also inwardly so reforme and renew her that she may be accōpted worthy of thee her spouse through Iesus Christ our lord Amē ¶ A prayer taken out of the same Psalme WE acknowledge O Almighty God wyth how daungerous spotte of sinnes we haue defiled our soules which beyng most greuous and sorrowfull vnto vs and we not able with our owne power nor by any kinde of good workes to washe away the same spottes this onely refuge is left vs to flie vnto thee the fountaine of mercy that it may please thee to haue pitie vpon vs to washe away our iniquities to blot out our sinnes and cleanse the corruptions wherunto we are from our birth and conception subiect For when thou shalt haue freely liberally pardoned the offences and misdoinges wher with we are loden then shalt thou appeare most true faithful constant in thy promises Vouchsaue to sprinckle vs with the bloude of of thine onely sonne by which alone our body and soule may be restored to perfect and healthfull gladnes We craue to haue a new hart created in our bodies and to haue a principall spirite geuen vs wherby not as by constraint but earnestly hartily and willingly we may offer to thee the sacrifice of an afflicted and abased courage which thou art wont neuer to despise Finally that so beyng made cleane and purified by thy fauour and mercy we may alway offer to thee sacrifices of prayse through Iesus Christ our Lord Amen ⧠Domine exaudi PSALME CII I It seemeth that this prayer was appoynted to the faithfull to pray in the captiuitie of Babilon A consolation for the buildyng of the churche whereof followeth the prayse of God to be published vnto all posterities The conuersion of the Gentiles and the stabilitie of the church HEare my prayer O Lord and let my cry come in vnto thee Hide not thy face from me in the tyme of trouble encline thyne eares vnto me when I call O heare me and that right soone For my dayes are consumed away like smoke my bones are brent vp as with a firebrand My hart is smitten downe and withered like grasse so that I forget to eat my bread For the voice of my groning my bones will scant cleaue to my flesh I am become lyke a Pellicane in the wildernes lyke an Owle that is in the desert I haue watched and am euen as a sparrow that sitteth alone vpon the house top Mine enemies reuile me all the day long and they that are mad vpon me are sworne together against me For I haue eaten ashes as it were breade and mingled my teares with weping And that because of thyne indignation and wrath for thou hast taken me vp and cast me downe My dayes are gone lyke a shadow and I am withered like grasse But thou O Lorde shalt endure for euer and thy remembraunce throughout all generations Thou shalt arise and haue mercy vppon Sion for it is tyme that thou haue mercy vpon her yea the tyme is come And why thy seruauntes thinke vppon her stones and it pitieth them to see her in the dust The heathen shall feare thy name O Lorde and all the kinges of the earth thy maiestie When the Lord shall build vp Sion and when his glory shall appeare When he turneth him vnto the prayer of the poore destitute and despiseth not theyr desire This shall be written for those that come after and the people whiche shall be borne shall prayse the Lord. For he hath looked downe from his sanctuary out of the heauen did the Lord beholde the earth That he might heare the mourninges of suche as be in captiuitie and deliuer the children appointed vnto death That they may declare the name of the lord in Sion and his worship at Jerusalem When the people are gathered together and the kyngdomes also to serue the Lord. He broughte downe my strength to my iourney and shortned my dayes But I said O my God take me not away in the middest of myne age as for thy yeares they endure throughout all generations Thou Lord in the beginning hast layde the foundations of the earth and the heauens are the workes of thy handes They shall perish but thou shalt endure they shal all wax olde as doth a garment And as a vesture shalt thou chaunge them and they shall be chaunged but thou art the same and thy yeares shall not faile The children of thy seruants shall continue and their seede shall stand fast in thy sight A prayer taken out of the CII Psalme OF our selues O almighty God we are vnwoorthy that our prayers shoulde haue accesse vnto thee forasmuch as we haue daily broken thy law and commaundemēts and haue liued not accordyng to thy gospell and our vocation But thou of thy mercifulnes hide not away thy face from our prayers supplications For we are greuously vexed and assaulted with great perils Wherfore bow down thine eare vnto vs and spedily graunt fauour to vs that call vppon thee First we craue to be releued of our sinnes and offences that our feble hart may be strengthened in thy way and that thou do moisten the consumed strength of our soule with thy holy spirite that we may liue to thee and being restored renewed we may make thy name and thy gospell to be well reported Then we pray thee to turne thy force and power against those that slaunder and blaspheme the name of thy sonne and his holy doctrine Haue mercy now we beseche thee on Zion that is thy churche for now it seemes to be tyme that thou shew her thy fauour Looke downe we pray thee from thy hie habitation and behold our calamities Heare the groning of those that be bound beaten and in maruelous wise tormēted for thy names sake Saue thy sheepe out of so great daungers which are not onely put to death but also cursedly threatened with extreme damnation by Antichrist that yet at length thy childrē may liue with rest and quietnes in thy presence through Iesus Christ our Lord. Amen ¶ An other out of the same Psalme OAlmighty father the company of the faithfull craueth thy helpe which is cruelly oppressed wyth the tiranny of sinne so as the oily moisture of godlines is almost dried vp in them their mouth is stopped that it cannot syng thy prayses and there is in a maner in the whole body no one member that doth his duetie to relieue an other Wherfore thou that art alwayes one rise vp to succour vs for now we thinke it tyme for thee to helpe thy afflicted church This if we shall obtaine we doubt not that the feare of thy name true godlines shall be largely spread abroad For if thou shalt rescue the people from so greuous miseries thou shalt make men know that thy truth endureth alway cōstant and vnremoued which euer remaneth one toward thine elect how so euer heauen and earth be tossed with chaunges and shaken til they perishe By this thy truth not of
