Christs Prayer Expounded, Title page 1 – Dedication
CHRISTS prayer expounded, A Chriſtian Directed, and a Communicant prepared.
The firſt teaching to pray,
The ſecond … liue,
The th…e the Sacrament of C…
To which is added, a Preface of Prayer, a pithie prayer for Chriſtian families.
A thankes giuing for our deliuerance from treaſon by Gunpowder, and learned Latin verſes of that argument.
By Robert Hill, Preacher at Saint Martins in the fields
AT LONDON Printed for William Cotton, and are to be … at his ſhop neere Ludgate 1606
To mine Honourable, Worſhipfull, and Chriſtian Auditors, at S. Martins in the Fields. Grace and peace.
To my Honorable good Lord the Biſhop of Dureſme.
CHriſtian Auditors. There are 3. things in regarde of God, which eueryevery good perſon muſt be acquainted withal; the firſt is how he muſt talke with God; The ſecond how he muſt liue before God; The third how he muſt come to God, when the ſeale of his ſaluation is offered in the ſacrament. Of all theſe three I am bolde at this time to preſent vntounto you this little Manuell.
Lycurgus, a law giuer amongſt the Lacedemonians, made this one lawe for ſacrificing to the gods, that they ſhould not be …ſented with many things and thoſ… or no great value. If things are to be eſteemed rather by weight, then worth, I hauehave obſerued this lawe in this preſent gift. I offer vntounto you but three things; the firſt number of which all can be ſpoken. And I preſent vntounto you but ſmall things; for what can bee conteined in twelue ſheetes of paper? yet if it pleaſe you to giuegive theſe few ſheetes the reading, you ſhall know better how to pray, learne better how to liue, & vnderſtand better how to come to Gods table, ſo long as you ſhall either pray, liue, or receiue. And becauſe I hauehave, concerning the firſt, preached to you of late many Sermons, I am willing at this time,The dignitie of prayer. in way of preface, to cōmend vntounto you the dignitie of Prayer.
By it wee conferre and talke with God, & by it we procure much good vntounto man: By it we do pierce the very clouds, and by it we hauehave whatſoeuer is meete. Do we want any thing that is good for vsus or others? Prayer is the meſſenger whom wee muſt ſend towards God. HaueHave wee receiued any ſpeciall fauour from hi…aier is our Ambaſſadour to giuegive him thankes.
Are we in the morning to beginne our worke?Clauit diei. this is the Key to open the day. Are wee at euening to ſhut our ſelues in? this is the aClauſtrum noctis.locke to ſeale vp the night. If wee would binde the Almightie bVinculum in Deum. Bernard. Ie…ilo… C….to do vsus none hurt, heere is the band by which he is tyed cDeo ſacrificiu diabolo flagellum oranti ſuccor diu. Auguſt. The praiſe of prayer.. And if we would vntie him to doe vsus good, heere is the porter of the gates of heauen. It is our Aedypus to diſſolue our doubts, It is our commentarie to vnderſtand Gods word dCommentarium ſcripturae Origen.. It is a ſacrifice to God, a ſcourge to the deuill, and an helpe to our ſelues in all our troubles. Wherefore as the Apoſtle by examples commended faith, ſo may I by examples commend prayer.
By it Abrahams ſeruant obtained a wife for Izaak and by it Moſes obtained a pardon for Iſraell. By this, the ſame Moſes ouercame the Amalekites, and by this Abraham interceded for the Sodomites. By praier Iacob was deliuered from Eſau; Ioſuah from the men of Aie; Dauid from Goliah; The Prophet from Ieroboam; Elizeus from the Samaritans; Hezechiah from death; Iehoſaphat from the Aramites; Manaſſes from captiuitie; Ieremiah from his aduerſaries; and
Daniel from the Lions, the diſeaſed from his leproſie, the Apoſtles from priſon, and the Church from perſecution. By prayer Hannah obtained a ſonne, Dauid deliuerance, Salomon wiſdome, Elias the reſtoring of a dead child, Elizaeus the opening of his ſeruants eyes, Nehemiah the kings fauour, the Centurion his ſeruāts health, Chriſt comfort in his agonie, the Apoſtles a ſucceſſor to Iudas, Stephen pardon for Paul, and Monima the conuerſion of her ſonne S. Auſtin.
