The Prisoners Prayers, Prayer 50 – Prayer 53
A Prayer for the Church.
O Moſt glorious & mercifull Lord God, I pray thee for thy mercies ſake behold from heauen thy Church and people: honor them Lord that honour thee, and confound them that riſe vp againſt thee: great is our preſent miſery, the earth and world throughout, good Lord ſaue thy ſeruants from the hands of all their enemies: thy Church is eueryevery where deſpiſed and deſpighted, and trodden vnderunder foot of the wicked of the world, O Lord, ſleepe not, but ariſe in thy power, and let all thine and our ſoes bee ſcattered.
GiueGive (O Lord) thy Goſpell a free paſſage, for the enlargement of thy kingdome, all the world thorow, in deſpight of Turke and Pope, & all malignant enemies of the ſame: continue it where it is; where it is not, Lord (of thy goodnes) plant thy heauenly power: though wee hauehave failed and grieuouſly offended, yet correct vsus thou in thy mercy, and giuegive vsus not ouer a prey vntounto their teeth, whoſe tender mercies are cruell: downe with Dagon, and ſet vp the glorious Goſpell of Chriſt Ieſus among the ſonnes of men.
Now (O Lord) thy Church is heauily aſſaulted, I beſeech thee fight out al our battels, and euermore defend vsus: let them not ſay, There, there, ſo would we hauehave it; neither let them ſay, We hauehave deuoured them: let them not mocke and vaunt, Where is now their God? they cry maliciouſly, Downe with them,Pſal. 137.7. down with them euen to the ground; but Lord, better than thy Church ſhould bee extinguiſhed, the whole army of Sathan to bee confounded: If it may bee, Lord conuert the enemies of thy Church; if that cannot bee, Lord confound them. Thus (Lord) I pray thee powerfully protect, and graciouſly direct thy Church on earth, and make it one day triumphant in heauen, for Ieſus ſake alone, in whom thou art well pleaſed.
Amen.
A Prayer for the conuerſion of the Iew.
MOſt gracious and bleſſed heauenly Father, there was a time wherein thou in thy mercy didſt vouchſafe thy Law to Iſrael, all other nations of the world depriued of the ſame: and now is the time wherein they for their contempt of thy Sonne Ieſus Chriſt are depriued of thy Goſpell, and the Gentiles of the world enlightened with the ſame: and there will come a time wherein Iew and Gentile ſhall bee of one fold and faith, and that is, when the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
O Lord, pitty the fall of thy firſt choſen, and let not thine anger bee euer againſt them: turne againe (O God of Abraham, Iſaac, and Iacob) and viſit them with thy ſaluation, that are now ſcattered, and a deſpiſed people ouer the face of the whole earth: O Lord conuert them, and bring them to the faith of the Lord Ieſus: diſpell the miſt of ignorance from their eies, and let not ſuch multitudes goe to perdition: for Abraham thy ſeruants ſake, looke vponupon the deſolate progeny.
And ſeeing contempt and vnbeleefe caſt them off,Rom. 11.2. Lord giuegive vsus to beleeue & obey thy truth, left wee alſo bee caſt out and expelled: if thou ſparedſt not the naturall Oliue, how wilt thou ſpare the wilde branch?
Lord grant that Iew and Gentile may all the world thorow oyne in one faith and truth to thy glory and the ſaluation of innumerable ſoules in the LORD IESVS.
Amen.
A Morning Prayer for a family.
O Lord our GOD moſt mighty, glorious, and in mercy abundantly gracious, wee thy ſeruants deſire this morning and euermore to bleſſe thy holy and heauenly Name, for all thy bleſſed mercies firſt and laſt afforded vsus in the Lord Ieſus: In particular, wee bleſſe thee for thy ſafe protection and prouidence ouer vsus this laſt night paſt, in keeping vsus aliue of thy goodneſſe and mercy to this houre, & day: O Lord, as we liue by thee, giuegive vsus all thy grace to liue vntounto thee, and to the praiſe of thy bleſſed Name.
And we intreat thy Maieſty to bleſſe vsus this day, and euermore to come: Lord ſaue vsus from bodily perils, and that by the watch of thy good Angels: ſaue vsus eſpecially (O Lord) from ſinning againſt thee, and that by the Power and reſidence of grace in our ſoules: thus bleſſe vsus in body and ſoule in this life, that ſo wee may hauehave the ſurer hope of euerlaſting ſaluation in the life to come.
And (good Father) grant that wee may labour and ſtriue againſt all corruption and ſin, but moſt eſpecially againſt thoſe euils that hauehave moſt defiled our ſoules, let vsus flie all occaſions of them, and vſe all holy helps againſt them, and in the might and ſtrength of thine all—ſufficient grace, vouchſafe vsus daily victory ouer them: O that wee could ſay with thy feruant Paul, I thanke my God,1 Cor. 15. concerning ſinne I die daily.
