At such a time, he has to humble himself for all the sins of his former life, and to implore pardon of God for all the guilt he has ever contracted. And can this be done too solemnly, too earnestly, too devoutly? It was in this way that Cornelius obtained favour of the Lord n : and he is a fit example to all who desire to find mercy at the hands of God.
But, in all his future progress through life, also, the Christian has need of the same means, in order to the preservation and advancement of his spiritual welfare. Who is not conscious of some particular propensity, of which it may be said, as of the spirit which the Apostles were not able to eject, " This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting0?" In every living man there are corruptions, which may be greatly weakened and subdued by means of setting aside times for fasting and prayer. They who are united together in the bonds of wed- lock, are of course exposed to feel the sad effects of human infirmity, each in their partner: and hence St. Paul recom- mends to married persons a short occasional separation from each other, for the purpose of " giving themselves to fasting and prayerp:" nor can we doubt, but that, if that expedient were more frequently resorted to, incomparably greater hap- piness would be found in wedded life, and a far wider diffu- sion of blessedness amongst all the successive generations of mankind. In fact, a far higher standard of piety would be established in the world, if, like the holy Apostle, Christians of the present day were " in fastings often q." If he, with all his high attainments, " kept his body under, and brought it into subjection, lest by any means, after having preached to others, he himself should be a cast-away r," methinks no one of us can presume to think such a discipline either unnecessary for himself, or ineffectual for his good.]
But the whole efficacy of them depends on the
manner in which they are observed —
[If men have recourse to fasting, under a superstitious notion that they can thereby expiate their sins or propitiate the Deity, they err most fatally, and rivet on their own souls the guilt of all their sins. In fact, what is this but to punish the body for the sin of the soul, and to substitute their own self-imposed sufferings for the atoning sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ ? Yet this error, to a vast extent, obtains in the Church of Rome ; which inculcates the observance of fasts and penances, and pilgrimages, as meritorious before God, and as the most effectual means of conciliating the Divine favour. As for ostentation, however it prevailed amongst the Pharisees
n Acts x. 30. ° Matt. xvii. 21. p 1 Cor. vii. 5.
<J 2 Cor. xi. 27. r 1 Cor. ix. 27.