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THe life of a Christian is not there∣fore tearm'd Spirituall, that wee should liue like Spirits without food; Neither did our Sauiour, when hee said, The loue of the world is enmity with God, intend to put that mortall Opposi∣tion
betwixt vs and the world, that wee should cast off all worldly respects condu∣cing to a supply of our wants. He whose goodnesse gaue vs Being, gaue vs then also meanes to preserue that Being,* 1.1 Meats for the belly,* 1.2 (saith S. Paul) and Herbs for the vse of man, (so the Psalme.) I confesse there are many Texts to hold the Body in subie∣ction, but none to destroy it: For he that bids vs fast, bids vs not starue; and he that bids vs in the Psalme,* 1.3 Not to set our hearts vpon riches, bids vs not begge* 1.4.
Nay there is no Text that doth, by ad∣uancing the price and estimation of the soule, deuest vs of a iust regard of the Body. S. Ambrose sayes the Body is Tunica animae, the Coat, the Vesture of the Soule; He there∣fore that casts off all care of it, vncloathes Nature, and discouers the shame of his vn∣derstanding. Though the Soule must haue the highest regard, the Body must haue a share, and a degree in our regard. For how can wee iustifie the neglect of that Body for the present, which God hath decreed to Glorifie hereafter? Of which future
Glory he hath giuen this earnest, that hee hath alotted a roome in this Praier meerely for things conducing to the Bodies pro∣uision.
It is not strange that God who hath ta∣ken so strict an Inuentory of Man, that the very least haire of his head is entred in his Registry,* 1.5 should be so tender of the whole Body. He that so precisely rates each Liga∣ment, each small Threed that ties the parts of the Body together, could not lesse than prouide for sustenance to hold the maine Essentiall parts Soule and Body together.
Against all therefore that professe the Science of Want and Willing Pouertie, a∣gainst all those that tyrannize ouer Nature, and execute a iustice vpon themselues be∣yond Gods commission, by staruing the Body, let mee oppose this Petition, as an inducement to them not to be cruell to their owne Flesh, and as an argument of Gods impartiall care of the Body, as of the Soule. And you may obserue how farre he carries this care, euen thorow all his Acti∣ons and our courses. There is not so great
a disproportion betwixt the Soule and the Body, as betwixt God and Man; yet in those acts which concerne our profit and his Glory, He so farre condescends to vs, that He allowes vs more time for our ad∣uantage than He takes to Himselfe. Of the Seuen dayes in the weeke, Six He allowes to Mans industrie, to doe his worke in, to buy and sell, to plant Vineyards, and to reape the fruits of the Earth, reseruing only one Sabbath, the Seuenth day, for the ado∣ration of his Name.
And of the Seuen Petitions in this Dia∣rie, this Ephaemerides of Praier, Christ hath ordained a more liberall share to Man than to Himselfe: for only Three of them di∣rectly and immediately concerne his King∣dome and the Honour of his Name, the Foure last were intended for helps to ac∣commodate Man whilst he liues here in the World.
This Petition is our first step to Earth: In the three former wee made our ascents and approches towards Heauen; here our Deuotion flies at a lower pitch, and stoops
at the World. Naturalitèr, quod procedere non potest, recedit. By Natures Rule, when things are at the highest, they must de∣scend. When the Sun hath clomb vp to the remotest part of our Tropick, and is placed at greatest distance from our Hemisphaere, he trauerses his course, and by another Tropick falls neerer to vs againe. In the three first Petitions wee were neerer the Sun, neerer that place where the Throne of God is fixt, and the Sun of righteousnesse moues, Heauen. Here wee as it were cut the Line, are in a new Climate: The Two Globes of Earth and Heauen here diuide themselues, this being the first side of the Terrestriall. On which I shall describe vn∣to you Six Prouinces that offer themselues to our view.
[ 1] First, the Necessitie of asking, implied in this postulation, Giue.
[ 2] Secondly, Ordo petendi, the order in which our Petitions must be ranked, which is exemplified in the Method of this Praier, which requires Heauenly Blessings before Earthly, and teaches vs to intend Gods
Honour, and the performance of his Will, before our owne Necessities.
Thirdly, Qualitas petendorum, the Qua∣litie [ 3] of what wee aske, Bread.
Fourthly, Modus petendi, the Measure or [ 4] Bounds of our Petition, Quotidiamus, Daily Bread.
Fiftly, the Petitioners for whom wee [ 5] aske, Nobis, Giue vs.
Sixtly, the Date of the Petition, Hodie, [ 6] This Day.
It is the blessing of Clients to meet with [ 1] easie Patrons,* 1.6 such as will be mollified with Petitions. Wee are not sure there be many of this soft temper in the world: but wee are most certaine God is one. A mer∣cifull Lord that yet neuer closed his eare to shut out the Praier of such as inuok't Him, nor contracted his bounty for bestowing mercy where it was implor'd. So graci∣ous, that He euer giues where He is faith∣fully askt, yea and sometimes antedates his fauours, by hearing vs before wee call,* 1.7 and granting our requests before wee giue them language to vtter themselues in.
— Multa Dij dedêre neglecti.
