) but these I am speaking for are true old English men , and great sufferers for being so : in that , they live and are let pass , not onely without reward , but restitution ; not only without respect of others , but the recovery of their own . Astrologers have amused the World of late with reports of strange and wonderfull Conjunctions ; never were there such strange and monstrous couples as are now seen marching together in England , Loyalty and rags , Loyalty and lice , Loyalty and hunger , Loyalty and a prison : Poor Loyalty ! the flower and credit of every good Christian , how hardly art thou used , to be unequally yoked with such as these ! his complaint in the Gospel about wages was nothing , in comparison to that which these can make , Matth. 20. 12. These last have wrought but one hour , and thou hast made them equal unto us , which have born the burden and heat of the day : but these men can say , We have born the burthen and heat of the day , and have not received a penny for it ; but they received it who did nothing , if not worse than nothing . 'T is a smart and a true one of him that said , It seems a hard piece of justice , that the price of publick freedom ( when restored ) should be the ruine only of such as did assert it . 'T is the fashion of this Town to give you once a week their bill of Mortalitie , and to instance the several diseases by which they dyed : but I find not this disease mentioned , So many dyed with the sense of a d●s-regarded loyalty . With a little pains I could present you with a black Bill of at least a hundred Gentlemen that dyed in and about this Town by no other disease but this , and want ; and yet ( as Job ) though they saw no deliverance , they still held fast their integrity , and carryed it with them to be regarded and rewarded in another World : I could shew you whole Cart-loads of old shooes and mouldy bread , all the houshold-stuff that is left ▪ to these poor Gibeonites ; I could tell you ( from a very good hand ) of a stout Royalist , that ( like Lazarus ) came into our Hall & carefully gather'd up the parings of bread ; which not only the men , but the mice and dogs had left ; ( for our City dogs are so sinely fed , that they scorn to eat that , which he was glad to find . ) And 't is this endangers a famine , and provokes it ; there is a signature in the very judgment , like Adonibezeck , Judges 1. 7. As I have done , so God hath requited me ; so God goes about this way to make you and them all of a piece , by tasting the same sauce with them , and by letting you to feel what 't is to be in want ; methinks , t is the very language of Heaven , If you wil not help them , the Earth shall not help you : God will reduce your fair fields and fatned selves to the same leannesse with them , and then 't will be in fashion to want when great men wear it . Let me give you my just fear ; that as the present unkindnesse ( if not injustice ) to this sort of men is very great , so I do believe you will never thrive , neither in Creatures nor in Councels , nor in any undertakings till this be amended : For 't is a crying sin , if St. James be to be believed , who tells us , James 5. 4. That the hire of the labourers , which is kept back by fraud , cryeth , and with that loudnesse , that it enters into the ears of the Lord of Sabbath ; and what does this cry obtain ? Miseries , verse 1. and what Miseries ? Your Riches are corrupted , and your Garments moth-eaten , your Gold and Silver is canker'd , and the rust of them shall be as a witness against you , and shall eat your flesh as it were fire : And as nothing thrived in Israel as long as Achan sate abrood on his stollen wedge and garment , so though we gild over our Plunders and Sequestrations with the specious title of the just acquists of war , yet let not England hope to prosper till there be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Acts 3. 21. a restitution of all things . It is this just and most advantageous work which I commend with the greatest seriousnesse to your care and Councell ; that as you have been indifferently severe in the vindictive part of justice , so you would shew your selves men in the restorative part of it , and fill up your office in both parts of it by punishment of evil doers , and the praise of them that have done well , 1 Pet. 2. 14. If you would stand free from the judgment you fear , do this and it will prove an Antidote : He commend to you but this one instance for your warrant and incouragement , 2 Sam. 21. in the 1. verse we read of a famine that was in the days of David , and David enquired of the Lord , and his answer was , It is for Saul and for his bloody house , because he slew the Gibeonites : No part of the H●story tells me that he slew them , which makes me think he only used them hardly , encreas'd their Servitude , and made their lives a burthen to them , and indeed this is a piece of murder ; and for this there was a famine . Have we no such Gibeonites among us ? that are as yet thought good for nothing else , but to cleave wood and carry water , to do the drudgery and mean offices of the Nation ? we have , what need we be at the cost to Trade so far as the Indies for Blacks and