without end Amen Certayne sentences taken out of the scripture ⧠Of the kingdome of God and how all kinges ought to seeke his glory Psalme 10. b. 16. GOd is king for euer and euer but the heathen shal perish out of the land Psalme 11. b. 5. 6. 7. God will trie the righteous but his soule abhorreth the vngodly and him that delighteth in wickednes Upon the vngodly he will rayne snares fire and brimstone and tempestes stormes shal be their portion and drinke For God most righteous loueth righteousnes his countenance wil beholde the iust Micheas 4. b. 7. The Lord himselfe shal be their king vppon the mount Sion from this tyme for euermore Esay 33. d. 22. The Lord is our iudge the Lorde is our lawe geuer the Lord is our king and he himselfe shal be our Sauiour Psalme 47. a. 1. Clappe your handes all ye people make a noyse vnto the Lord with a ioyful voyce For God is high and terrible he is the great king vpon all the earth He will subdue the people vnder vs and the nations vnder our feete He hath chosen for vs our inheritaunce the glory of Jacob whom he loued The Lord ascendeth in a triumph and God with the sounde of a trumpet Sing Psalmes to the Lorde sing Psalmes sing psalmes to our king sing Psalmes For the Lord is king of all the earth sing Psalmes all you that haue skill God reigneth ouer the heathen God sitteth vpon his holy throne The Princes of the people are assembled together for to be the people of the God of Abraham for the fieldes of the earth be Gods who is highly exalted Psalme 146. 6. 10. God thy Lorde shall raigne O Sion to the worldes end throughout all generations Prayse ye the Lord. Psalme 68. a. 4. 5. b. 8. 12. c. 17. 18. 19. 20. 32. Sing vnto the Lord sing Psalmes vnto his name magnifie hym that rideth vpon the heauens as it were vpon an horse in hys name euerlasting and reioyce before his face He is a father of the fatherles and the iudge of widowes he is the Lord in hys holy habitation The earth shooke and the heauens dropped at the presence of the Lord euen Sinay it selfe shooke at the presēce of the Lord Lord of Israell Kinges with their armies did flie they did flee and the ornament of an house deuided the spoyle The charettes of the Lord are twenty thousand euen thousandes of Aungels and the Lord is among them in holy Sinay Thou wenst vp on hie thou hast led captiuitie captiue thou hast receaued giftes for men yea euen for those that be disobedient that God the Lord might dwell among them Blessed be the Lord who day by day powreth hys benefites vpō vs and is God of our saluation The Lord is our Lord for to saue vs and all maner of wayes for death pertayneth to God the Lord. Sing vnto the Lorde O ye kingdomes of the earth O sing Psalmes vnto the Lord who rideth vpon the most highest eternall heauens loe he sendeth out a mighty voyce in hys voyce Acknowledge the Lorde to be mighty hys maiesty is ouer Israell and might in the cloudes O Lord thou art terrible out of thy holy places the God of Israell geueth might and strēgth vnto hys people Blessed be the Lord. Psalme 44 a. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Thou art my king O God commaund that Jacob be saued Through thee we will ouerthrow our enemyes and in thy name we wyll treade them vnder that rise against vs. For I will not trust in my bow and it is not my sworde that can saue me But it is thou that sauest vs from our enemyes and thou puttest thē to confusion that hate vs. We make our boast of God all the day long and we will confesse thy name for euer Psalme 45. a. 6. b. 7. 10. 11. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. Thy throne O Lord endureth for euer and euer the scepter of righteousnes is the scepter of thy kingdome Thou hast loued iustice and hated vngodlines wherfore the Lord euen thy Lord hath anointed thee with the oyle of gladnes more then thy fellowes Harken O daughter and consider incline thyne eare forget also thine owne people and thy fathers house so shall the kyng haue pleasure in thy beutie for he is thy Lorde and worship thou hym The kings daughter is all glorious within her clothing is of wrought golde She shal be brought vnto the king in raymēt of nedle work the virgins that follow her and her cōpany shal be brought vnto thee With ioy and gladnes shal they be brought and shall enter into the kinges palace In steede of thy fathers thou shalt haue childrē whom thou mayst make princes in all landes I will remember thy name from one generatiō vnto an other therefore shall the people praise thee world without ende Psalme 48. b. 9. O Lorde according to thy name so is thy prayse vnto the worldes ende thy right hand is full of iustice Psalme 99. God raigneth the people be in a rage he sitteth betwene the Cherubins the earth quaketh God is great in Sion and high aboue all people They shall prayse thy name great and dreadfull for it is holy and a kings power that loueth iudgement Thou hast ordayned all things according to equitie thou hast caused iudgement and iustice to be in Jacob. Magnifie God our Lord and kneele downe before hys foote stoole for it is holy Moses and Aaron among his Priestes and Samuell among such as call vppō hys name these called vppō god and he heard them He spake vnto them out of the cloudy piller for they kept his testimonies and the law that he gaue them O God our Lord thou heardest them O Lord thou didest forbeare thē and thou tookest auengement for their owne inuentions Magnifie God our Lord and kneele downe before hys holy hill for God our Lord is holy Psalme 100. a. Be ye ioyful in God all that be in the earth serue God with gladnes and come before hys face with a ioyfull noyse Be ye sure that God is the Lord it is he that hath made vs and not we our selues we are hys people and the sheepe of hys pasture Goe your way into his gates with thanksgeuing and into hys courtes wyth prayse be thankefull vnto him and blesse his name For God is gracious his mercy is euerlasting and his truth from generation to generation Psalme 101. a. I will syng of mercy and iudgement I will sing vnto thee O God Psalmes I will endeuor my selfe to be fully instructed in the way of perfectues when thou wylt come vnto me I will goe vp and downe in the midst of my house in the perfectnes of my hart I will neuer set before myne eyes any deuilish thyng I will detest to do the worke of transgressours it shall take no holde of me A froward hart shall depart from me I will not once know any euill I will destroy hym who priuily slaundreth hys neyghbour I wyll not