The Poet gaue that free testimonie of his false gods: how fully is it verified in the True God? He confers his Grace on many that seeke it not. Indeed, if God should giue vs no more than wee aske, wee should receiue very little; but if no more than wee deserue, nothing at all.
Of such a profuse benignitie is He, that for feare lest our owne Necessities should not be imperious enough, vrge vs fast enough to seeke his helpe, He with them laies his command on vs, and indents with vs, makes a perpetuall Couenant that wee shall require his assistance when wee need it:* 1.8 Call vpon mee in the day of trouble, so I will heare thee, and thou shalt praise mee. O the riches of his Mercy, that preuents the dull suiter, and bespeakes subiects to conferre his blessings on! That descends so low as to solicit vs to sue to him; That contracts for our praiers to be sent vp for our good,* 1.9 as He doth for his owne sacri∣fice; and is afraid of nothing more than that wee will not aske so much, and so
often as Hee is willing to bestow.
How different is the Worlds custome from his? There is a wretched kinde of te∣nacitie predominant in the disposition of Man, who is generally in nothing more close than in giuing, nor more reseru'd than in doing good to his brethren. There is scarce one amongst many that with a se∣rene contented looke receiues a suit.* 1.10 Quis non, cùm aliquid à se peti suspicatus est, fron∣tem obduxit, vultum auertit, occupationes simulauit, & varijs artibus properantes ne∣cessitates elusit? Who is there almost that comes within the view of a Petition, but turnes away his head? as if there were no spectacle so odious as a poore mans suppli∣cation: or else reuiles, or non-suits him with a frowne, or faines occasions to shake off the importunate Client and excuse his owne beneuolence; or, if he be surprised so that hee cannot auoid the giuing of somewhat, either he giues so slowly, or vnwillingly, or disdainfully, that he de∣stroyes the nature of his good turne.
When I consider with how much delay
commonly the charitie of Men is stupified and besotted, with how much insolence oft times their benefits are seasoned, I can∣not but conclude them most happy, whose free independant condition exempts them from committing a seruile Idolatry to Men, so that they know no Fore but the Temple, and vnderstand no vse of Petiti∣ons but in their Praiers. A suit commen∣ced in Gods Court will finde a swifter de∣cision, and cheaper Issue, than in ours. There is sometimes that vnconscionable impost set vpon the fauours of Men, that Clients must sue long and yet pay too. But Gods come at an easier rate,* 1.11 Sine pretio, without money,* 1.12 though Non sine petitione, not without praier.
Wee must pray then for the supply of our wants;* 1.13 but not only pray: Hoc genus daemoniorum non eijcitur sola prece; Necessi∣tie is a bad Spirit, that will not be exorcised or cast out, vnlesse wee ioyne our owne endeuours to our Praiers. When Adam for∣feited his obedience, and shut God out of his heart, the eare of God and the bounty
of Nature were at once barr'd against him: for at first the Earth wore her commodi∣ties in her forehead, visible and eminent, but after Mans fall she by Gods command calld in her blessings, conceald her fruits, and in stead of that plenty wherein once she was apparelled, now only weares that barren attire which Gods curse cast vpon her, Thornes and Thistles.* 1.14 From which Curse nothing can rescue or redeeme her, but Prayer and Labour; Prayer to open the eare of God, and Labour to open the Earth and search for those riches which lie hid within her bosome. So that, both these being requisite to supply Mans wants, it were a lazie presumption for any to sup∣pose that the saying of Lord, Lord,* 1.15 should win God to giue them bread, for which they would take no paines at all.
Now as wee must not only Pray, and not Labour, so neither must our Labour goe single, without Prayer: for though it be our industry that opens the Earth with the Plough or the Mattocke, tis Prayer that must open the windowes of Heauen for* 1.16
the former and latter raine,* 1.17 to blesse the la∣bour of the Husbandman. Whosoeuer digges, or ploughes, or sowes, or plants, it is God alone who giues the increase.* 1.18 A For∣tune collected meerely by mans industry, without God, shall melt away at the second generation, nor shall it haue the blessing of continuance, vnlesse it be euicted by suit at His hand who is able to prosper the worke of our hands.* 1.19 The Apostle tels vs, Ye fight and warre but get nothing, because yee aske not. A man may struggle with necessitie, and wage a continuall warre with his wants, but neuer get the vpper hand of them, neuer obtaine that victory he hath sweat for, Abundance and Plenty, vnlesse Deuotion be mingled with his Labours, vnlesse he hath prayed, as well as sweat for it. Tis therefore best wee all take the ad∣uice which the Spirit gaue the Church of Laodicea,* 1.20 I counsell thee to buy of mee gold that thou maiest be made rich, to purchase a Patrimony by thy Prayers from God, and to lay the foundation of thy Fortune in Re∣ligion and a good conscience.
I passe from the Necessitie of our Asking, [ 2] to the Order.* 1.21 Wee must place Spirituall blessings before Temporall, and begin at God, from whom all things assum'd their beginnings. For as He hath the Prioritie of Essence and Power, being the Prima Causa and Primus Motor, first Cause and first Mouer, so must he haue the prioritie in our obseruance and duty. Else what a Soloecisme were it, that He who preceded the World in his owne Being, should be cast backe and come behinde the World in our account? This were (so farre as in vs lies) to degrade our Maker, and to make God, who is Antiquus Dierum,* 1.22 the Ancient of Dayes, Puny to his owne workes.
