The Flower of Godly Prayers, Prayer 69 – Prayer 70
¶ A thankesgeuynge vntounto God, that he hathe brought vsus out of the darkenesse of mens tradicions▪ into the gloryous lyghte of his holy gospell.
O Lorde GOD and oure heauenlie father,Esaye. v. thou by thy holye Prophete declareste that thy people were ledde captyue because thei had no knowledge nor vnderstandynge in thy blessed word. No maruel, for as thy dearly beloued sonne sayethe, he that walketh in ye darcknes,Ihon. xii. knoweth not whither he goeth. Yea,Sapi. xiii. vaine ar al they in whom the knowlege of yt oure lord god is not.Iohn. xvii. For this is euerlasting life, euen to knowe the to be the true God, and whō thou hast sent, Iesu Christ.Prou. xxix. Whē y• preaching of thy word faileth, ye people perysh and go to hauocke. For man liueth not with bread alone,Math. iiii. but wyth euerye worde that commeth out of thy mouth,Proue. xix. wher no knowlege of ye & of thi blessed worde is, there is no goodnes for the soule. Yea there doth ye soule pine awaye, as the body for wāte of corporall foode,Hebru xiii. and is moued and led away wyth euerye winde of doctrine, be it true or false.Math. vii▪ xvii. Nether is it to be wōdred at. For the ignoraunt and vntaughte bylde not theyr faythe vppon the rocke, that is, vponupon thy sōne Christ, and vponupon hys holye Gospel, agaynste the whych the verye gates of hell canne not preuail,Math. vii. nether can the raging flouds,Luke. vi. nor the boistrous windes moue them that so bilde, but vppon the sands, therfore are they throwne downe wyth eueryevery blast, and myserably ledde whych waye their teachers luste. Thys was euidently perceiued in vsus (o blessed father) whyche so manye yeares for want of knowledge of thi blessed word wer to much wrechedlyled captyue of Satan and of his ministers, whiche chaūged them selfes into angels of lyght, when in dede they wer the bond slaues of Antichriste, & beleued & did whatsoeuer thei commanded vsus to beleue or to do.…. Cori. xi. The man of synne that son of perdicion, so sat in our consciences, that we fered him more then the our Lord god. His trifling tradiciōs, his croked cōstitucions, & diuelishe decrees,ii. … wer more earnestli regarded beleued & obeyed thē thy blessed word wherof we wer altogether ignorāt. His ceremonies, we thought to be thi seruice. His dreames we estemed true godlines. We worshypped the not after thy worde, but after Antichristes tradyciōs. As for thy holy Gospell, we knew no parte of it a ryghte. Yea Antichrist and hys impes condemned thy holy Byble for heresy, & brent it as most abhomynable doctrine vntounto the greate grife of al godly personnes. Many other notable workes also cōpiled by thy faythfull seruauntes for the auauncement of thy glorye and for bryngyng of the simple people vntounto the knowledge of thy truth, they cru…llye burnte and destroyed after the exāples of the wycked kyngs, Ioachim and Antiochus.…. xxxvi. And as for the authors of thē, some those bloudy Edomits brent,i. …ath. i. some thei murthered preuely some thei emprisoned, flocked, cheyned & putte to shame, al, euen so mani as thei could get, they cruelly and moost tirantlike entreated after the exā ple of their predecessors the high priests of Iewry,…. …xvii. which sought al meanes possible both wyth tyrany and brybes, to kepe downe thy sonne Christe and hys gloryous gospel, yt thei alone might reygn: O most gētle god, whē these belly…d hipocrites & chaplens of Baal, had brent thy holye Bible, so yt we the simple people might not read the word of oure soule healthe, in our owne mother tonge, agayne whē these false annointed shauelinges had killed & put to flyghte thy true ministers and godly prechers,mat. xxiiii. thē made they vsus to beleue as they woulde, to walke, to do, to speke as they lusted, to honoure & worshippe the,Math. xv. not after thy holye law, but after the tradycions and doctrins of men, to do works not commaunded of the, but suche as their idle braines fāsied wythout authority of thy worde. O Lorde thou longe sufferynge God, with how greate blyndenesse were we ouerwhelmed of these antichristian monstures when they taught to run a Pilgrimage to thys and that Idol, to