euerlasting life is no man is able to conceiue much lesse able to vtter For the peace of god which is eternall life passeth all vnderstanding The eye hath not seene the eare hath not heard neither can mans harte conceiue those thinges which thou deare God hast prepared for them that loue thee Whatsoeuer therfore can be spoken or imagined of thy kingdom of the clearenes ioy and felicitie of the same is nothyng in comparison as we may see by the Prophets which because they could not otherwise vnder corporall things haue shadowed the same So that the confidence of eternall life what a thing it is can in no wise be told Howbeit some what we may be brought into some sight of it by earthly thinges to thinke on this sort If God hath geuē here so many thinges in a strange place how many are the great good thinges that be at home If in a prison are so many mercies how many are they in the palace If the wicked haue so many benefites what is the store prepared for thy seruāts O Lord If thy children finde such comfortes in the day of teares and mournyng what shall they finde in the day of the mariage If with beastes men beyng haue the vse of so innumerable blessings oh how many are the blessinges whiche they shall enioy with thy Angels and with thee thy selfe O dere God when they shal see thee and haue the fruition of thee in whome is fulnes without lothing of all good faire thinges so that nothyng can be more desired and that for euermore This thy children do not so see as they now beleue it I say that euen in their bodies they shal see it for euer as Job sayd They heleue that they shall see thee and their owne eyes beholde thee when these our corporall eyes our bodies beyng raised shall do their duties Such a knowledge of thee they beleue to haue as shall not be onely intellectuall and by faith as now it is but euen a full sight and fruition yea a comunction and felowship with thee Now they see but in a glasse euen in a darke speaking but thē they shal see face to face For faith though it be the substaunce of thinges hoped for and a certain darke sight of thee yet it may not be compared to the rewarde of faith glorious sight which we shall see in the life to come when fayth hope shall cease Now thy children know that they be thy children though it yet appeare not what they shall be We know say they that whē our Christ God and man shall appeare then shall we be lyke vnto hym for we shall see him euen as he is Oh great prerogatiue to see Christ as he is Which is not to be considered so much for the māhoode as for the Godhead it self as Paule doth also write that when all thinges are subiect vnto the sonne then shall he be subiect vnto thee deare Father also that God may be all in all And therfore Christ our sauiour praied for vs that we might know thee the onely true God Not that our Christ thy sonne is not with thee the true coequal and substanciall god but that we might know how that after the iudgement such a mystery of hys mediatourship shall not be in heauē as is now in earth Then thou blessed trinitie God the Father God the sonne and God the holy ghost shalt be all in all thou shalt be the end of our desires thou shalt be loked vpon without ende thou shalt be loued without lothyng thou shalt bee praysed without wearinesse Althoughe lothsomues be wont to folow fulnes yet our fulnes in the contemplatiō of thy pleasures shall bring with it no kinde at all of lothsomnes Sacietie of ioyes shall be in the beholding of thee Pleasures are on thy right hand for euer We shal be satiffied when we arise after thyne image I meane in the resurrection Oh deare father shew thy self vnto vs and we aske no more Oh graunt vs with thy Saintes in euerlasting lyfe to prayse wyth perpetual prayses thy holy name Happy then and happy again wer we if that day wer come that we myght sing wyth thy aungels elders and innumerable thousandes a new song say thou Christ Jesu which wast slayne art worthy to receyue power and riches and wisdome and strength honour and glory and blessyng In thys blessed lyfe all kynde of maladies griefes sorrowes and euils be farre away and all ful of all kinde of mirth ioy pleasure Oh that we might see now a litle with S. John that holy Citie new Jerusalē descending frō heauen prepared of god as a bride trimmed for her husbande Oh that we might now somethyng heare the great voyce speakyng out of the throne behold the tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them and they shall be hys people and he shal be vnto them their god he will wipe away all teares from their eies and death shal be no more nor wepyng nor crying nor sorrow for the former thinges are gone ¶ An other meditation of the blessed state and felicitie of the life to come THis body is but a prison wherein the soule is kept and that verely not beautifull nor bright but most foule and darke disquiet fraile and filled vp with much vermine and venemous vipers I meane it cōcerning our affections standing in an ayre most vnwholesome and prospect most lothsome if a man consider the excrementes of it by the eyes nose mouth eares hands feete and all the other partes So that no Bocardo no Little ease no Dungeon no Bishops prison no gatehouse no sincke no pit may be cōpared in any point to be so euill a prison for the body as the body is for and of the soule wherethrough the children of God haue bene occasioned to cry lament their long being in it Oh saith Dauid how long shall I lye in this prison Oh wretch that I am sayth Paule who shall deliuer me out of this body of sinne which is an heauie burden vnto the soule as the wise man sayth And therefore the godly cry now let thy seruant depart in peace Oh that I were dissolued and had put of this earthly and fraile tabernacle Take me vnto thee and bring my soule out of thys prison that it may geue thankes vnto thee O Lord. For so long as we be in thys body we can not see the Lord yea it is as an heauy habitation and depresseth downe sore the spirite fro the familiaritie which it els should haue with God This world life is an exile a vale of misery a wildernes of it self being voide of all vertues and necessaryes for eternall life full of ennemies sorrowes sighings sobbings gronings miseries c In daunger to hūger cold heate thirst sores sicknes tentations trouble death and innumerable calamities being momentanye short vnstable and nothing but vaine and therfore is cōpared to a warfare a womās trauaile a