God hath stampt a method in the Graue, and made the parent of Confusion, Death, sensible of order; for the Apostle tells vs, Wee shall not rise, but in our order;* 1.23 and shall wee liue so preposterously to disorder Him who is the God of Order, by denying that place and dignitie wherein hee ought to stand in our affections?
Riuers that take their beginning from
the Sea, flow backe againe, and pay a thankfull Tribute to the Ocean, by pow∣ring themselues into the lap of their first Parent. Tis a iust and equall gratitude, that the Soule, who was infused by God, and tooke her first birth from Him, should, so soone as she is able to apprehend her owne Parentage, so soone as her Intelle∣ctuall Faculties be full summd, and the wings of Meditation and Prayer can carry her vpward, take her first flight to Heauen, her Natiue Soile, there to confesse the Power and Goodnesse of Him that made Her.
He were a most peruerse Scholar, and learnt counter, that should begin at the wrong end of the Alphabet, and so trace it vpward. God is the first Letter in the Chri∣stian Alphabet, for He is α, and therefore to be first studied, to haue the first roome in our thoughts: And againe he is ω, the last, and for that hath another capacitie, another right to be first with vs. The end, though last in execution, is euer first in the intention. God is the end, to whose Glory
wee and the world were made: Hee is the Terminus whither wee all tend: Let Him then and his Kingdome possesse the chiefe roome in our desires, and then wee shall bring home the Wise mans counsell to our selues, Let thy end be alwayes in thy sight.* 1.24
God cannot endure to come in the Rere of our meditations, or be rankt lowest in our regard.* 1.25 He that commanded the First Fruits of the Earth as his due, will expect Primitias Labiorum, the Firstlings of our Loue and Deuotions too. For this cause He bids vs, Remember him in our beginning, in the Dayes of our Youth.* 1.26 And the Psalmist dedicates the first part of the Day to his seruice, Early will I call vpon thee.* 1.27
Wee see in the common practise, that till the Custome be paid the Trade is not free or open: so whilst the First fruits, which are Gods Custome, rest vnpaid, wee cannot expect a profitable Trafficke with Him, or successe in our owne affaires.
The Story tells vs, that when Iaacob pressed by the famine which reigned in his Land, sent to Egypt for victuals, he consi∣dered
the dignitie of the Gouernour before his owne necessitie, and honoured him with a Present the best he could prouide,* 1.28 before he askt for Corne. Wee were not true Israëlites, if wee more regarded meats and drinks, than to doe the Will of God, or preferred Panem quotidianum, our Daily Bread, before the Hallowing of his Name.
Certainly to begin with God is a faire Introduction to all other blessings. They that feare God can lacke nothing (saith the Psalmist) He hath giuen them meat that feare him;* 1.29 and though Lions suffer hunger, they shall be fed.
It was Dauids conclusion, and demon∣strated in his Son Salomon, whose election God so well approu'd in that hee sought Wisdome before Glory, and Religion aboue Riches, that he told him, Because he had asked those things, He had not only granted what he requested, but what hee asked not,* 1.30 Riches and Honours in greater measure than any of his predecessors euer had. Christ, who was figured in Salomon, by the Method and Order of this Prayer
teacheth vs that al Petitions are best coucht for our aduantage, when they begin with God and his Kingdome. For so he com∣ments vpon his owne Method;* 1.31 First seeke the Kingdome of God and the righteousnesse thereof, and all these things shall be added vn∣to you.
This being premised touching the Order of these Petitions, my third point followes seasonably, which is Qualitas petendorum, [ 3] the Qualitie of what wee aske, Bread.* 1.32
S. Augustine as loth to eat before he had reconciled Christs two Texts that seeme to thwart one another, moues the doubt, Why our Sauiour teaches vs here to pray for what wee eat, and yet elsewhere pre∣cisely forbids vs to be solicitous what wee should eat.* 1.33 But the Father doth not sooner moue the scruple than solue it. Alexander Hales hath made vp his answer in a short distinction; There is (saith he) Solicitudo curiositatis, a curious care to please the pa∣late with varietie of diet, and there is Soli citudo diligentiae, an honest diligence that aimes but at a competent allowance to re∣sist
hunger. Tis only the first solicitude Christ forbids, not the last.
