Meditation Upon the Lords Prayer 2, Text
A meditacion vponupon the Lordes praier.
OUR father whiche art in heauen. We (gloriously formed vntounto the Image of thy diuine Maiestie, created by thy gracious goodnes vntounto highest honor, howbeit, by our awne sinfulnes disfigured with vilenes, deseruyng dampnaciō. and yet by Christes death restored vntounto grace, to be citezens with sainctes of the family of God) now all together in Christen vnitee, as membres of one body, with this one voyce, for the manyfolde miseries of eueryevery member, and worthy merites of Christ our hedde, praie, desire, and truste, to obtain of thee our heauenly father, accordyng vntounto thy gracious goodnes, mightie power, and faithefull promes, vntounto vsus that aske aboundaunce of thy grace.
That thy name maie bee halowed. That thy diuine power and glorious Maiestie, may be certainly knowen & reuerently honored. That the hartes of vsus men, by thy worde and praier, maie bee sanctified frō worldly vanities and fleshly lustes, so that wee with all that wee hauehave, seruyng thee in holines and righteousnes, may shine so afore menne vponupon the yearth, that thei thereby maie bee occasioned, to honour and glorifie the, our father in heauē
Thy kyngdom come Thy woorde bee so fruictfully Preached vntounto vsus thy people, that we maie bee throughly instructed and taught, to bridle our sensuall appetite by natural reason, and submit our wittie reason vntounto a Godly spirite. and try our spirites by the true Scriptures, so that within vsus maie reigne the Kyngdome of God, whiche is neither meate nor drynke, but righteousnesse, peace, and comforte in the holy Ghoste, by the whiche wee now tastyng of thy heauenly ioyes, maie be made from hencefurth wery of all worldly vanities, continually wishyng and lookyng for the spedy apperaunce and commyng of thy eternall and euerlastyng kyngdome.
Thy will be doen in yearth as it is in heauē. In heauen the Angelles of reuerent louelove, dooe thy will and commaundement, with comfortable courage, and ioyful pleasure: in hell the wicked spirites through malice and enuie, repinyng and grudgyng, do torment and vexe themselfes, what soeuer thei be doyng: and vponupon yearth we men beeyng subiecte vntounto synne, do thinke it a labor and pain, to be occupied in any thyng that is good and godly. Wherefore wee praie, that the grace of thy heauenly Spirite maie so worke in our yearthly bodies, that our myndes maye bee deliuered from synne and vanitie, frely to delite and take pleasure in Godlines and vertue, so that we with a comfortable courage, maie finde delite and pleasure to dooe thy commaundement and will, beeyng men vponupon yearth, as the glorious company of Angelles doo whiche be in heauen.
Geue vsus this day our daily bread. We beeyng in greate nede, and not able of our selfes to deserue any thyng, beseche thy Fatherly goodnesse of thy bounteous liberalitee, to geue frely vntounto vsus all in generally, so that none bee hurte or hyndered seuerally, this daye when as we crie, constrained by present neede, not craftely crauyng for vain care against to morowe, our daily breade, our daily and necessarie foode and releue, bothe bodily and ghostly and especially the Spirituall fode of Christes fleshe and his bloude, by daily Preachyng of the Gospell, and ministracion of the Sacramentes, to replenishe, refreshe, and renue oure hartes & mindes, with the comfortable remēbraunce of Christes death and his passion daily to bee vsed for necessary and spirituall consolacion.
Forgeue vsus our trespasses, as wee forgeue theim that trespasse against vsus. Geue vntounto vsus that felyng and knowyng our awne synfulnes, doo neede and desire thy mercifull forgeuenes of oure trespaces and fautes, whiche we hauehave committed against thy diuine Maiestie, so that we freely forgeuyng other that hauehave offended vsus in any thyng what soeuer it bee, maie bee sure that merciemercy spryngyng in thee, hath proceded vntounto vsus, beyng graciously offred of thee hath been thankfully receiued of vsus, and beyng charitably vsed of vsus towardes other, shall mooste certainly bee confirmed and enlarged of thee towardes vsus, and so finally, by gracious merciemercy, spryngyng and procedyng from thee, all fautes and trespasses shalbee freely forgeuen, euen as those whiche other hauehave committed against vsus, so likewise those that wee hauehave doen against thee.
And leade vsus not into temptacion. And suffre not the deuill, by thabuse of thy benefites, to leade vsus captiue into deceiptfull and dampnable temptacion, drawyng vsus by deinteth meates vntounto greedy glottony, by money and riches vntounto vnsaciable coueteousnes, and by wealth and prosperitie, vntounto pride and vain glory, and by all thy godly gracious giftes, vntounto eueryevery Deuelishe abhominable synne.
But deliuer vsus from all eiuill. Deliuer our gooddes from abuse, our bodies frō corrupcion, our Soules from dampnacion, yea, deliuer vsus by Christe, from the bondage of synne, vntounto the libertie of the Gospell, so that without daunger of Deuelishe temptacion, driuyng vntounto euerlastyng dā pnacion, wee maie serue thee in holines and righteousnesse all the daies of oure liues, with moste certain and comfortable hope, of euerlastyng life and saluacion through Christ Iesu, in whom our hope and thy promes is moste certain, that is to saie. Amen. So be it.
FINIS.
Thomas Leuer.
Imprinted at London by Ihon Kyngston.
Cum priuilegio ad imprimendum solum.
¶And are to be sold at the West doore of Poules, by Anthony Kyngston.
End of the text · Thomas Lever, Meditation Upon the Lords Prayer 2 (1551)