into thee that second Adam sinne infidelitie and the whole tiranny of Sathan beyng vanquished and ouercome Bring to passe O Lord that by thy crosse and painefull sufferyng thy yoke may be to me made light and thy burden easy that willingly and gladly following thee I may come whether thou art gone that is to thy father most blessed and immortall from whom nothing shall afterwardes be able to seperate vs. * God forbid that I should reioyce in any thing but in the crosse of our Lorde Iesus Christ whereby the world is crucified vnto me and I vnto the world ⧠A prayer to Christ ascended and reigning in glory OH good Christ our first begotten brother and tender harted Joseph oh naturall sonne of that Father to whome we are made children of adoption through thee oh our head reigning on high in glory forget not vs thy poore members here on earth wherinto abasyng thy selfe thou camest downe and sufferedst for vs most cruell death Out of this thy throne of maiestie and glory thou put test vs in assured hope confidence that we also shall attain to that blessed place whether thou art gone before to take possession for vs. Oh our strong tower of defence and succor what can hurt vs now trusting in thee Most vnhappy are they which are ignorant of thee Most happy are they which alwayes beholde thee Blessed are they which haue knowen thee here in the dayes of their mortalitie but more blessed are they which see thee in the heauens and shall see thee raigning with thy father in ioyes incomparable Oh Lord the onely ioy and comfort of our soules shew vs thy louing countenance embrace vs with the armes of thy mercy receiue vs O good Joseph thy younger brethern with the kisse of comfort poure into our hartes thy holy spirit plucke vs vp from the earth earthly things open our eies and lift them vp vnto thee open thy mouth and call vs vnto thee open our eares that we may heare thee so that whatsoeuer we do speake or thinke it may be directed vnto thee alone our redemer mediatour and aduocate ¶ If ye be risen agayne with Christ seke the thinges which are aboue where Christ sitteth at the right haud of God set your affection on thinges that are aboue and not on things which are on the earth ⧠A prayer for the auoyding of Gods deserued wrath and vengeaunce for our sinne WHen we looke backe behold our sinfull lyfe past what a dungeon of errors vice and wickednes openeth it selfe vnto vs so that there is no man but he must needes be ashamed of himself when he calleth to mind what he hath bene and tremble when he considereth the wickednes and sinfull course of hys life to come For who shal vndertake that the rest of our lyfe shall be any better then that is past How can we then sufficiently magnifie prayse thy great mercy which hast differred thy punishment so long Beholding therfore this our daungerous and miserable state we come vnto thee O thou great and mighty iudge in trembling feare humbly beseching thee not to heape vppon vs thy deserued vengeance but let thy tender kindenes and loue thou bearest to Jesus Christ thy deare sonne our gracious Lord and redemer couer our iniquities for whose sake though we deserue all extremity thou doost pardon vs. ¶ If thou Lord shalt straitly marke our iniquities O Lord who shall be able to abide it ¶ A prayer to God for his helpe and protection against the obstinate enemies of the truth MOst righteous iudge God of all mercy and comfort which by thy secret iudgement and wisdom doost suffer the wicked to triumph and increase for a tyme for trial of the faith of thy welbeloued little flocke and the mortifying of their lustes but at length to the vtter confuliō of the enemies and ioyfull deliuerance of thy people looke down we besech thee on thy dispersed sheepe out of thy holy habitation in heauen and strengthen our weakenes against their furious rages abate their pryde asswage their malice confound their deuises wherwith they lift vp thēselues agaynst Christ Jesus thy sonne our Lord and Sauiour to deface his glory and set vp Antichrist We be not able of our selues to thynke a good thought much lesse to stand against their assaultes except thy vndeserued grace and mighty arme defend and deliuer vs. Performe thy promises made to Jacob and stop the mouthes of the cursed Edomites Call them to repentance whom thou hast appoin-to saluation bring home them that runne astray lighten the blynde and teache the ignoraunt forgeue all those that wilfully and obstinately rebel not against thy holy will let thy feareful threatnings pierce our stony hartes and make vs tremble at thy iudgemēts Make the examples of them whom thou hast ouerthrowne in their own deuises as Cain Cham Nemrod Esau Pharao Saule Achitophell Judas such other to be a warning for vs that we set not vp our selues agaynst thy holy will Graunt free passage to thy holy worde that it may worke effectually in vs the worke of lyfe and blessed hope of our saluation to the eternal praise of thy maiestie through our mediatour Christ Jesus to whome with thee and the holy ghost three persons and one God be prayse thanksgeuyng in all congregations world without end So be it ¶ A Prayer for the afflicted and persecuted vnder the tyranny of Antichrist O Mercifull father who neuer dost forsake such as put their trust in thee stretch forth thy mighty arme to the defence of our brethren by the rage of enemies persecuted and greuously tormented in sundry places for the true profes1ion of thy holy Gospell who in theyr extreme necessitie cry for comfort vnto thee Let not thy long suffering O Lorde be an occasion eyther to encrease the tyranny of thy enemies or to discourage thy children but with speede O Lorde consider their great miseries and afflictions Preuent the cruell deuise of Aman stay the rage of Holophernes breake of the counsell of Achitophell Let not the wicked say Where is now their God Let thy afflicted flocke feele present ayde and reliefe from thee O Lord looke downe vpon them with thy pitifull eye from thy holy habitation send terrour and trembling among their enemies make an end of their outragious tyrāny beate backe their boldnes in suppressing thy truth in destroying thy true seruantes in defacing thy glory in setting vp Antichrist Let them not thus proudly aduaunce them selues agaynst thee and thy Christ but let them vnderstand and feele that agaynst thee they fight Preserue and defend the vine which thy right hād hath planted and let all nations see the glory of thine annointed Amen ¶ A Prayer to be sayd before the receauing of the Communion O Father of mercy and God of all consolation seing all creatures do knowledge and cōfesse thee to be their gouernour Lord it becōmeth vs the workmanship of thine owne handes at all times