Certainly if wee measure this Petition Literally according to its Obiect, wee shall finde the Word pretends no curiositie. Tis but Bread wee aske. The smallest, most tem∣perate request which Pouertie can put vp, and the lowest rate Bounty or Charity can be seized at. You see how small a bredth the word carries in our acception, yet Saint Augustine in his construction enlarges it very farre, and will haue it signifie all kinds of meat, Panis pro omni cibo. But the He∣brew stretches the sense so wide, that vnder this word Bread it hath inuolued all things that tend to the sustentation or support of our life, as Health, Plenty, Peace. And as Manna the Bread from Heauen humoured the palate so farre,* 1.34 that it counterfeited all meats, and relisht to him that ate it like that his Appetite most longed for; so doth this Bread apply it selfe to all necessities, impor∣ting whatsoeuer conduces to our preserua∣tion. Insomuch that S. Ambrose* 1.35 iustly in∣ferres, Haec postulatio maxima est eorum quae
postulantur; No Petition within this Praier is of so large dimensions as this. For Lite∣rally in it wee pray for Meats and Drinks: And because Meats without a Stomacke are a torment, not a blessing, wee pray for health of Body, that wee may enioy the Earths fruits, and eat the labour of our hands.* 1.36 And because a Land which is made the Stage of Warre wheron her bloudy Scenes are acted, banishes all Husbandry (for where the Sword is busie, the Plough stands idle) wee pray for Peace that wee may eat our owne Bread, that euery man may sit vnder his owne Vine,* 1.37 and vnder his owne Figge-tree, that Warre fright not plen∣tie from vs, or make vs slaues to want and famine,* 1.38 but (as it is in the Prophet) Our Speares may be turned into Sithes, and Swords into Mattocks. I finde also that Victory is figured vnder the title of Bread; for Ioshua tells Israel God would giue the people of the Land of Canaan for Bread to them.* 1.39
By these seuerall steps doth the significa∣tion of this word Bread dilate it selfe, thus wide doth it stretch in the naturall mea∣ning,
and the Mysticall sense is as ample as the other. For as it signifies Panem corpo∣ralem, that Bread which nourisheth the Body,* 1.40 so doth it also Panem vitae & iusti∣tiae, that Bread of Life which is the Word of God, wherewith the Pastors feed Christs flocke. And wee may imagine, hereupon it is that S. Augustine interprets those Fiue Loaues wherewith our Sauiour fed the Multitude,* 1.41 to be the Pentateuch, the Fiue Bookes of Moses. Besides, it signifies the Sacrament which the Psalmist calls Panem Angelorum,* 1.42 and the Author of the Booke of Wisdome Panem de Coelo,* 1.43 Angels food and Bread from Heauen.
Lastly, Righteousnesse may be called Bread; for our Sauiours Sermon in the Mount implies as much, when he termes them Blessed that hunger and thirst after righteousnesse.* 1.44
This is the summe of all that the Schooles say concerning the word Bread. Which is broken by them into Fiue parts. First, Cor∣poralis, our common Bread. Secondly, Spi∣ritualis, Bread in a spirituall sense, which is
Panis Iustitiae, Righteousnesse. Thirdly, Doctrinalis, the Doctrinall Bread distribu∣ted by Gods Dispensers, the Preachers. Fourthly, Sacramentalis, that hallowed Bread which wee receiue in the Commu∣nion. Fiftly, Aeternalis, that eternall Bread of Life which wee hope to be partakers of in the World to come, of which our Saui∣our sayes, Ego sum Panis viuus.* 1.45 I may adde one other Species of Bread, which the Psalmist calls 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉,* 1.46 Bread kneaded with our teares, which is the Bread of Re∣pentance and sorrow for sinne past.
I shall not erect any large discourse on these foundations. Only thus: Wee must remember, Man liues not by Bread only,* 1.47 but by the Word of God. And that euen the Soule, our best part, hath her decayes as well as the Body, and requires a repaire as speedy: She is sensible of wants and pi∣nings, hath her part of Hunger and Thirst, and that in a degree so farre exalted aboue the corporall hunger, as her subtile essence is sublimated and refined aboue the Body: In which kinde of sense the Psalmist sayes,
He sent leannesse into their Soules.* 1.48
Therefore because the Word of God is our Soules food, and Hee in the Prophet hath threatned a famine more dangerous than that of Bread,* 1.49 a Famine of hearing his Word; Let vs daily beseech Him that Hee will be pleased to continue both this Bread vnto vs, and the number of such as are to distribute it; That so the plenty which blest his People may dwell amongst vs, and wee may speake the Psalmists language, God gaue the Word, great was the multitude of the Preachers.* 1.50
Againe, because the Bread which wee eat in the Sacrament is viaticum animae (as S. Augustine stiles it) the bait or prouision to strengthen the Soule in her iourney; be∣cause it is both the Antidote to resist the venome of sinne, and the Physicke to purge it away when it is collected, (for so S. Bernard* 1.51 sayes tis Medicina animae) let vs beseech the great Physitian that he would reuiue our sicke Soules with that Bread, and giue vs often leaue to wash our woun∣ded consciences in that Cup: and that the
administration of his Sacraments, which are the Euidences, the visible Seales of his grace and fauour, may neuer be cancelled or supprest till that time come when wee shall eat and drinke with him in Heauen.
Modus petendi, The measure of the pe∣tition, [ 4] is included in this word Quotidianus, Daily Bread.* 1.52
I finde the two Euangelists S. Matthew and S. Luke somewhat differently transla∣ted in the Vulgar. S. Matthew hath Panem supersubstantialem; S. Luke, Quotidianum. I meane not to dispute the cause of this difference, or the truth of the translation. I am content to take the Schoolemens rea∣son,* 1.53 that S. Matthew spake to the capacitie of the learned, Orationem Dominicam scripsit vt perfectis conueniebat; but S. Luke spake to the vnderstanding of the rude and vnlet∣tered, as well as the other. Supersubstantia∣lis (saith Alexander Hales) is a word that few vnderstand, but Quotidianus is the more easie and familiar: Therefore because this Praier was to be commonly vsed by all sorts of Men, the Church determined to
vse this word Quotidianus, Daily Bread, as most proper to informe al vnderstandings.
