A New Pathway Unto Prayer, Part 6
¶ For what thynges we ought to praye.
¶ The. xxix. Chapter.
FOr asmuche as we are so ignorant & blynde of oureselues ye we knowe not what we shoulde desyre,Rom. viii. as we ought, vnles we shoulde aske ony thynge vnsyttynge, & otherwyse than becommeth vsus, or that shoulde not be acceptable to God, our sauiour Christ wyilyng in this behalfe to succour our necessite,Mat. vi. & to helpe our ignorācy & blyndnes, hath appoynted & set forth as it were in a certaine table the true mā ner of prarenge in the Pater noster, wher he hath cōpendiously declared for what thynges we ought to pray eyther pertaynynge to the glorye of God, or to the profitte of so many as professe his moost holy name. And although eueryevery daye and eueryevery houre doth offer to vsus occasions sufficiently for to praye vntounto God, yea & that for innumerable causes, yet it maye seme that Christ i that prayer which he taught his disciples, hath in sewe wordes comprehended whatsoeuer we hauehave nede to praye for.The glory of God oughte we to seake…t our prayers chefely Therfore who soeuer at any tyme shal be mynded to praye, let hym aboue all thynges seke the auauncement of Gods glory in his prayer. For the fyrst peticion of the Pater noster, with the nexte two that followe, pertayne only to the glory of GOD, wherin we aske that the name of God maye be sanctified, ye his kingdōe may reigne amonge vsus, that his wyll maye be done here in earthe as it is in heauē. So lykewyse dyd Christe a lytle before his passion,Ioan. xii. pray, sayeng: O father glorify thy name. Goddes glory therfore ought we to seke aboue all thinges in our prayers at al tymes
After that we hauehave sought ye glory of God,Secondly for our soules health. place requireth that then we should aske those thynges, which pertaine vntounto the euerlasting helth & saluacion of oure soules. For the helth of our soules oughte to be desyred before the welthe of our body, as Christ monyssheth, fyrst seke ye kingedome of God and the righteousnesse therof.Mat vi. And all these thynges (he speketh of meate, dryncke & clothe) shall be caste vntounto you. Dauid also sayth one thyng hauehave I desyred of ye LORD whiche I wyll require,Psal. xxvi namely that I maye dwell in ye house of ye LORDE all the dayes of my lyfe.
And in asmuch as the syncer prechyngeChyr…el… or ye promocion of gods worde. of Gods word helpeth much vntounto the saluacion of our soules (for the Gospell of Christ is the power of God vntounto saluacion for eueryevery one ye beleueth,Rom. 1. Deut viii. Mat. iiii. Rom. x. & a mā shall not lyue with bre…d alone, but with eueryevery worde ye commeth out of the mouth of God, for fayth commeth by …earyng, and hearynge by y• worde of God) it shal be necessarye for vsus to praye ye Gods worde maye hauehave fre passage among vsus, & that all wicked doctrine, supersticious teachynge, heresy, …strall opinions, sictes & all that euer is cō trary to wholsome doctryne, maye be exiled & banisshed out of Christes chyrch. Praye for those thynges, sal… eth Dauid,Psal. …xxi. that make vntounto ye peace of Ierusalem, that is, vntounto the safe, quiet, lucky, & prosperous preseruacion of Christes chyrch, that the doctryne of the gospel, which bryngeth peace & quietnes to the hertes of the faythfull, maye triūphantly reygne amonge vsus.Luk. i. Forthly for the ministers of Gods worde. But in asmuch as this Euangelion and glad tydynges of christ cā neuer be ministred to ye christen congregacion withoute syncer & true preachers of the worde, therfore oughte …e also praye, ye at Ante christes, Papistes, Heretikes, Schismatyckes, & sedicious praters submoued & put asyde, true Euangelystes,Rom. xi faythefull Prophetes, & sync…r Preachers, maye reygne among vsus vniuersallye. For howe shall they preach,mat. ix. except they be sent. Therfore sayth Christ, praye vntounto the LORDE of ye Heruest, that he may shoreforth workemen into his Heruest.
Moreouer seynge that we hauehave …uot only a soule but also a body,Fy…tely for … magistrates o ye publique weale. and God hathe appoynted ministers for them hath, it shall alio be conueniēt accordyng to the admonicion of S. Paule, to praye for the magistrates of ye publique weale, as for our most …edoubted & moost excellent kynge, & for all other that are in authoritie, that we maye lead a peasable & quiet lyfe, vnderunder theyr dominion wyth all godlynes and honestye.1. Eim. ii. Syrtely for corporall thynges.After these thynges it shal not be vnsyttynge to praye for thynges necessary for our body, as meate, drike cloth, frēdshyp, helth, wisdom, knowledge, reason. &c. yet in the requeste of al these thīges aforesayd, we must referre the matter whollye vntounto the wyll of God, & be cōtēted to receaue as it shall be his pleasure to gyue, eyther much, lytle, or nothynge.
