The Christian-man's calling: or, A treatise of making religion ones business. Wherein the nature…

2. In holy expressions and affections when thou ⟨p. 406⟩art eating. Whilst thy body is filling, thy soul must not be forgotten. Though it be not unlawful at meals to talk of other matters, yet its pity Saints should ever meet to eat earthly bread, and not have some discourse of their eternal. Heavenly banquet. How often did our Saviour at such a meeting raise the hearts of his company to better meat? Luk. 5.31. As their outward man was feeding, he feasted their inward man. When the Publican was at much cost to make him a great feast, he entertains him and the rest too with better cheer; The whole need not a Physician, but the sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. When one of the chief of the Pharisees invited him to his Table, observe how he teacheth the Guests humility, and the Master of the Feast charity, Luk. 14.7, 8, 12, 13. His Lips dropped Honey to sweeten and make all their Dishes savoury. One of the Fathers writeth that the Primitive Christians were so holy in their talk at their Table, that one would have thought they had been at a Sermon, ¹not at a Supper. Plato gives rules for the writing down the Table Talk of men, thereby to make them more serious; Luther's Colloquia Mensalia, Printed in a large Folio, do abundantly prove that he was not idle when he was eating, but that his Table was his Pulpit, where he read many profitable Lectures; There is scarce a meeting of ungodly men to eat, but the Devil hath his Dish among them. ²The Drunkards have a song of David to sugar their Liquor. The Gluttons have some Taunts to fling at Saints as Sauce to their meat. At Herod's ⟨p. 407⟩Birth-day Banquet, one Dish served in, was the Baptists head.

2. In holy expressions and affections when thou ⟨p. 406⟩