But vpon this ground and concession let mee aske, vnto whose capacitie did the Rhemists fit their translation? when they read, Giue vs our supersubstantiall Bread. Did they intend it for the vse of Scholars, or generally for the People? If for them, why would they offer with strange dresses to disfigure our Mother Tongue, to attire it in the Roman garbe, blending the En∣glish with so much Latine, that they vtterly disguise it from vulgar apprehensions. I cannot conceiue what darke designe they had in obscuring the Text with so much vnknowne compound sophisticate Lan∣guage, vsing not only here, but thorowout their whole Translation, such words as but Schollars none can vnderstand, vnlesse besides that plot, in which their whole fa∣ction hath long laboured, to benight the Church of Christ, and cast a generall mist of ignorance to blinde the World, that it should not discerne this Truth, they haue a plot vpon God himselfe, and would, if it
were possible, make Him speake in as vn∣knowne a tongue to the Congregation, as they themselues speake to the People, and teach the People to pray vnto Him.
Wee that studie perspicuitie embrace the common, and by best iudgements most approued, word Quotidianus, both because by it Generaliùs exprimuntur petenda, 'tis of more spatious signification than Supersub∣stantialis,* 1.54 carrying both the Materiall and Spirituall sense. Yet how euer it be in it selfe of so significatiue an extent, 'tis set vp to vs as a Boundary to limit our vast de∣sires, and empale the wilde appetite. If we may compare this Petition to a Terrestri∣all Globe, this must be the Meridian to gir∣dle it about; by it must wee take the length and bredth of our requests. 'Tis the size, the measure of our Markets,* 1.55 as the Omer was Israels daily stint for the collecting of their Manna, which was their Bread. Wee here are tied to our allowance and propor∣tion like them, our Daily Bread, that is, so much as is sufficient for our daily suste∣nance. The Syriacke Translation expresses
it fully, Panis indigentiae, Bread to resist Hunger and repaire Nature.
Neither did Christ put this Epithet into our mouthes only to bridle the appetite, but the Will too, and all the couetous mo∣tions springing from thence.
What meanes then our wastfull excesse in Meats and Drinks? our learned, witty Gluttony, which exercises all the Elements, Earth, and Aire, and Fire, and Water; which tortures the backs of beasts to carry, and braines of men to deuise new Sacrifices to offer daily to their deuouring Idoll, the Belly, which many serue more than God. The Roman Poet loudly exclaimes against it;* 1.56
O quaesitorum terrâ pelago{que} ciborum Ambitiosa fames!Certainly if wee but considered how little expence Nature puts vs to for her support,
—Quàm paucis liceat traducere vitam,
Et quantum Natura petat: how that the staffe of Bread is sufficient to waft and carry vs thorow Lifes whole iourney, wee should see that Gods hot indignation glowes against vs as much for the prodigi∣ous
abuse of his Creatures this way, as for any other sinne. How can wee excuse our selues to Him, when wee lay out on one meale a yeares allowance, and waste as much prouision in a few houres, as were sufficient to releeue the famine of an Army? Si in vno conuiuio tantum capis, quantum centum diebus sufficere potest, iam non Panem Quotidianum, sed multorum dierum panem manducas.* 1.57 When thou deuourest at one Feast what would suffice thee for an hun∣dred dayes, thou eatest not in Gods name; for 'tis not Panis Quotidianus, thy Daily Bread, but the Bread of many dayes.
Againe,* 1.58 what meanes the Ioyning of house to house, the carefull collecting of an estate purchased with losse of Time, and perhaps of Conscience? which if Fortune depriue vs not of whilest we liue, we must part with when wee die. If we considered how little of that earth wee buy must one day hold vs, in how narrow a graue our corps shall lie, this meditation well appre∣hended were enough to entombe all aua∣rice. Wee should account it madnesse, not
prouidence, and not thrift but profusion, to lay out so much care in compassing that which wee must enioy so short a time. Apuleius* 1.59 elegantly speakes; Ad viuendum sicut ad natandum is melior, qui onere liberior; He swims best that hath the least weight to encomber him; and he liues happiest who least troubles himselfe about the worlds pelfe. Minutius Foelix interprets him: Magno viatico breue iter vitae non in∣struitur, sed oneratur; A large prouision for so short a voyage as Life, is a perplexitie, not an helpe; and a burthen, not a supply.
* 1.60I end this point with S. Augustines para∣phrase vpon this Petition: Petite vobis suf∣ficientiam; Aske not superfluitie of things, but so much as is necessary for thy vse. Cloath thy request in Salomons words, Giue mee not riches nor pouertie,* 1.61 and thou thereby doest not crosse but vary these of Christ.
Nature is not vnreasonable in her de∣sires, nor chargeable in her fare: See the whole Bill of fare, and Catalogue of her vtensils set downe,* 1.62 The chiefe things of life
is Water and Bread, and cloathing and lodging to couer thy nakednesse: They who haue all these things haue enough, they want no∣thing, but the Apostles contented minde, Habentes victum & vestitum,* 1.63 his contenti simus; When wee haue food and raiment, let vs therewith be content, and giue God thanks.