to reuerence magnifie thy godly maiestie First for that thou hast created vs to thine owne Image and similitude but chiefly because thou hast deliuered vs frō that euerlasting death and damnation into the which Sathan drew mankind by the meanes of sinne from the bondage wherof neyther man nor Angell was able to make vs free but thou O Lorde riche in mercy and infinite in goodnes hast prouided our redemption to stand in thine onely and welbeloued sonne whom of very loue thou didst geue to be made man like vnto vs in all thinges sinne excepted that in hys body he might receaue the punishment of our transgression by hys death to make satisfaction to thy iustice and by hys resurrection to destroy him that was author of death and so to bring againe life to the worlde from which the whole ofspring of Adam was most iustly exiled O Lord we acknowledge that no creature was able to comprehend the length and breadth the deepenes and height of that thy most excellent loue which moued thee to shewe mercy where none was deserued to promise and geue lyfe where death had gotten victory to receaue vs into thy grace when we could doe nothing but rebell against thy maiestie O Lord the blind dulnes of our corrupt nature will not suffer vs sufficiently to weigh these thy most ample benefites yet neuertheles at the commaundement of Jesus Christ our Lorde we present our selues to thys hys table which he hath left to be vsed in remembraunce of hys death vntill hys comming agayne to declare and witnes before the world that by hym alone we haue receaued libertie and life that by hym alone thou doest acknowledge vs to bee thy children and heyres that by hym alone we haue entrance to the throne of thy grace that by him alone we are possessed in our spirituall kingdome to eate and drinke at his table with whom we haue our conuersation presently in heauen and by whom our bodyes shall be raised vp agayne from the duste and shall bee placed with hym in that endles ioy which thou O father of mercy hast prepared for thine elect before the foundation of the world was layde And these most inestimable benefites we acknowledge and confesse to haue receaued of thy free mercy and grace by thine onely beloued sonne Jesus Christ For the which therfore we thy congregation moued by thy holy spirite render to thee all thankes praise and glory for euer and euer ¶ A thankesgeuing after the receauiug of the holy Communion TOst mercifull father we render vnto thee all prayse thankes honour glory for that it hath pleased thee of thy great mercies to graunt vs miserable sinners so excellent a gift and treasure as to receaue vs into the fellowship company of thy deare sonne Jesus Christ our Lord whom thou hast deliuered to death for vs hast geuen hym vnto vs as a necessary foode and nourishment vnto euerlasting lyfe And now we besech thee also O heauenly father to graunt vs thys request that thou neuer suffer vs to become so vnkind as to forget so worthy benefites but rather imprint and fasten them sure in our hartes that we may grow encrease dayly more and more in true fayth which continually is exercised in all maner of good workes and so much the rather O Lord confirme vs in these perillous dayes and rages of Sathan that we may constantly stand and continue in the confession of the same to the aduauncemēt of thy glory which art God ouer al things blessed for euer So be it ¶ A Prayer for wisedome to gouerne the Realme ALmightie God King of all Kinges Lorde of heauē earth by whose ordinaunce Princes haue gouernance of mortal mē wheras the wisest King Salomon plainly confesseth him self vnable to gouerne his kingdome without thy helpe assistance how much lesse shall I thy handmaide being by kinde a weake womā haue sufficient abilitie to rule these thy kingdomes of England and Ireland an innumerable warlike nation or how shall I possibly be able to beare the infinite weight of so great a burden vnlesse thou O most mercifull father as thou hast of thine own liberalitie without my deseruing and agaynst the expectation of many geuen me a kingdome and made me to reigne doe also in my reigning endue and helpe me with thy heauenly grace without which none euen the wisest among the childrē of men can once thinke a right thought Thou therefore O endlesse foūtaine of all wisedome send downe from thy holy heauen and frō the soueraigne throne of thy maiestie thy wisedome to be euer with me and alway to assist me to watch and labour with me in gouerning the common weale and that it may so teach and instruct me thy hādmaide that I may discerne betwene good euill and betwene right wronge that I may euer haue willingnes boldnes power to geue deserued punishment to the giltie louingly to defend the innocent liberally to cherish the painefull and profitable members of the common weale finally without regard of persons wtout accompt of worldly respectes take in hand execute and performe that which I shall know to please thee alone that when thou the rightfull iudge that shalt require many great thynges at their handes to whom many and great thinges are committed shalt call vs all to a straite reckening I be not condemned as giltie of euill gouernaunce but if I thy handmaide by naturall frailtie weaknes and want of cōsideration shall in any thing haue swarued from the right way it may please thee of thy great mercy most soueraigne king and most louing father for Jesus Christ thy sonnes sake to pardon me and graunt that after this earthly kingdome expired I may with thee enioy the heauenly and euerlasting kingdome through the same Jesus Christ thy sonne our Lorde and Mediator to whom with thee and with the holy ghost the only king of all worldes immortall inuisible onely wise God be all honour and glory for euer ⸫ Domine ne in furore PSALME VI. ¶ When Dauid by his sinnes had prouoked Gods wrath and now felte not onely his hand against him but also conceyued the horrors of death euerlasting he desireth forgeuenes bewailing that if God tooke him away in his indignation he should lacke occasion to prayse him as he was wont to do whiles he was among mē Then sodenly feeling Gods mercy he sharply rebuketh his enemies which reioyced in his affliction O Lorde rebuke me not in thine indignatiō neither chasten me in thy displeasure My soule is also sore troubled but Lord how long wilt thou punish me Turne thee O Lord and deliuer my soule Oh saue me for thy mercies sake For in death no man remēbreth thee and who will geue thee thankes in the pit I am wery of my groning euery night wash I my bedde and water my couch with teares My beautie is gone for very trouble and worne away because of all mine
