his only was done as mere man contenting himself with the measure of a man, after he had seen Moses' and Elias's more glorious but miraculous example; secondly, because Daniel himself did undertake that three weeks' fast upon his foreseeing in spirit "the taking away" of this our "Bridegroom,” the cutting off of Messias the prince, but not for himself; compare the end of Daniel, chap. ix. 24, 26, with the beginning of chap. x. 2, 3; thirdly, this fast was kept by him, saith the text ver. 4, in the first month of the year, answering to our March, the time wherein the Messias was to be cut off, wherein the Christian Church would afterward celebrate 170 their Paschal fast for His Passion; fourthly, for the great acceptation with God that this three weeks' fast of Daniel found; compare chap. x. 2, 3, with ver. 12; "in those days. I Daniel was mourning three full weeks; I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled." -"Then said he unto me, Fear not Daniel; for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words."-Thus we read when forty days were indicted by God for Nineveh's destruction, a three days' fast of Jonah in the whale's belly was accepted for him, “and the whale vomited up Jonah upon the dry land ;" and a three days' fast of the city Nineveh, a city of three days' journey to pass through, was accepted of God for their deliverance"; "and God repented of the evil He had pronounced against them, and He did it not." On which saith St. Chrysostom, · ἡ μὲν γὰρ μέθη καὶ ἀδηφαγία τὴν πόλιν διέσεισε καὶ καταβάλλειν ἔμελλεν· ἡ δὲ νηστεία [τριῶν ἡμερῶν] σαλευομένην αὐτὴν καὶ μέλλουσαν καταπίπτειν ἔστησε·—εὐθέως δρόμος ἁπάντων ἐπὶ τὴν νηστείαν, ἀνδρῶν, γυναικῶν, δούλων, δεσποτῶν, ἀρχόντων, ἀρχομένων, παιδίων, πρεσβυτέρων· οὐδ ̓ ἀλόγων φύσις ταύτης ἀτελὴς ἦν τῆς λειτουργίας πανταχοῦ σάκκος, πανταχού σποδὸς, πανταχοῦ θρῆνος καὶ οἰμωγαί καὶ ἦν ἰδεῖν πρᾶγμα παράδοξον, ὑπὸ σάκκου πορφυρίδα παρευδοκιμηθεῖσαν. Ὅπερ γὰρ οὐκ ἴσχυσεν ἀλουργίς, τοῦτο

See Jonah iii. according to the LXX. [Ver. 4. "yet forty days," ἔτι τρεῖς ἡμέραι. LXX.]

• De Pœnit. Hom. v. [vol. ii. p. 314.]

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or Jonah's and the Ninevites' three days.

ἴσχυσεν ὁ σάκκος· ὅπερ οὐκ ἤνυσε τὸ διάδημα, τοῦτο κατώρ θωσεν ἡ σποδός—καὶ οὕτω τὴν πόλιν ἐξήρπασαν τῶν κινδύνων.— Μὴ πτήξητε-τὴν νηστείαν ἀκούσαντες· οὐ γὰρ ὑμῖν 171 ἐστι φοβερά, ἀλλὰ τῇ τῶν δαιμόνων φύσει—ὅταν οὖν τοῖς ἐχθροῖς τῆς ζωῆς ἡμῶν οὕτως ᾖ φοβερά, φιλεῖν αὐτὴν καὶ ἀσπάζεσθαι, οὐχὶ δεδοικέναι χρή... “ drunkenness and gluttony shook the city of Nineveh when it stood fair and flourishing, but the fast" of three days "when it shook, and was about to fall, established its standing.-Forthwith you might see them all run unto fasting, both men and women, servants and masters, rulers and people, children and old men; nor was even the irrational nature of beasts privileged from this service. Every where was seen sackcloth, every where ashes, every where lamentation and mourning; and a strange sight it was to see, what the purple and diadem could not do, that sackcloth and ashes prevailed to do,and delivered the city from their dangers. Fear not thereforewhen ye hear of the fast; for that is not terrible to us," which delivers us from fearful judgments, "but it is terrible to the devils; since it is therefore so terrible to the enemies of our life, we ought to love and embrace, and not to fear it." St. Chrysostom had learned this from that of our Lord, (to whom every knee of things beneath the earth also do bow,) Matt. xvii. 20, 21, “ this kind goes not out, but by prayer and fasting."