Concerning our Spirituall Bread, that doth not so much require a Limitation, as a Caution. Receiue the holy Sacrament so often as thou canst prepare thy selfe, Quo∣tidie accipe, quotidie curabere: S. Bernard* 1.64 allowes it thee euery day, if thou darest al∣low it thy selfe.
Heare the Word of God preached in abundance, take in at thy eare Quantum sufficit, so much as is sufficient, or if that be too little, as much as thou listest: but take heed the frequent reception of the one doe not make thee loath and vnder∣value thy Lords Supper, nor the plentifull hearing of Gods Word make thy deuotion surfet.
Omnis saturatio mala, panis verò pessima;* 1.65
A surfet of Bread, in the opinion of the Phy∣sitian, is of all surfets the worst; but in the sentence of the Diuine a surfet of that Bread which is the Word of God, is of all Bread-surfets the most desperate.
There is one condition concerning this our Bread, which I cannot passe: It must be Panis datus, Bread giuen to vs from God, not Panis arreptus, extorted and wrung from the throats of others. For God will not blesse that kinde of men which vultur∣like liues by rapine and preying on their brethren. Such as these doe neither eat Panem nostrum, their owne, nor Panem Quotidianum,* 1.66 their Daily Bread, but (as it is in the Psalme) 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, They eat vp the people in stead of Bread. And howsoeuer it digests with them in this World,* 1.67 I feare they must looke to be fed in the next with that diet which Ahab threatned to Michaiah, The Bread of sorrow and affliction.
[ 5] The Petitioners are intimated in this word vs,* 1.68 Giue vs. That wee aske not for our selues in particular, Giue mee, but vs,
is a Lecture of Charitie. The Apostle pro∣fesses if he had all the World, all Gifts, all Faith, and had not Charitie,* 1.69 whatsoeuer he had or could doe was as nothing.
I may in allusion to his speech boldly say, if God haue bestowed his gifts vpon vs in the greatest abundance, if he haue fill'd our Granaries with corne, and multiplied our flocks in the fold, yet hath not enrich∣ed vs with that Brotherly loue wherewith wee should support one another;* 1.70 If he hath not giuen vs a bountifull heart, and a cha∣ritable hand to giue some of our goods to the releefe, and some of our bread to the nourishment of the poore, He hath giuen vs but halfe a blessing. Wealth is but a con∣fused lumpe, till bounty shape and put it into forme; but a dead vselesse peece of earth, till Charitie inanimate and quicken, and by sending it abroad make it currant, and by distributing it to seuerall hands giue it heat and motion.
The Apostle bids vs, as to Loue all,* 1.71 so to Doe good to all. A man that doth good to none but to himselfe, is a hatefull incloser;
he empales Gods bounty, by vsurping a strict proprietie in those blessings which he intended for the common releefe of man∣kinde.
As no part of the body was made only for it selfe, so no man. Wee are all one bo∣dy, whereof Christ is head, and therefore one anothers members. As wee are all parts of that mysticall body, so are we also of a Politicall. Of which body as the King is the Head, & the Counsellors the braine, so the Rich man is the stomacke that re∣ceiues the good of the Land. Now as the stomacke receiues the meat not to retaine it still there, but to disperse it into all the parts of the body, which must be fed by that nourishment: so haue Rich men their wealth not to hoord vp, but to disperse amongst the needy:* 1.72 for Dispersit, Dedit pauperibus, is the Rich mans office and commendation too.
Doe but obserue how God waters the Earth by seuerall Veines and Channels: Shall the Channell say to the dry ground, I will retaine my waters and shut vp my
banks from releeuing your barrennesse▪ when the Channell is but the conueyance of that blessing to the World. God oft times reaches vnto vs his benefits by others hands: He hath made the Rich his Almoner, his hand to contribute vnto the necessities of his brethren;* 1.73 for Per eum qui habet iuuat egentem, per eum qui non habet probat habentem: if then he be of such a cruell retention to close and shut vp him∣selfe against the poore,* 1.74 he resists the ordi∣nance of God, by with-holding that good which He intended to conuey to others by him. Christ teaches vs to say Our Bread, and Giue vs; wee heare not of any in the whole Booke of God that sayes My Bread,* 1.75 but only Nabal, who is therefore both Churle and Foole vpon record. Let him that hath Bread, scatter it freely vpon the waters,* 1.76 for so God shall make it Panem Quotidia∣num in a lasting sense, by feeding him and his posteritie Daily; and,* 1.77 as Elisha told the widow, neither the meale in his barrell, nor the oile in his cruse shall euer suffer a diminu¦tion.
[ 6] This Day. As tis the date of the Petition, so must it also be the date of our solicitude.* 1.78 From whence I shall only raise these short Lessons, and so end.