beyng hurt by no persecutions may euermore geue thankes vnto thee in thy holy Church thorough Jesu Christ our Lord. O Lord arise helpe vs and deliuer vs for thy names sake O God we haue heard wyth our eares our Fathers haue declared vnto vs the noble workes that thou didest in theyr dayes and in the olde time before them O Lord arise helpe vs and deliuer vs for thy honour Glory be to the father and to the sonne and to the holy Ghost as it was in the beginning is now c. Amen From our enemies defend vs O Christ Gratiously looke vpon our afllictions Pitifully behold the sorrowes of our hartes Mercifully forgeue the sinnes of thy people Fauorably with mercy heare our prayers O Sonne of Dauid haue mercy vpon vs. Both now and euer vouchsafe to heare vs O Christ Gratiously heare vs O Christ gratiously heare vs O Lord Christ. O Lord let thy mercy be sheshed vpon vs. As we do put our trust in thee Let vs pray WE humbly besech thee O father mercifully to looke vpon our infirmities and for the glory of thy names sake turne from vs all those euils that we most righteously haue deserued and graunt that in al our troubles we may put our whole trust and confidence in thy mercy and euermore serue thee in holines and purenes of liuing to thy honor and glory through our onely mediatour and aduocate Jesus Christ our lord Amen A prayer for the Queenes Maiestie O Lord our heauenly father high and mighty king of kings Lord of Lords the only ruler of Princes which doest frō thy throne behold all the dwellers vpon the earth most hartely we besech thee with thy fauour to beholde our most gracious soueraigne Lady Queene Elizabeth so replenish her with the grace of thy holy spirite that she may alway incline to thy will walke in thy way Indue her plentifully with heauenly giftes Graunt her in health and wealth long to liue Strēgthen her that she may vanquishe and ouercome all her enemies and finally after thys life she may attaine euerlasting ioy felicitie through Christ our Lord Amen In the tyme of any common plague or sicknes O Almighty God which in thy wrath in the tyme of king Dauid diddest slea with the plague of pestilence three score and ten thousand and yet remembring thy mercy diddest saue the rest haue pitie vpon vs miserable sinners that now are visited with great sicknes and mortalitie that like as thou diddest then commaunde thyne Aungell to cease from punishing So it may please thee to withdraw frō vs this plague and greuous sicknes through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A prayer of Chrisostome ALmighty God which hast geuen vs grace at this tyme with one accorde to make our common supplications vnto thee and doost promise that when two or three be gathered together in thy name thou wilt graunt theyr requestes fulfil now O Lord the desires and petitions of thy seruauntes as may be most expedient for them graunting vs in this worlde knowledge of thy truth and in the world to come life euerlasting Amen ¶ In time of sicknes MOst mercifull redemer thou art alwais merciful who art alwaies the Sauiour whether thou doest send health or sicknes wealth or aduersitie ioy or sorow For it is of great mercy whē by outward afflictions as it were by bitter but yet wholsome medicines thou doest heale the inward diseases of the soule and by temporarie troubles which do last but for a short time doest prepare vs to eternall ioyes which endure for euer And thy self O gratious Sauiour passing into thy glory through the greatest afflictions of thys worlde hast trodē out vnto vs by thy steps that way to true and perfect felicitie in the which no humble and true seruant ought eyther to disdaine or to shrincke to followe after hys Lord and Master so going before hym But for so much as without thee we can doe nothyng that good is I besech thee to endue me with thy heauenly grace that I may take vp willingly obediently thys crosse which thou hast appoynted vnto me and folow after thee and that I may drinke of as it were this medicinable cup though bitter vnto the flesh which thou the heauenly phisitian doest thus offer vnto me patiently without grndging or murmuring agaynst thee and that I may with thy faithfull seruant Job and with vnfayned lips and hart say the Lord hath geuen the Lord hath taken away as it hath pleased the Lorde so is it come to passe blessed be the name of the Lord. For if I haue receiued gladly youth health riches honour and ioy at thy handes O lord why should I refuse patiently to take age sicknes aduersitie and sorrowe at thy handes also These thinges be in dede very greuous vnto fraile nature and fleshe but thou my Lorde though most perfectly innocent infinitely hast suffered more greuous thinges for me and I haue deserued infinitely more greuous thinges who haue so oft deserued hell But yet thou knowest the frailtie of our humane condition and nature Wherefore I besech thee as thou pourest sharpe wine into our woūdes to bite away the corruption of our sinnes so after the example of the mercifull Samaritane set forth in thy holy Gospell to resemble thy selfe adde vnto the sharpe wyne of thy correction the suppling oyle of thy mercifull comfort wherby I may be able to suffer things which otherwise are intolerable vnto me And if it bee thy pleasure to encrease sorow vpon me encrease also thy grace and gift of patience in me and turne these worldly and bodily afflictions to the profite of my soule by mine acknowledging of thy iustice in punishing me worthely and thy mercy in correcting me graciously euen like as a father hath pitie vpon hys children whē he beateth them and by my submitting of my owne will vnto thy holy will patiently taking of this thy prouing and trying of me whether I loue thee or no may offer that sacrifice of obedience which is acceptable vnto thee And when thy fatherly pietie shall be contented with thy meeke chastising of me then I besech thee send calme after thys tempest quietnes after thys trouble and ioy after thys sorrow that I may render thākes vnto thee for double causes both that thou hast first corrected and amended me an vnprofitable seruaunt and afterward hast taken away the bitternes of affliction with the softnes of thy comfort in the one hauing regard of necessitie in the other not forgetting my infirmitie and in both as in all thinges alwaies remembring thy mercy vnto the which I doe commend and betake my self both body and soule now and for euer Vnto thee with the father and the holy ghost one God of most excellent maiestie be all prayse honour and thankesgeuing for euer and euer Amē ¶ An other in sicknes ALmightie God and most mercifull father who doest correct all those whō thou doest receaue bringing euen vnto the very