Of god a louelove we oughte to aske all good thynges.To be short, what soeuer we hauehave nede of, we must streight wayes run vntounto God & aske it of him only, why ther it pertayneth to the soule or to the body, whiche gyuethe to all men without doublenes, & casteth no mā into the tethe, as S. Austen sayeth: We ought to aske of none but of the LORDE God,E…ench…. ad Laurē cap. cx…ii. what soeuer we truste that we eyther should worke well, or obtayne for good workes.
¶ The. xxx. Chapter.
BUt this is to be noted in prayer that in asmuche as all that professe Christ vnfaynedly, hauehave one cō mō & heauēly father, & are brothers one to another yee brothers to christ & fellowe heyres with hym,Rom. viii. & seynge that Christe also hath taught vsus in his moost godly prayer, not onlye to praye for oure selues, but also for all other in common,Mat. vi. it shall be necessary that a christē man doth so directe his prayer vntounto God, that he maye seme no lesse to seke in it the helpe of his Christen brothers, than of hymselfe. For true & vnfayned Charite, which procedeth from a pure herte & a good conscience, & a fayth not fayned, seketh not her owne,i. Tim. …. i. Cor. xiii. but rather that whiche pertaynethe to other. She reioyceth no lesse in the health of other than in her owne.Beholde what charite doth. She taketh no lesse thought to profit other than her selfe. She reioyceth wyth them that reioyce,Rom. xii. i. Cor. xiii. & wepeth wt them that wepe. Yea she many tymes forgetteth her selfe, & is wholly bent to seke the commoditie of other, as S. Paule sayth,Exo. xxxii. Charite seketh not her owne. We read that such feruēt charite was in Moses, which whan the people of Israell had greuously offē ded God by worshippynge the goldē Calfe, perceyuynge ye wrath of God to be whotte agaynst thē, prayed on this manner & sayde, oh this people hauehave done a greate synne, and hauehave made them Goddes of golde. Nowe forgyue thē theyr synne, or els wipe me out of this boke,Rom. ix. that thou hasle wryttē. S. Paule also wyssted hymselfe to be cursed from Christ for the Israelites. Christ commaundeth to blesse thē that cursse vsus,mat. v. to praye for thē that do vsus wrōge & persecute vsus howe much more than ought we, seynge ther is one bo…y & one spirite,Ephe. iiii. one LORDE, one sayth, one baptisme one God & father of vsus all, to praye one for another generally in the vnite of the spiryte thorowe the bond of peace. If we search in the Histories of the moost sacred Byble, we shal in manny places fynde and euidently perceyue with howe gredy affeccion and feruent minde one prayed for another, so ye there was in theyr prayers a certayne godly cōmunion, & a l…ke thought or care for all mē.Note this similytude. For as he that loueth ye father of ye house holde vnfaynedly, doth also louelove her tely all his whole familye, so in lyke manner they that louelove our celestial father with a true affecte & mynde, can none otherwise do but louelove also his people, his householde. his heritage,Ephe. i. whom he hath so greatly honored ye he hathe not disdayned to call them the plenitude & fulnesse of hys onlye begotten sonne.Our prayers ought to be cōmō. Therfore the prayer of a Christen man oughte on such māner to be made, that it may be common & cōprehende in it all mē that are his brothers in Christ, and pertayne to the housholde of fayth. Yea he ought to praye for all men lyuyng in this world, be they Turkes Saracēnes, Iewes or ony other of the hethenysh & vnfaythfull sorte, ye God maye delyuer them by this holy spiryte out of the darkenesses of ygnorancy, & brynge them into ye meruaylous lyghte of his mooste blessed worde, that in the vnite of the Spirite they maye also confesse with vsus one LORDE, one God, one sauyoure, one faythe, one Christen religion, & one trueth.
