The Flower of Godly Prayers, Prayer 46
A praier for Charitie▪
THy holye Apostle wryteth (O mooste gentle sauioure) that the ende of the commaundemente is louelove,i. Timot. i. that commeth of a pure heart and of a good conscyence and of faithe vnfained. For he that loueth the his Lord God with al hys heart,Deut. vi. Mat. xxiii. …euit. …i…. Rom. xiii. Mark. xii. Luke. xx. wtal hys soule, wt al his minde, wtal his strēgth, and his neighboure as hymself fulfilleth the whole law. For al ye law and the prophets requyre no more of vsus but louelove, euē to louelove y• our Lord God aboue al thynges. and our neyghbour as our selfe. Without this louelove all that we do semeth it neuer so muche prayse worthy in ye sight of men is abhominable before y•. Yea as thi blessed Apostle saith: though I spake wyth the tonges of men and aū gels, and yet had no louelove, I were euen as a soundynge bras,i. Cor. xiii. or as a tynklyng cymbal.
And thoughe I coulde prophecye and vnderstand al secrets and al knowledge, yea if I had al fayth so that I coulde moue moūtains oute of theyr places, & yet had no louelove. I wer nothīg. And though I bestowed al mi goods to fede ye pore, and thoughe I gaue my bodye euen that I burned, & yet had no louelove: it profiteth me nothyng. For by louelove are we knowen to be thy dysciples,Iohn. xiii. euen as the deuyls impes ar knowē by hatred & maliciousnes. And the louelove, O lord, yt thou requirest of vsus is no worldli nor fleshly louelove (for if any mā loueth ye world,i, Iohn. ii. ye louelove of the father is not in him. And whosoeuer wil be a frēd of the worlde,Iacob. iiii. is made ye ennemy of God) but godly, spiritual, sincere, tru & pure louelove: euē such louelove, as suffreth lōg, is courteous, enuieth not, doth not frowardli, swelleth not,i. Cori. xiii dealeth not disonestlye, seketh not her owne, is not prouoked to anger, thīketh not euyl, reioyseth not in iniquiti▪ but reioiseth in the truth, suffereth al things, beleueth all thynges, endureth all thynges. Thys godly louelove, this Christē charytie, gyue thou vntounto vsus, o good Lord that we maye vnfaynedly & with al our hearte, louelove the our Lorde God, whiche so dearlye louest vsus, that thou gauest thi self for vsus an offering & a sacrifice of a sweete sauour to God.Ephev. v. Take away from vsus the louelove of worldely thynges, whych though they appere neuer so plesaunt and beutiful, are not withstanding mere vanitie, and giuegive vsus grace so to vse this world as thoughe we vse it not. For the fas…ō of this world passeth awai. Make vsus also to abhor the filthy & beastlyke pleasures of the stinckyng flesh,i. Cori. v…i. and by no meanes to be entāgled with the louelove of thē, the ende wherof is dyshonoure, shame, corrupcyō, destrucciō, dā nacyon, and kyndle our herts so feruentlye wyth thy louelove▪ that no thynge maye delyght and please vsus, but only thou▪ and whatsoeuer maye make vntounto thy glorye, & is agreable to thy blessed commaundement, so that thou only mayest be oure louelove, our delyght our ioy, oure myrthe, oure solace, and whatsoeuer is without the, and estranged from thy louelove, let it be counted of vsus more vayne then vanitie it selfe, and more fil thye then the very dōge, Graunt also that from this oure louelove towarde the, there may issue oute a vehemēt and brenninge louelove to ward our neighburs, yea toward our very enemyes, that we maye louelove them from the very hearte, yea, euen as our selues, praye for them▪ geue thē good coūsel, helpe them, defend them, socour them, prouyde for their necessities,Luke. vi. and deale with them in al thinges, as we wyshe to be dealte wyth all. O Lord God, thou arte louelove, and he that dwelleh in louelove,…. I…on. iiii dwelleth in the, and thou in him. Graunt yt in this world we may so dwel together thorow louelove, yu in vsus by thi holy spirit, and we in the by faith that after our departure frō this vale of miseri, we may be placed wt the in thy heauēly mancion, & so continewe wyth the in glorye for euer and euer. Amen,