Lord is become glorious in power thy right hand Lorde hath al to dashed the enemies And in thy great glory thou hast ouerthrowen them that rose vp against thee thou sendest forth thy wrath which cōsumed them euen as stubble Who is like vnto thee O Lord amongst Goddes Who is like to thee so glorious in holines fearefull in prayses shewing wonders The Lorde shall raigne for euer euer Sing ye vnto the Lord for he hath triumphed gloriously the horse and his ryder hath he ouerthrown in the sea For sickenes Exodus 15. d. 26. IF thou wilt harken vnto the voyce of the Lord thy God and wylt do that which is right in his sight and wilt gene eare vnto his commaundementes and keepe all his ordinaunces then will I put none of these diseases vpō thee which I haue brought vpon the Egiptians for I am the Lord that healeth thee 2. Chronicles 2. a. 5. 6. b. 11. 9. b. 8. Great is our God aboue all Goddes But who is able to builde hym an house when that heauen and heauen aboue all heauens is not hable to receiue hym what am I then that shoulde builde hym an house nay but euen to burne sacrifice before him shal this building be The Lorde setteth a wyse kyng ouer the people whome he loueth that they may longe endure and prosper Blessed be the Lord thy God which hast lust to thee to set thee king on his seat that thou mightest be king for the Lord thy God because thy God loueth Israell and hath delite to make them continue euer therefore made he thee king ouer them to do right and equitie Exodus 18. c. 18. d. 21. d. 23. Thou canst not alone sustaine the burthen of ruling a whole kingdome but heare my wordes and counsell and the Lord shal be with thee Moreouer thou shalt seeke out among all the people men of actiuitie and such as feare God true men hating coueteousnes place of these ouer the people rulers of thousandes rulers of hundrethes rulers offifties and rulers of tennes And let them iudge the people at all seasons and euery great matter that commeth let thē bring vnto thee but let them iudge all small causes themselues and so shall it be easier for thy selfe they shall beare a burthen with thee If thou shall do this thing and God charge thee withall thou shalt be able to endure and yet the people shal come to theyrplace in peace 1. Reg. 12. b. 13. 14. 15. c. 20. d. 24. 25. Samuel said vnto the people Beholde the king whome ye haue chosen and whom ye haue desired loe the Lorde hath set a king ouer you If ye will feare the Lord and serue hym and heare hys voyce and not disobey the word of the Lord both ye and the king that raig neth ouer you shall follow the Lord your God If ye wyll not harken vnto the voyce of the Lord but disobey the Lordes mouth then shall the hand of the Lord be vppon you and on your fathers Yet depart not from following of the Lord but serue the Lorde wyth all your hartes Therefore feare ye the Lord and serue him in the truth and with all your hartes and cōsider how great thinges he hath done for you But if ye do wickedly then shall ye perishe both ye and yourking The wordes of Samuell to be truely spoken by all good rulers 1. Reg. 12. a. 3. 4. 5. BEholde here I am beare recorde of me before the Lorde and before hys annoynted whose Oxe haue I taken or whose Asse haue I takē who haue I done wrong to whom haue I hurt or of whose hand haue I receaued any bribe to blind myne cyes therewith and I wil restore it you They sayde Thou hast done vs no wrong nor hurt vs neyther hast thou taken ought of any mans hand He sayd vnto thē agayne The Lord is witnes agaynst you and his annomted is witnes this day that ye haue founde naught in my handes And they aunswered he is witnes 1. Reg. 13. b. 13. 14. Samuell sayde to Saule Thou art become a foole thou hast not kept the commaundement of the Lorde thy God which he commaunded thee For at this tyme woulde the Lord haue stablished thy king dome vppon Israell for euer But now thy kingddme shall not continue The Lord hath sought him a man after hys owne hart and the Lord hath commaunded to be captayne ouer his people because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commaunded thee 2. Reg. 14. b. 9. 11. c. 17. d. 20. The king and hys throne should be giltlesse and ought to remember the Lorde hys God and not to suffer much bloudshed The king is as an Angell of God in hearing of the good and bad therefore the Lorde God is with hym The king is wise according to the wisedome of an Angell of God to vnderstand all thinges thac are in earth 2. Paral. 9. b. 7. 8. Happy are the mē and people vnto whom God geueth a wise king God maketh one a king that he shoulde do according to right and equitie Esay 32. a. 12. A good and godly king shal gouerne after the rule of righteousnes and the princes shall rule according to the balance of equitie And that man shall be vnto men as a defence for the winde and as a refuge for the tempest like as a riuer of water in a thirsty place and the shadow of a great rocke in a dry land Ieremy 22. a. 1. c. b. 9. Thus sayth the Lorde Goe downe into the house of the king of Juda speake there these wordes and say Heare the word of the Lord thou king of Juda that sittest in the kingly seat of Dauid thou and thy seruaunts and thy people that goeth in out at these gates Thus the Lord commandeth keepe equitie and righteousnes deliuer the oppressed frō the power of the violent do not greue nor oppresse the straunger the fatherles nor the widow and shed no innocent bloud in this place And if ye keepe these thinges faithfully then shall there come in at the dore of thys house kinges to sit vpon Dauides seat they shal be caried in charetes and ride vppon horses both they and their seruaunts and their people But if ye will be obedient vnto these commaundemētes I sweare by my owne selfe saith the Lord this house shal be wast For thus hath the Lord spokē vpon the kinges of Juda thou Giliad art vnto me the head of Libanus shall I not make thee so wast as the Cities that no men dwell in I wyl prepare a destroyer with his wepōs for thee to hew down thy especial Cedar trees to cast them in the fire And all the people that goe by thys Citie shall speake one to an other wherefore hath the Lord done thus vnto thys noble Citie Then shall it be aunswered because they haue broken the couenaunt of the Lorde theyr God and haue worshipped serued straunge Gods Psalme