paynt thys tabernacle, and to gyld that Maumet, to pray to this he Saint and to that she Sainte, to bie other mennes merites, and to seke saluacion in them, to put our truste in water, salte, breade, palmes, ashes, wax, oile, creme, bels, pardons, rotten reliques & such other peltīg pedlarye, to beleue that our souls after this present life shuld be boiled & perboiled in antichristes fornace, ther to lie piteously yellīg, puling & crying til they were redemed wt Diriges, Masses, trētals, ladyes Psalters▪ &c. to beleue yt our sins could not be forgeuen tyl we had whyspered oure synnes into the Priests eare, and to receiue absolucion at his hand: to beleue that after the wordes of cōsecracion, as they cal them, ther remain no more breade nor nomore wine in the sacrament of Christes bodye and bloude, but that the breade is changed into the natural flesh of thy deare sonne Christ Iesu, and the wyne into his moste precious bloude,☞ that was shedde for oure sins vponupon the aulter of the crosse when notwithstandinge the Papistes them selfs do many tymes keepe the breade so longe, that it both mouldeth, stynketh and bredeth ful of worms, and afterward they burne it accordynge to theyr owne law. Ah Lord, thus wer we to much wretchedly mocked and led captiue of antichriste and hys disciples. The darknesses wherin we walked wer so gret, that they mighte be felte.i. Pet…r. i, But thanckes be vntounto the (o most merciful father) which haste called vsus oute of the darcknes of mennes tradycyons into the glorious light of thy gospell. We hauehave nowe learned, that Antichriste and his mēbers hauehave longe deceyued vsus, & taughte vsus theyr owne drowesye dreames in stede of thi blessed word. We now know, that thou requireste not of vsus, that we shuld runne gadding to stocks and stones,Math. xx…. but that we shuld visit suche as are sicke and in prysonne and comfort thē. We nowe knowe, that thy wyll is not that we shuld paynt tabernacles and gyld ymages, but rather that we shuld cloth the pore and helpe the nedi.… lviii. We now know that it is vaine to pray to this or to ye saynt seyng they nether here vsus nor yet canne helpe vsus. We hauehave lerned of thy blessed word,… …iii. … vii. that Christ the son is our alone intercessour mediatour and aduocate. We nowe knowe,… ii. yt no saluacion is to be loked for in any ceremonys, but only in thy great mercies set forthe frely to al penitente sinners thorow faith in Christs bloude. We now know that, Christes bloude is the alone Purgatorye of oure soules,… Iohn. i. whiche purgeth & maketh vsus clene from all sinne. We now know, that whē soeuer we repent confesse our sinnes vntounto the, and beleue to hauehave remission of al our synnes,Iohn. i. Ephe i. Collos. i. thorow Christes bloude, we shall surely be forgeuen. Yet despise we not but rather hertely de…yre the counsell of godlye and learned preachers,☞ whiche with ye comfortable words of the gospel may raise vp, strengthen and confirme our weke cōscience against Satan, sinne, death, hel and desperacion. We now knowe that ye Masse mongers hauehave without al shame lyed vntounto vsus, when they taught vsus to beleue, that ye Mas, which they mumbled, was a propiciatorye sacrifice, & of as greate vertue, strengthe & power, as the gloryous passion of our sauioure Iesu Christe, and that it was necessarye bothe for the quycke and dead. Ad salutem. We nowe knowe also, that ye sacrament of Christs bodye and bloude is not the very selfe real and naturall bodye and bloude of Christe, but an holye signe,Note. figure and tokē of his blessed bodye and precyouse bloude. For thys worde sacramente is as muche to say as a signe of an holye thynge. Nowe that whyche is the signe of a thyng, cānot be the thynge it selfe. And thoughe thy sonne called the bread hys bodie, and the wine his bloude, because the disciples should the better remēber the breaking of hys bodye and the sheddynge of hys bloude (as he likewise called him selfe a vine a dore,Iohn. xv. a rock, whē not with standing he was nether naturall vine,Iohn. …. Math. vii. …nd .xvii.material dore or stony rock, but onlye lykened vntounto them for certain properties, which he hath with the vine, dore▪ and rocke) yet is neyther the bread hys naturall bodye, nor the wyne hys naturall bloud, as diuers of the aunciente Doctours doe declare and proue but onelye a fygure of hys bodye and bloude.