Thus true it is which Auſtin ſaith, Great is the profit of pure prayer, and as a faithful meſſenger, deliuers her arrand, and pierceth thither whether fleſh cannot come. And this it was which made Barnard to ſay, Brethren let none of vsus lightly esteeme his prayer, I tell you, that he to whome we pray doth not lightly eſteeme it: after it is out of our mouth, he writes it in his booke: and one of theſe two we may doubtles expect, either that he will grant our petition, or that which he knoweth to be better for vsus.
Call vponupon me, and I will heare ſaith God, aske, and you ſhall hauehave ſaith Chriſt. Before they crie I will heare thē ſaith Iſayah. The Lord is nigh to all that call vponupon him, ſaith Dauid, but to ſuch as call vponupon him in trueth. And if wee may beleeue the Apoſtle Iames, the praier of a righteous man auaileth much.
Pray therefore,Why we ought to pray. and we had neede to pray. Sathan will deuoure thee: pray for deliuerance. The world will a lure thee: pray for aſſiſtance. The fleſh will betray thee: pray for defence. The wicked will ſeduce thee: pray for continuance. What beloued? if God had commanded vsus a great thing, ought we not to do it, how much more when he ſaieth, Pray and preuaile, aske and hauehave, ſeeke and finde, knock and it ſhal be opened vntounto you? aske temporall things and hauehave them, ſeeke for ſpirituall things & finde them, knock for eternall things, and the gates of heauen ſhall ſtand as open to you, as the gates of the priſon did to the Apoſtle Peter.
By this, with Eliah, you may open and ſhut the very gates of heauen, and by this with the Apoſtle you may ſhake the foundations of the earth. O pretious praier, what could not onelyonly we, but euē the whole world do without thee. Thou encreaſeſt the earth, calmeſt the ſea, aſſwageſt the fire, purgeſt the ayre, protecteſt our gouernours, confoundeſt our enemie, preſerueſt our health, inſtructeſt our mindes, bleſſeſt our actions, encreaſeſt our wealth, exalteſt our honour, ſpeakeſt but the word and we are preſerued.
Pray in all places.Pray we therefore in all places, at all times, for all perſons, and for all things. Pray we in all places, but in eueryevery place lifting vp pure hands vntounto God. Thus, Izaak prayed in the field, Iacob in his bed, Iſrael in Egypt. Moſes on the Mount, Ioſuah at Iericho, Elias in the chamber, Hezechiah on his couch, Ieremie in the dungeon, Ionah in the Whales bellie, Daniel in the Lions den, Chriſt in the Garden, the Diſciples in a ſhip, Peter in a Tanners houſe, Paul at the Sea ſide, and the Iewes at Ieruſalem. Call vponupon him in thy priuate chamber, and crie vntounto him with thy familie in thy parlour. Thou needeſt not to fall downe at ſome pillar with hypocrites, but praiſe him eſpecially in the congregation of Saints: for there many voyces are Gods beſt melodie.
Pray alſo at all times, at euening,Pray at all times. & morning, and at noone day, will I pray vntounto thee, yea at midnight will I riſe to call vponupon thee, nay ſeauen times a day will I praiſe thee ſaith Dauid. Daniel did ſo three times a day, Paul did it day and night, Hannah did it all the dayes of her life, and the Pſalmographer vowes it, I will praiſe the Lord as long as I liue, as long as I hauehave any being, I will ſing praiſes to my God.Euchyta. Pray continually, not as thoſe heretiques, who would euer doe ſo, but as Chriſtians who know when to do ſo.
With morning prayer, the day begin:
With euening praier the night ſhut in.
Without this prayer ſit not to eate:
Without Gods praiſe riſe not from me ate.
And forget not to pray for all perſons,Pray for perſon. for the King as the head, his Senators as the eyes, his Cleargie as the mouth, his Souldiers as the hands, his ſubiects, of all trades as the feete vponupon which the commonwealth doth ſtand. Art thou a Miniſter? pray for thy flocke. An Auditor? for thy preacher. A father? for thy child: an husband? for thy wife, a maiſter? for thy ſeruant: or a gouernour? pray for thy famulie. Is any ſick? pray for his health: Poore? for his wealth: impriſoned? for his libertie: ſeduced? for his recouerie: confirmed? for his conſtancie: or in any diſtreſſe? for his deliuery. Pray for all men, that their bodies may be preſerued, ſoules ſaued, eſtates maintained, that thy, and their thoughts may bee ſanctified, your words ſeaſoned, and your actions ordered by the ſpirit of God.