18. 48. God hath wonderfull oft deliuered hys kyng and he hath done mercifully vnto Dauid his annoynted and to hys seede for euermore Psalme 24. a. 1. 2. b. 7. The earth is Gods and all that therein is the world and they that dwell therein For he hath layde the foundations of it vppon the seas and he hath set it sure vppon the floudes Lift vp your heades O ye gates and be ye lift vp ye euerlasting dores and the king of glory shall enter in Who is the king of glory It is God both strong and mighty it is God mighty in battayle Lift vp your heades O ye gates and be ye lift vp you euerlasting doores and the king of glory shal enter in Who is the king of glory euen the God of hostes he is the king of glory Psalme 21. a. 1. c. The king ought to reioyce in thy strength O God and he ought to be exceeding glad of thy saluation Thou hast geuen hym his hartes desire and hast not denyed hym the request of hys lippes For thou hast preuented him with good blessinges and hast a crowne of pure golde vppon hys head He asked life of thee and thou gauest hym long dayes euen for euer and euer Hys honour is great through thy saluatiō thou hast layd glory and great worship vppon hym For thou hast placed him to be blessings for euer and hast made hym glad with the ioy of thy countenaunce Because the kyng trusteth in God and in the mercy of the most highest he shall not miscary Thyne hand will finde out all thyne enemyes thy right hand will finde out them that hate thee Thou wilt make like a burning fornace in tyme of thy fury God will destroy thē in hys wrath and fire shall consume them Thou wilt roote their fruite out of the earth and their seede from among the children of men For they intended mischife against thee and imagined a crafty deuice but they could not bring it to passe Therefore thou wilt put them to flight and direct thine arrowes against their faces Be thou exalted O God according to thyne owne might so we wyll sing with Psalmes we will prayse thy power Psalme 72. O God geue vnto the king thy iudgements and thy righteousnes vnto the kinges sonne Then he will iudge thy people according vnto iustice and thy afflicted according to equitie The mountaynes also hilles shall bring peace to the people by the meanes of righteousnes He will iudge the afflicted amongst the people he wil saue the children of the poore and subdue the oppressor They will feare thee as long as the sunne and moone shineth from one generation to an other He will come downe lyke the rayne into a fleece of wolle euen as the dropes that water the earth In hys dayes the righteous shal flourishe ▪ and there shall be aboundaunce of peace so long as the moone endureth Hys dominion also shall be from the one sea to the other and from the floud vnto the end of the earth They that dwell in the wildernes shall kneele before hym his enemyes shall licke the dust The king of Tharsis and of the Iles shall offer presentes the king of Sheba and Seba shall bring giftes All kinges will worship hym all nacions will do him seruice For he wil deliuer the poore when he cryeth and the afflicted and hym that hath no helper He wyll haue compassion vpon the poore and nedy and he wil preserue the soules of the poore He will deliuer their soules frō deceite and oppressiō and their bloud shall be in hys sight He wyll liue and he wyll geue to the poore of the golde of Sheba and he wyll pray alwayes for hym and dayly he wyll blesse hym A handfull of corne shall be sowed in the earth vpon the toppe of hilles and the fruit thereof shall make a noyse like Libanus and shall flourishe in the Citie lyke grasse vppon the earth Hys name shall endure for euer hys name shall be spread abroad to the world so long as the sunne shal shine all nations shall be blessed in hym and shall call him blessed Blessed be God the Lord the Lorde of Israell which onely doth wonderous things And blessed be the name of his maiesty for euer and all the earth shal be filled with his maiesty Amen Amen Psalme 80. a. 1. Heare O thou shepheard of Israell thou that leadest Joseph lyke a sheepe and thou that sittest vppon the Cherubins shewe thy gratious presence Romaynes 5. d. They shall raigue through Jesus Christ receauing aboundance of grace and gifte of righteousnes §*§ ⧠Sentences of threatening to euill kinges and examples of their euill successe 1. Reg. 15. 10. d. 16. 17. THe woorde of the Lorde came vnto Samuell saying It repenteth me that I haue made Saule king For he is turned from me and hath not performed my commaundementes And Samuell was euill apaid and cryed vnto the Lord all night And Samuell rose early to meete Saule in the mornyng and when he came vnto him he said Let me tell thee what the Lord hath sayd to me this night And he sayd vnto him say on Samuel said when thou wast little in thine owne syght wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israell and the Lord annointed thee king ouer Israell Ieremy 13. c. 18. 19. Tell the king the Queene humble your selues sitte you downe low for your dignitie shall be throwen downe and the crowne of your glory shall fall from your head The Cities towardes the south shal be shut vp and no man shal open them all Juda shall be caried away captiue so that none shal remayne Ieremy 21. d. 11. Unto the house of the kyng of Juda say thus Heare the worde of the Lorde O thou house of Dauid thus sayth the Lord Minister righteousnes and that soone deliuer the oppressed from violent power or euer my terrible wrath breake out like a fire and burne so that no man may quench it because of the wickednes of your imaginations Beholde sayth the Lorde I will come vpon thee that dwellest in the valleyes rockes and fieldes and say tush who wil make vs afraid or who wyll come into our houses For I will visite you sayth the Lord because of the wickednes of your inuētions and will kindle such a fire in your wood as shall consume all that is about you Prouerbes 28. a. 2. c. 15. 16. 21. For the wickedues of the land the Prince is oft chaunged but through a man of vnderstanding and wisdome a realme endureth long As a roaring Lion and an hungry beare so is an vngodly Prince ouer the poore people Where the Prince is without vnderstanding there is great oppression and wrong but if he hateth coueteousnes he shall long raigne To haue respect of persons in iudgement is not good for that man wyll do wrong yea euen for a peece of bread Psalme 2. a. 2. 4. 5. 10. 11. 12. The kinges of the earth