☞ The breade is called Christes body, because it visibly… preacheth & bryngeth to oure remēbrance the brekīg of Christes bodye. The wyne also is called Christes bloud, because it putteth vsus in remēbrance of the sheddīg of Christes bloude. Of such phrases and manners of speakynge thy holye scriptures are full. But as in many other thyngs so lykewise ī this blessed sacramēt hauehave the Papistes for the mayntenāce of their Idle and beastli life most foulye deceyued vsus, makynge vsus to worshyppe a wafer cake and a sponeful of wyne myngled wyth water, in stead of our sauiour Iesu Christe God and manne. And thys Idolatrus erroure is yet so rustered and cākered in ye hertes of many bothe learned & vnlearned (whose myndes,ii. Cor. i…ii. iudgements senses and wyts the God of thys world, euē the deuil, hath blinded) that the light of ye glorius gospell of christ shuld not shine vntounto thē, yt they cast away thys doctryne as heresye, & go forth stil of an obstynate and froward minde to worshyp ye bread & wine as god, & condēne al other for heretikes, whyche hold ye contrarie. O lord, these bread christians may wel be resē bled to the men of Babilō, which would not be perswaded by anye meanes but that Bell & the great Dragon, whō they dayly worshipped and offred vntounto,Dan. x…iii. were liuyng godds, and therefore sought they al meanes possible to destroy both Daniel and the king, because thei taughte the contrarye, and braste tho…e Idols, geuing commandement that the liuyng God alone, which thou art, shuld be honored & worshipped of al nacions in the worlde. But we, O Lord, to whō thou haste reueled the misteris of thy godlye truthe; and delyuered out of the kyngedome of darckenesse, confes our selfs to be great lye bounden vntounto the for thy mercyful benefyte. We therefore beseche the to gyue vsus grace, so to walk in this glorious light of thy holye Gospel, as it becommeth ye chyldren of light in al goodnesse,Ephe. v. ryghteousnesse and truth. Thou haste deliuered vsus from stinking Sodome, suffer vsus no more to loke backe toward it.Gene. xi. Thou hast brought vsus home againe frō Babylō, y• land of bondage, vntounto the newe Ierusalē. Grant yt we beīg delyuered oute of the handes of our enemis may serue the in holines & righteousnes al the dais of our lyfe.Luke. i. Mathe. ii.We hauehave sene Christ thy sonne and oure kynge, suffer vsus no more to returne vntounto wycked Kyng Herode.Luke. ix. We hauehave put oure hande to the ploughe, grante that we neuer loke backe agayne, but perseuer contynew & go forward vntounto the end. Let it be neuer sayed to vsus, as thy sonne sayde vntounto the Iewes:Math. xxi. the kyngdom of God shal be taken frō you, & shalbe geuen to a people, which shal bringe forthe the fruites of it. Make vsus fruteful fig trees. GiueGive vsus grace, to be ryche and plenteouse in all good workes, As we confesse the with oure words: so let vsus expres the wt our workes. As we fauour and louelove thy Gospell, so lette vsus folowe and louelove thy gospel. For that seruant whiche knoweeth hys masters wyll and doeth it not, shalbe beatē wt mani stripes. If after we hauehave escaped frō the filthynesse of the worlde thorowe the knowledge of the,Luke. xii. and of our sauiour Iesu Christ, we are tangled again therin and ouercome,…ii. …. ii. then is the latter ende worse wt vsus then the beginning. For it had ben better for vsus not to hauehave knowen the wai of righteousnes, thē after we hauehave knowē it, to turne from the holy cōmaundement geuē vntounto vsus. So might it be sayde of vsus accordynge to the true prouerbe.Pro. xxvi. The dog is turned to hys …omit agayne,Pr…. …xvi. and the sowe that was washed, to her walowīg in ye myre. Graunte therfore we moste humbly pray the, that accordynge to oure knowledge we may leade an honest conuersaciō among all menne,i. Peter. ii. that they which backbyte vsus as euyll doers, maye see oure good worckes, and glorifie the our heauenly father in the day of visitacion. Amen.