[ 1] First, wee must know that our care of Temporall blessings ought not be prolon∣ged so farre as either to impedite deuotion, or make life tedious. Care is an vselesse companion to Christians. For let the ap∣prehension of it worke neuer so strongly on thee,* 1.79 it can neither Adde to thy stature, nor yet diminish the growth of thy sor∣rowes: And though it may change thee from thy selfe, by making thee old and gray-headed in youth, it cannot change thy Fate. Tis an vnnecessary affliction of the minde, since Man hath no cause to doubt his prouidence or loue, who both feeds the Fowles and cloathes the Lilies.* 1.80 Cu∣ius enim diei spatium te visurum nescis,* 1.81 quam ob causam in illius solicitudine torqueris? Let vs therefore take our Sauiours counsell, Cast our care vpon the Lord,* 1.82 and bid the mor∣row care for it selfe.
[ 2] Secondly, tis put as a Motiue to quicken
our Pietie, and inuite vs to a continuall ex∣ercise of Prayer. Therefore though thou beest full, though God hath giuen thee, as he gaue Israël, Bread enough, though thou art liberally replenisht with the blessings of earth, and He hath fill'd vp the measure of thy desires, let not thy abundance per∣swade thee to shake hands with Religion, as Lot did with Abraham,* 1.83 when he grew too great; As if Prayer were but a needy seruice for beggars, not the rich. Doe not thou like a Fort Towne, because thou art victualled for many moneths, presume vpon thy strength, or stand vpon thy own guard, as if thou couldest hold out a siege against all necessities: Like the rich man in the Gospell, who hauing fill'd his barnes and store-houses,* 1.84 bid his soule rest securely in the confidence of his wealth. Know, God with one fit of an ague can shake thy strongest Fortification; That He can cut off thy supplies,* 1.85 and breake thy staffe of Bread, as he did Israëls, and by the battery of one hot disease euen in a nights skirmish beat thy soule out of her fraile Cittadell.
Stulte hâc nocte.* 1.86 If thou beest full therfore, praise God in the daily practise of thy Reli∣gion,* 1.87 Giue thanks to him alwayes, and pray vnto him continually, that his hand may not be shortned towards thee to plucke backe his fauours from thy possession: I say, continually pray: Thinke it not enough to come to Church vpon Sundayes, or serue God once a weeke, and forget him till the next Sabbaths All-in awake thee. As it was a constant daily sacrifice which the Priest offered in the old Law, so must thou offer vp to God Diurnum, Hodiernum sacrificium, a sacrifice of Prayer for the san∣ctification of this Day, and each present Day vnto thee. For Almightie God no more likes an intermittent, vnequall, bro∣ken Deuotion, than a Physitian doth the Pulse which falters in its pace, and beats an vneuen time.
Now as thou must not discontinue Gods seruice, so neither must thou anticipate, putting two dayes Deuotions into one; or thinke to serue God so long at once, as will serue for thrice. Thou must not deale for
Gods blessings, as thou doest for Reuersi∣ons, whose purchase precedes the possessi∣on. God doth not vse to make any such estate in his fauours, nor allow such early payments. He is not so needy of thy ser∣uice, as that he should take it before hand. Pay thy Vowes when he requires, and thy Prayers when they are due, Hodie, This Day. Hodie, id est,* 1.88 omni horâ & toto tem∣pore vitae; To day in the present, that is, euery day, for the present comprehends all time: Yesterday was the Present, This Day is, To Morrow will be. Pray vnto Him this day, and if He giue thee leaue to stay till the morrow become a Hodie, that to morrow this time thou maist say To Day, Pray vnto Him then also; and so let thy vn∣wearied zeale still proceed, still keepe pace with Time, not ceasing to trauell ouer the whole Kalendar of Dayes, vntill it hath found that Acceptable Day wherein God will seale the full pardon of thy sinnes. For be sure He hath laid vp That Thy Day amongst the rest, yet conceal'd it from thee, that Hee might engage thee in a
perpetuall, assiduous, indefatigable search of it.
If wee marke it, Gods Conueyances and Patents of Grace run in the Present, and are signed with a Hodiè.* 1.89 This Day haue I set thee vp ouer Kingdomes and Nations; so he tells the Prophet Ieremy. Againe; The Lord hath auouched thee this Day to be his peculiar people.* 1.90 And thus also doe his Par∣dons run. He tells the Theefe on the Crosse, Hodiè mecum eris in Paradiso,* 1.91 This Day thou shalt be with mee in Paradise. If therefore wee in our Counterpart shall vary this Date, or performe that duty which on our party wee owe vnto Him in another stile, wee nullifie this Grant, and forfeit the whole Indenture of his fauour.
Let vs therefore Heare his voice to Day (as it is in the Psalme* 1.92) Hodie si vocem eius audieritis,* 1.93 that is, all the Dayes of our Life, and Hodie, let vs to Day, and in a conti∣nued course of Prayer all the Dayes of our Life beseech Him to heare ours. That He would vouchsafe to speake vnto euery one of vs in that gracious language wherein he
bespake his Deare Sonne, Hodie genui te,* 1.94 This Day haue I begotten you anew, this Day haue I accepted of you for my chil∣dren, and setled on you the Inheritance of my Kingdome, which shall neuer be reuo∣ked or reuersed,* 1.95 That yee may eat and drinke at my table in my Kingdome.