Will you know now to whom we muſt pray?To whom we muſt pray. not to a Calfe as the Iſraelites did, nor to Baal as his Prieſts did, nor to an image as idolatours did, nor to any Saints, as our fathers did; but as we are bound to ſerue God alone, ſo are we bounden to pray to God alone; for he alone, knoweth our wants, hea…th our petitions, hath promiſed to help vsus is able to doe for vsus, and is the alone preſent helper in the needfull time of trouble.
I will draw to an end,How we muſt pray. you hauehave ſeene beloued the neceſſitie of this ſeruice, let me ſhew you a little the qualities of this ſeruice. Pray we muſt in knowledge with vnderſtanding, in faith by beleeuing, in remorſe with feeling in zeale without cooling, in intention without wandring, in reuerence without contemning, in conſtancie without reuolting, and in louelove without reuenging. Let our eies be faſtned, hearts fixed, knees bowed, mouthes opened, and our hands lifted vp as to the King of Kings. And as Iacob would not let the Angell goe till he were bleſſed ſo let not vsus let him go till wee be heard. Let not the woman of Canaan be more earneſt with Chriſt militant, then wee wil be with the ſame Chriſt triumphāt. Let neuer Queene of Sheba ſo willingly come to Salomon, as wee muſt willingly come vntounto Chriſt: hee loueth moſt, willing and importunate ſutors. Wherefore as Dauid ſaid to Abner, neuer ſee my face, vnleſſe thou bring Michal with thee, ſo ſay I vntounto you, neuer looke God in the face vnleſſe you bring prayer with you.
As I hauehave declared to you the dutie of praier, ſo ſhould I ſpeake ſomewhat of giuing of thankes. Many can bee content to pray in troubles, but fewe giuegive thankes for deliuerance out of trouble. Multi petentes, pauci promittē tes, pauciſſimi reddentes, ſaith an ancient father, there are many petitioners, few promiſers, moſt few thanks giuers. Are there not ten cleanſed? where are the nine? there is none returned to giuegive thankes but this one, and he is a Samaritan. If euer people vnderunder the cope of heauen had occaſiō to praiſe God, we are they, eſpecially for his word and goſpell, and for many deliuerances ſhewed to our Princes and people.
But becauſe at the end of this treatiſe, I hauehave ſet downe a forme both of praier & thanks giuing, I refer you to the peruſing of thoſe two platformes.
I doubt not of your patience for the length of this preface, becauſe I deſire to leaue it as an ocular ſermon inſtructing you continually how to call vponupon God, and preparing you to the expoſition of the Lords prayer, which of many through ignorance is as much prophaned, as euer God was by ſaying the Pater-noſter in Latin, or repeating other roſaries in an vnknown lāguage.
Now hauing ended as you ſee theſe queſtions and anſwers, I make queſtion with my ſelfe to whom I may command them; and becauſe for theſe three yeares immediatly paſt, I hauehave liued, and preached amongſt you, I am bolde in generall to preſent them to you all. You hauehave I confeſſe knowne my conuerſation, bin acquainted with my miniſtrie, countenanced me in my calling maintained me in health, comforted me in ſicknes, & afforded vntounto me much more kindneſſe, then can be requited by this paper preſent. And ſince it pleaſeth God to diſpoſe of me ſtill in ſuch vncertaine places, as that I could neuer yet ſay, heere muſt I reſt: I bleſſe God that euer I came vntounto you, whoſe louelove and larges hath bene ſuch vntounto me, as makes me to ſay of my late exile, Perijſſe… niſi perijſſem, I had bene vndone, if others had not ſought to vndoe me.
And therefore though I cannot ſay to you, as Paul did to the Corinthians, I am yours to liue and die with you: yet this I will ſay, I am yours to liue and pray for you, that you may ſo know God, as you may pray to him, ſo pray to God that you may liue before him, ſo liue, that you may euer be fit to receiue his ſacrament, and ſo both fit to know, pray, liue, and receiue, that after you hauehave knowne him by Chriſt, prayed to him through Chriſt, liued before him in Chriſt, and receiued his fauour in the ſeales of Chriſt, you may in the end dye in his faith, as you hauehave liued in his feare, and at the laſt day in bodyes and ſoules bee partakers of eternall glorye. To the grace of this GOD I commend you, to your grace I cōmend theſe treatiſes, doubting not but many of you will be as readie to read them, as you hauehave bene willing to heare them. From your Pariſh of S. Martin the fields. Ian. 1. 1606.
Your ſeruant in the Lord, ROBERT HILL.