A thankesgeuinge vntounto God for al his benefites.
VE mooste heartelye thancke the (O LORDE God oure heauenly father) for thy mamanyfolde and inestimable benefites, whiche thou haste geuen vntounto vsus bothe for oure body and soule, yea and freely euē of thine owne goodnesse wythoute oure desearte. We thancke the that it hathe pleased thee of thy greate merciemercy fyrste to create & make vsus accordynge to thyne own image and lykenes,Gene. i. & to place vsus in ioyful paradyse,Sapi ii. wher we shuld continually hauehave remained in a blessed & quiet state, if thorow ye subtil and deceitefull suggestions of of Satan our old enemy,Gene. iii. we had not transgressed thy holy cōmandement. We thancke the also (O most gentle father) for thy louing kindnes, whiche thou shewedst vntounto vsus, when we all were perished & lost thorow the sinne of oure firste father Adam. For whē thou mightest iustly hauehave condemned vsus and cast vsus into perpetuall dā naciō, thou like a father of singuler great louelove haddest pity on vsus, and sauedst vsus by the deathe and passyon of thy welbeloued sonne our Lord & sauiour Iesu Christe,ii. Tim. ii. which gaue him self a raunsome for all oure synnes, and payed a sufficiente price by hys precious bloud, for all the wyckednes that we at anye tyme heretofore hauehave commytted,i. Iohn. i. Hebru▪ x… or hereafter shall cō mit thorow our frailtye & weakenesse, so that we repente, beleue & amende. Neither wast thou thus contented, that he only shuld dye for our sinnes, but thou also didst raise him vp again for our iustificacion,Roma iiii. and to make vsus ryghtous in thy sight. Moreouer after that he had shewed him self vnfained lye alyue to hys Apostles by manifest and euident tokēs, certain dayes after his resurreccion,Mat. xxvii… thorow the power of his godhead, he ascended vp into heauē, perfecte God and perfecte man,Luk. xxiiii. where he nowe sitteth on the ryghte hande and maketh intercessiō for vsus,Actes. i. being our alone mediatour and aduocate.i. Timo. ii. From thēce we looke for hym to come again at the daie of iudgement,Iohn. ii. A…t…s. i.not as a cruell iudge to condemne and caste vsus away, but as a moste louinge Lord and gentle sauioure,Math. xxv. to cary vsus wyth hym vntounto euerlastyng glory,i. Tes. iiii. ther worldes without end to remaine in such ioyes as eie hauehave not sene nor eare hathe hearde,Esay. liiii. i. Cor. iii.nor yet is any hert able to thinke. For those thy moost bounteous gyftes and for al other thy benefites, whiche thou dayly geuest vntounto vsus of thy great mercy both for oure bodye and soule, we most hūbly thanke the, mooste gentle and mercyfull father, besechynge the that thou wilt giuegive vsus grace thorow thi holie spyrit not to be vnthākful, but to walke worthy of this thi kindnes and so to behaue ourselfs all our life time in this wretched worlde according to thy holye wyll, that at the last day we may be foūd in ye number of them, to whō thy only begotten sonne, shal say:Mat. xxvi. come ye blessed of my father, po…ses the kyngdome, whiche was prepared for you from the beginninge of ye world. Lord let it so come to passe