You have seen the gracious acceptance which the Ninevites' fast found with God Almighty.-But lest any of us should undergo like labour, and miss of like acceptance, how far in the next place directions for the truly religious manner of performance of this duty of fasting will be necessary, St. Chrysostom will tell you upon the occasion of this Ninevites' fast; 172 οὐ γὰρ ἀρκεῖ τῆς νηστείας ἡ φύσις ἐξελέσθαι τοὺς μετιόντας, ἐὰν μὴ μετὰ τοῦ προσήκοντος γένηται νόμου· καὶ γὰρ ἀθλη τὴς, φησὶν, οὐ στεφανοῦται, ἐὰν μὴ νομίμως ἀθλήσῃ· ἵνα οὖν μὴ πόνον ὑπομείναντες νηστείας ἐκπέσωμεν τοῦ στεφάνου τῆς νηστείας, μάθωμεν πῶς καί τινα τρόπον τὸ πρᾶγμα μετιέναι χρή· ἐπεὶ καὶ ὁ Φαρισαῖος ἐκεῖνος ἐνήστευσεν, ἀλλὰ μετὰ τὴν

P [P. 309.]

In his third Homily ad pop. Antiochen. [vol. ii. p. 39.]

That our fasting may be acceptable,

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νηστείαν ἐκείνην κατῆλθεν ἔρημος καὶ κενὸς τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς νηστείας καρπῶν· ὁ τελώνης οὐκ ἐνήστευσε, καὶ ἔμπροσθεν γέγονεν ἐκείνου τοῦ νηστεύσαντος ὁ μὴ νηστεύσας· ἵνα μάθῃς ὅτι νηστείας ὄφελος οὐδὲν, ἂν μὴ καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ ἕπηται πάντα. Ἐνήστευσαν οἱ Νινευῖται καὶ ἐπεσπάσαντο τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ εὔνοιαν· ἐνήστευσαν καὶ Ἰουδαῖοι, καὶ πλέον οὐδὲν ἔπραξαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ κατηγορηθέντες ἀπῆλθον. Ἐπεὶ οὖν τοσοῦτος ὁ κίνδυνος τῆς νηστείας τοῖς οὐκ εἰδόσιν ὅπως χρὴ νηστεύειν, μάθωμεν τῆς νηστείας τους νόμους, ἵνα μὴ τρέχωμεν ἀδήλως, μηδὲ ἀέρα δέρωμεν, μηδὲ σκιαμαχῶμεν πυκτεύοντες. Φάρμακόν ἐστιν ἡ νηστεία· ἀλλὰ τὸ φάρμακον, κἂν μυριάκις ὠφέλιμον ᾖ, πολλάκις ἄχρηστον γίνεται διὰ τὴν ἀπειρίαν τοῦ χρωμένου· καὶ γὰρ καὶ καιρὸν εἰδέναι χρὴ καθ ̓ ὃν δεῖ τοῦτο ἐπιτιθέναι, καὶ ποσότητα αὐτοῦ τοῦ φαρμάκου, καὶ σώματος κρᾶσιν τὴν δεχομένην, καὶ χώρας φύσιν, καὶ ὥραν ἔτους, καὶ δίαιταν κατάλληλον, καὶ πολλὰ ἕτερα· ὧν ὅπερ ἂν παροφ θείη τοῖς ἄλλοις λυμανεῖται πᾶσι τοῖς εἰρημένοις “ for the nature of fasting," saith he, "sufficeth not to free those which are exercised therewith, except it be performed according to a meet rule or law. For he that striveth for masteries, is not crowned except he strive lawfully; lest therefore we under173 going the pain of fasting fall short of the crown and reward thereof, let us learn how, and after what manner we ought to perform the thing. For otherwise we know, the Pharisee also fasted, but after his fast he went away empty and void of the fruits of fasting; yea the Publican who fasted not was preferred before him that fasted, that you may learn how there is no benefit of the fast, except all other requisites also do accompany it. The Ninevites fasted, and drew down upon themselves the favour of God; the Jews also fasted, and were never the nearer, but went away accused. Since therefore there is so great danger of the fast to those who know not how they ought to fast, let us learn the laws of fasting, that we run not uncertainly, nor beat the air, nor be as such cuffers who fight as it were with their shadow. Fasting is a medicine; but physic, although it be never so good that is prescribed, ofttimes becomes unprofitable by reason of the imprudence of him that useth it; for that he ought well to know both the season of taking it, and the quantity, and the constitution of the body that receives it, and the air or region, and the season

of the year, and what diet is to be taken with it, and many other rules; of which he that shall oversee any, mars the whole course of physic which he had entered upon."

