Lewis Bayly - Of a Private Fast (#4 Of the Ends of Fasting)
January 13th, 2007 by Nicholas Chorba
The true ends of fasting are not to merit God’s favour or eternal life, for that we have only of the gift of God through Christ; nor to place religion in holy abstinence, for fasting in itself is not the worship of God, but an help to further us the better to worship God. But the true ends of fasting are three:—
First, To subdue our flesh to the Spirit; but not so to weaken our bodies, as that we are made unfit to do the necessary duties of our calling (1 Timothy 5:23). “A good man,” saith Solomon, “is merciful to his beast” (Proverbs 12:10), much more to his own body.
Secondly, That we may more devoutly contemplate God’s holy will, and fervently pour forth our souls to him by prayer (Joel 2:17, Luke 2:37, & 1 Corinthians 7:5). For as there are some kind of devils, so there are also some kind of sins, which cannot be subdued but by fasting, joined to prayer (Matthew 17:21).
Thirdly, That by our serious humiliation, and judging of ourselves, we may escape the judgment of the Lord (Joel 2:18-19; 1 Corinthians 11); not for the merit of our fasting (which is none), but for the mercy of God, who has promised to remove his judgments from us, when we by fasting unfeignedly humble ourselves before him. And indeed no child of God ever conscionably used this holy exercise, but in the end he obtained his request at the hand of God; both in receiving graces which he wanted, as appears in the examples of Hannah, Jehoshaphat, Nehemiah, Daniel, Esther (1 Samuel 1:7; 2 Chronicles 20; Nehemiah 1; Daniel 9; Esther 4); as also in turning away judgments threatened, or fallen upon him, as may be seen in the examples of the Israelites, the Ninevites, Rehoboam, Ahab, Hezekiah, Mannasseh (1 Samuel 7:6; Jonah 3; 2 Chronicles 12:5, 7 & etc.; 1 Kings 21; 2 Chronicles 32 & 33:18-19). He who gave his dear Son from heaven to the death, to ransom us when we were his enemies, thinks nothing too dear on earth to bestow upon us, when we humble ourselves, being made his reconciled friends and children.
Thus far of the private fast.