Lastly, it obiects our frailtie, and puts vs [ 3] in minde of the shortnesse of Life, In which wee haue no Terme but the present, no State but a Hodie, To Day: For wee are here to day, and gone to morrow. Of all the numerous distributions of Time, which multiply from Minutes to Dayes, and from thence grow into Yeeres, wee can claime no share, no portion but so much as is mea∣sured out in a Hodie, one Day. For as the Euening and the Morning in the Worlds beginning were the first Day,* 1.96 so Mane Iu∣uentutis and Vespere Senectutis, our Mor∣ning of Youth and Euening of Age in the computation of Life make but one Day. Of all the species of Time which Philoso∣phy hath fathered vpon it, wee can pretend to none but only the Present. For what is
past wee haue not, and what is to come wee know not whether euer wee shall; Praesens tantum nostrum est,* 1.97 Wee are sure of nothing but the Present, and not sure of that neither. For who knowes the compasse of his Dayes? nay of one Day, of this Hodie? Who knowes whether this very Minute may not be the Period of the Dayes of his Life?
Since therefore wee haue so small an Interest in the World, let not our soules fix there, or make their habitation amongst the Tents of Kedar.* 1.98 Let vs not still looke downward, lingring after the Bread, or the Temporall Benefits of this Life, as Israël did after the Fleshpots of Egypt;* 1.99 but ad∣dresse our selues for a new Voyage: Re∣membring that when our strength and stomacke shall faile, when age shall cast a generall numnesse ouer vs, when this our Bread shall grow insipid, and our palate tastlesse, there is a new Table and another kinde of Bread prouided for vs in the King∣dome of Christ. In stead of this Panis Quotidianus, our Daily Bread, Panis crastinus
(for so S. Hierome writes that some He∣brewes translated this place) a Future Bread,* 1.100 which wee shall eat the Morrow after this Worlds Day concludes. Such Bread which when wee haue once tasted, will leaue no more hunger to succeed it; and such a Morrow, which shall haue no new Day apparant to inherit that Light which died the Euening before. For this Lifes Hodie, which wee call To Day, shall bee turn'd into a Quotidie, Euery Day, in the next, but without difference, or vicissitude, or alteration. That Euery Day shall bee but One entire Day produced and length∣ned into a Semper, a blest Eternitie, whose duration shall be, like our Ioyes, both as vnutterable, as endlesse. Amen.
1 Cor. 6.13.
Psal. 104 14.
Psal 62.10.
Non dixit, No∣lite habere, sed, Nolite diligere. Aug. Ser. 33. de verb. Dom.
Matt. 10.30.
Giue.
Esa. 65.24.
Psal. 50.15.
Vers. 14.
Sen. de Benef. lib. 1. cap. 1.
Esay 55.1.
Matt. 7.7.
Matt. 17.21.
Gen. 3.18.
Matt. 25.11.
2 King. 7.2.
Jerem. 5.24.
1 Cor. 3.6.
Iac. 4 7.
Reuel. 3.18.
Ordo pe∣tendi.
Dan. 7.9.
1 Cor. 15.23.
Ecclus. 7.36.
Exod. 23.19.
Eccles. 12 1.
Psal. 88.14.
Gen. 43.11.
Psal. 111.5.
1 King. 3.11, 12, 13.
Luc. 12.31. & Matt. 6.33.
Bread.
Matt. 6.31.
Wisd. 16.20, 21.
Ambros.
Psal. 128.2.
2 King. 18.31.
Micah 4.3.
Num. 14.9.
Ecclesiastic. 15.1.
Matt. 14.17.
Psal. 78.25.
Sap. 16.
Matt. 5.6.
John 6.35.
Psal. 80.5.
Matt. 4.4.
Psal. 106.15.
Amos 8.11.
Psal. 68.11.
Bernard.
Daily Bread.
Alex. Hales part. 4. quaest. 10. pag. 175.
Biel. Lect. 70. in Miss.
Exod. 16.16.
Lucan.
Aug. Ser. in Monte.
Esa. 5.8.
Apuleius.
Ser. 105. de Tem∣pore.
Prou. 30.8.
Ecclus. 39.16.
1 Tim. 6.8.
Bernard.
Hyppocrates.
Psal. 53.5.
2 Chron. 18.26.
Nobis.
1 Cor. 13.
Ephes. 4.2.
Gal. 6.10.
Psal. 112.9.
Aug. Ser. 205. de Temp.
Jta suam omni∣potentiam tempe∣rauit, vt labori∣bus hominum per homines subueni∣ret. Leo Ser. 5. de Quadrages.
1 Sam. 25.11.25.
Eccles. 11.1.
1 King. 17.14.
Hodie.
Matt. 6.27.
V. 26. & 28.
Chrysost.
Matt. 6.34.
Gen. 13.11.
Luk. 12.19.
Psal. 105.16.
Luk. 12.20.
2 Thess. 1.3.
Aug. Epist. ad Probam.
Jer. 1.10.
Deut. 26.18.
Luke 23.43.
Psal. 95.8.
Biel. Lect. 70. de Miss. p. 146.
Psal. 2.7.
Luk. 22.30.
Gen. 1.
Senec.
Psal. 120.5.
Exod. 16.3.
Hieron. Cōment. in Matt. 6.