Slaves when we have enough at home ? neither let us any more upbraid the Mahometan cruelty for making Vassals of strangers , and binding such only to the oar whom they knew not under any other notion , then of a just prize of War ; we make Slaves among our selves , and that of those who have been at the greatest charge for our liberty . Have we not a people endeavoured to be suppressed and destroyed by our late Saul ? Did any thing but bonds , and chains , and blocks , and halters , abide them here at home ? and was any place but a Jamaica , a Poneropolis provided for them abroad ? And as yet , these ( the just heirs and owners of relief ) are not relieved : 'T is not a further vengeance on their enemies that they desire , nor the hanging up of the Sons of Saul ; what will the blood of others do them good ? if they loved that , they would never have been so prodigal of their own , what then ? let our David send for them as David did for these , and debate the matter with them , as he did , verse 3. What shall I do for you , and wherewith shall I make the attonement , that you may blesse the inheritance of the Lord ? This inheritance of the Lord ( the Land of our Nativity ) is like ( it seems for this year at least ) to go without a blessing ; let the same words be heard from the lips of our David , and let the same question be put in your Councels , what shall we do for you ? T is quickly answer'd in the Text , which sets me down where I first set up : Loose the bands of wickednesse , undoe the heavy burdens , let the oppressed go free , break every yoak , deal your bread to the hungry , bring the poor that are cast out to your houses , cover the naked , and hide not your selves from your own flesh ; and though it may seem a work of cost , it is not without reward , ver . 8. &c. Then shall your light break forth as the morning and your health shal spring forth speedily , and your righteousness shal go before you , and the glory of the Lord shal gather you up , Then shal you call and the Lord shal answer , you shal cry , and he shal say , here I am : Then shal the Lord guide you continually , and satisfie your soul in drought , and make fat your bones , and you shal be like a watered garden , and like a spring of water , whose waters fail not . And you shal build the old wast places , you shal raise foundations for many generations , and you shal be called the repairers of the breach , and the restorers of paths to dwel in . Which Duties that ye may do , and which Mercies that you may obtain , the Father of mercys grant through the Mercies and Mediation of our Lord Jesus Christ , to whom be glory for ever and ever . Amen . FINIS . A Catalogue of some Books Printed for Henry Brome , at the Gun in Ivy-lane . THe alliance of Divine Offices , exhibiting all the Liturgies of the Church of Engl. since the Reformation , by Hamon L'estrange , Esq ; in fol. The Souls Conflict , being eight Sermons preach'd at Oxford , and so much recommended by Dr Hewit , in 8. Dr. Browns Sepulchrall Urns and Garden of Cyrus , in 8. Two Essayes of Love and Marriage in 12. The Royal Exchange , a Comedy in 4 by R. Brome . Five new Playes , by R. Brome , never before printed , in 8. Poems by the Wits of both Universities in 8. Crums of Comfort , 44. times Printed , in 24. A treatise of Moderation , by Mr. Gaule in 8. St Bonaventure's Soliloquies , in 24 Mr. Baxters Treatise of Conversion , in 4. The Common Law Epitomiz'd with Directions how to prosecute and defend personal actions , very usefull for all Gentlemen , to which is annexed the nature of a Writ of Errour , and the General proceedings thereupon , in 8. Golden Remains , by that most Learned R S●war● D D. Dean of Westminster and Clerk of the Closet to King Charles the first , being the last and best Monuments that are likely to be made publick , in 12. Mr. Sprat's Plague of Athens , in 4. Jews in America by Mr. Thorowgood , in 4. The Royal Buckler , or a Lecture for Traytors , in 8. A view of some late Remarkable Transactions , leading to the happy Government under our gracious Soveraign King Charles the Second , by R. L'estrange Esq ; in 4. All the Songs on the Rump , in 8. The Pouttracture of his sacred Majesty King Charles the Second , from his Birth 1630. till this present year 1661. being the whole story of his escape at Worcester , his travils and troubles . The Covenant discharged by John Russell , in 4. The Complear Art of Water-drawing , in 4. Mr. ●●ys his Translation of the 6th Book of Virgil in 4. Mr. Walwin's Sermon on the happy return of King Charles the Second . A perfect Discovery of Wirchcraft , very profitable to be read of all sorts of people , especially Judges of Assize before they passe sentence on condemned persons for witches , in 4. A short view of the Lives of the Illustrious Princes , Henry Duke of Gloucester , and Mary Princes of Orange deceased , by T. M. Esq ; in 8. Aeneas his Voyage from Troy to Italy an Essay upon the third Book of Virgil , by J Boys Esq ; in 8. The Holy Cheat● proving from the undeniable practises of the Presbyterians , that the whole design of that party is to enslave both King and People under the colour of Religion , by R. L'estrange Esq ; FINIS .