And (good Lord) ſo bleſs vsus with thy grace, that we may cheerefully and conſtantly goe on in the performance of all ſuch duties as thou haſt appointed for vsus to walk in: grant that the concupiſcence of the eie,1 Ioh. 2.16. the concupiſcence of the fleſh, the pride of life may neuer corrupt and defile vsus, but let euermore our conuerſations be holy and heauenly: keepe vsus alſo from idleneſſe, grant wee may bee alwaies ſound exerciſed in the duties of our calling, either generall or particular: that when our Lord and Maſter commeth (being found thus vigilant) wee may enter with him into the ioy of the Lord.
Thus (gracious God) giuegive vsus to walke in holineſſe and vprightnes before thee, that ſo we may both ſaue our owne ſoules, and thoſe that are about vsus, for Ieſus Chriſt his ſake, thy Sonne our Sauiour.
Amen.
An Euening Praier for a Family.
MOST deare and gracious Lord God, wee thy humble ſeruants moſt earneſtly deſire thy mercy and compaſſion vponupon vsus, in pardoning all our ſins, originall, actuall, and in giuing vsus grace for the preuention of them in time to come: and ſo ſanctifie eueryevery of vsus, that all our ends may be peace.
O Lord, to this end giuegive vsus (we pray thee) to bee broken in heart for breaking thy commandements, & ſmite our ſinfull ſoules for offending thee, that ſo wee may come within compaſſe of healing and refreſhing: for none but the laden can be eaſed, and the wearied onelyonly ſhall bee refreſhed.
And (good Father) ſeeing thou haſt promiſed ſaluation to the humble, grant that by faith wee may comfortably reſt vponupon thy promiſe for mercy and forgiueneſſe, and alſo by power of the ſame faith, liue vntounto the praiſe of thee (our Redeemer) for euermore.
Vouchſafe (O Lord) vntounto vsus all thoſe bleſſed graces of thy bleſſed Spirit, onelyonly proper to thine elect and choſen, as knowledge, vertue, faith, patience, temperance, godlines, brotherly kindneſſe, louelove: if theſe things be in vsus and abound, wee ſhall neuer fall into the ditch of hell.
Lord turne out ſinne and Sathan, for wee confeſſe that wee are out of meaſure ſinfull: ſinfull by thought, ſinfull by word, ſinfull by worke, Lord bee merciful vntounto vsus thus miſerable ſinners: and (good Lord) let thine holy Spirit make his reſidence in vsus, that in this new righteouſnes wee ſhall labour and learne to doe, in that wee may ſaue all our poore ſoules euerlaſtingly aliue.
O Lord, bleſſe with vsus thy Church vniuerſall, Lord ſaue it from ouerthrow, and deliuer it from the preſent calamity: more eſpecially wee beſeech thy mercies vponupon this nation whereof wee are members: this ſinfull nation laden with tranſgreſſion, iniquity, ſinne; Lord heale the ſores of it, pardon the ſinnes of it, giuegive it the repentance of Nineue, from the Kings perſon, to the begger amongſt vsus, that ſo thy iudgements may be diuerted from vsus.
Lord herein (wee pray thee) bleſſe the principall Member ouer vsus, CHARLES by thy good prouidence, King of great Britaine, France, and Ireland, giuegive him a long and laſting life on earth, and an euerlaſting in heauen: bleſſe our moſt noble and gracious Queene: the Prince and Princeſſe Palatine, and their Princely Iſſue: bleſſe all the true hearted Nobility, all the reuerend Clergie, the ciuill Magiſtracy, Gentry, Commonalty, all Schooles of learning, the two Vniuerſities, all afflicted perſons, bodily or ſoulely tormented: O Lord, deliuer Iſrael from all their ſinnes and ſorrowes.
And good LORD, bleſſe all that are deare and neare in nature vntounto vsus, as father, mother, brother, ſiſter, husband, wife, child; LORD giuegive vsus all thy grace in this life, thy ſaluation for euer in heauen.
And for our ſelues againe, we beſeech thee this night to bleſſe vsus, in body, in ſoule; in basket and ſtore, within doores, without: Lord ſaue vsus from theeues, from windes, from fire, from all dangers, and giuegive vsus a ſweet reſt and comfortable ſleepe: and for our ſoules, ſaue them (good Lord) from ſinfull luſts and Sathans aſſaults: that ſo we being preſerued from ſin and danger in this life, we may not faile of thy mercifull ſaluation in the end, and that for Ieſus Chriſt his ſake.
Amen.
FINIS.
End of the text · Henry Greenwood, The Prisoners Prayers (1628)