Let us then now come to these νηστείας νόμους which St. Chrysostom says we are to learn, the rules and laws of this fast, especially of Lent; that it may be such a fast as God hath chosen. I will name eight. 1st, that our fasting be as 17 the Church at first designed it, a great instrument of our great work of repentance from our sins, of judging ourselves that we be not judged of the Lord, of more instant mortifying all sinful lusts and affections, as it is a special season of memory of Christ's death and passion; forasmuch as Christ hath suffered for us, and we, if with Him we suffer in the flesh, 1 Pet. 4. 1. must cease from sin, as we learn from St. Peter. 2ndly, that our fast be truly fasting, not a commutation only of our usual diet for other delightful fulness, refections, and pleasures. 3rdly, that fasting be not severed from its ancient company of watchings, hard lyings, sorrowings, sequestration of ornaments and public joyances. 4thly, that in our fasting our bowels relent from all hard oppression of others to all works of justice, the fast which God hath chosen, to undo heavy burdens and to break every yoke. 5thly, that it abound in works of mercy; the fast commanded us by God, to deal our bread, from which we fast, to those who not of choice but by necessity do hunger. 6thly, to make our fastings subservient to our more instant prayers, as our bodies to our souls; for a time, as St. Paul speaks, σxoλálovτes, giving ourselves to attend on fasting and prayer, as also to more frequent hearing of God's word; as the Church at this season provides more frequent sermons, that while the outward man fasts, the inward man may be filled daily. 7thly, more particularly take we care in this time of the abstinence of Lent to prepare ourselves for the Lord's holy Table at Easter, to which it is instituted as a preparation. Lastly, that all this your good be 17 not leavened with the leaven of vain-glory and hypocrisy ; "when ye fast be not as the hypocrites are."-These the ancient doctors did join together in their injunctions; as may be seen especially throughout St. Chrysostom's Homilies on Lent. Thus Cæsarius bishop of Arles, A.D. 508, in his second

Isa. 58.

1 Cor. 7.

66

which the ancients joined together;

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Homily of Lent, Rogo vos fratres carissimi, ut in isto legitimo ac sacratissimo Quadragesima tempore,-etium quod vos facere credo, caritatis contemplatione commoneo; ut per totam Quadragesimam et usque ad finem Pascha castitatem, Deo auxiliante, servantes, in illá sacrosanctá solennitate Pascha, castitatis luce vestiti, eleemosynis dealbati, orationibus, vigiliis et jejuniis, velut quibusdam cœlestibus et spiritualibus margaritis ornati, non solum cum amicis sed etiam cum inimicis pacifici, liberâ et securâ conscientia ad altare Domini accedentes, corpus et sanguinem ejus non ad judicium, sed ad remedium possitis accipere; “I beseech you, most dear brethren, that in this ordained and most sacred time of Lent," &c.-" and of love I admonish you, that which I trust you also do, that, through the whole Lent unto Easter keeping yourselves through God's help in purity, in that holy solemnity of Easter you being clothed with the light of purity, and made clean and white by alms, and adorned with prayers, watchings, and fastings, as with certain heavenly and spiritual pearls, and being at peace not only with your friends but also with your enemies, approaching with a free and quiet conscience to the Altar of the Lord, may receive His Body and Blood, not to judgment, but for your spiritual remedy and healing." Hath not our 176 Lord Christ prepared and mingled as it were all these together in one part of His Sermon on the mount, prayer, alms, and fasting, and charitable forgiving, and putting far from us hypocrisy in those, and repentance? And these are indeed Mat. ch. 6, all linked together in their own nature; when, our fasting ver. 5. helping forward and witnessing our humiliation and repentance, enabling us also the better to watching, and both giving us opportunity to prayer, and enabling us at least out of what by fasting we spare from our own bodies to feed and relieve the poor, and therefore much more doing justice to others; in all things performing sincere obedience to God and His Church without hypocrisy, in love of our brethren and neighbours, and purity of our bodies, and meet preparation of our souls, we approach at the end of the fast to the holy Table and heavenly feast of Christ's most holy, purifying, and sanctifying Body and Blood. St. Austin somewhere compares the faith of Christians to the lamp, alms to the oil in the lamp, ⚫ [P. 746.] [P. 747.]

& ch. 7. to