A questionBut some men wyll say peraduē ture, is it not lawefull for a man to praye seuerally for himselfe, & for his owne priuate affayres?The aunswere. Yies verely, so that the mynde be not vtterly deflected & turned awaye from the cō templacion of this cōmunite, but referreth all thynges vntounto that.mat. xxvi For Christ prayed perticularely for hymselfe vntounto hys Father a lytle before his passion.i…ii. Reg. xx Esa. xxxviii. Psa i. Luke. xviii math. xxvi Ezechias prayed for his owne health. Dauid prayed for the remission of his synne. The Publycane desyred mercy & forgyuenes of his offence. The these desyred Christ to remember hym, whan he came in to his kyngedome. All theise prayed theyr owne priuate affayres, & were hearde. Semblably it is lawfull for eueryevery Christen man to lamente his owne cause before the mercyful eies of the diuyne maieste.
Arte thou a magistrate & gouernoure of the common weale,Magistrate perceyuynge that thou wanteste wisdome to gouerne the people of God aright & accordyng to iustyce.iii. Re. iii. Than mayst thou lawfully pray wt Salomon to God for the gyfte of wisdome.
Arte thou a minister of Goddes worde,Minister of Gods Lord so mayst thou after the example of the Apostles pray for the influence of the holy Ghost, that ye mayst be repleted with the knowledge of spiritual thynges,Act. i. & so feed the flocke of Christ,Act. xx. whome he hath purchased we his moost precious bloud,i. Pet. v. that thou mayst receiue ye īmarcessible crowne of glory, whan that Prynce of shepe heardes shall appeare.
Housholder.Arte y• an housholder? thā mayst thou lawefullye praye vntounto God for grace, that thou mayst gouerne and rule thy family accordynge to Goddes moost holy worde.
Rytch mā.Arte thou a rytch man, thā oughtest thou for to pray vntounto God, that thou mayeste distribute his goodes cōmytted vntounto the accordyng to his pleasure vponupon the poore people. Arte thou poore?Poore mā than pray to God that thou mayst paciently suffer the crosse of pouerte, which he hath layd vponupon the.Bi…iō …. Felest thou ony vyce to raygne in the▪ So mayeste thou be …olde to praye vntounto GOD for the suppression of that vyce, and for the obtaynynge of ye vertue cōtrary to the vyce.
To be shorte,Christen man arte thou a Christē man? So mayst thou at al tymes be bolde to praye that God maye so endewe the with strength from aboue, that thou mayst lyue in all poyntes accordynge to thy profession.
¶ The. xxxi. Chapter.
BUt in thus prayenge for our selues we must take hede, that we desyre not those thīges, which should turne to oure owne priuate auauntage, & to the hynderaunce or discō moditie of other. For this is not acceptable in ye syght of God.Math. xx. Mar. x. The chyldren of Zebedeus desyred Christe. ye one of them might sitte on his right hande, & another on his lyfte hande. But Christ answered and sayde, ye knowe not what ye aske. They desyred the primacy, & to be alofte in superioryte aboue a… ye disciples, which made the other to hauehave indignacion at them b… the.Nota That Peticion therfore is not lawefull nor ryghteous, whiche hathe a respecte more to pryuate auauntage thē to publique vt… lite.Examples As yf a Phisicion shoulde praye that many might faull sycke or that they that are sycke, myght so contynue longe, that he myghte hauehave the more auaūtage. Or yf an heyre dyd praye that his parentes myght dye wortly, that ye heritage myght quickely chaunse vntounto hym. Or yf a wicked Souldiour dyd desyre that many temples might be spoyled, and diuers honest men robbed, ye he myght come home looden with proyes and robberies.
These & such lyke requestes, in as muche as they come for the from the fleshe, and not frō the spiryte, God, whiche is a spiryte,Ioan. iiii. dothe not heare thē,Ia. iiii. as S. Iames sayth, ye aske and receyue not, bycause ye aske euell, ye ye maye consume it on your pleasures. And yf he heareth, certes he heareth vntounto the great euell & incōmoditie of them ye praye. For they store vppe & prouoke the anger of God towarde them.Ser liii. de ver. Dom. secūd, Ioan S. Austen sayth, thīke it no great thyng to be herd at your owne wyll, but rather thyncke it a great thynge to be heard vntounto your profytte. For the dyuels were herde at theyr owne wyl, & were suffred to go into ye swyne accordyng to theyr desyre.matt. viii. Theyr Prynce also the diuell was heard at his owne wyll, whiche desyred to hauehave Iob & to tempt him.Iob. i. The Israelites also were hearde at theyr owne wyll, & whan the meate was yet in theyr mouthe,Ex. xvi. Num. xi. ye knowe what thynges followed. Thyncke it therfore no great thynge to be heard at youre owne wyll & pleasure. For God sometyme beynge angrye gyueth that, which thou askest, & God beynge mercyfull & well pleased, denyeth that, which thou askest. But yet is theyr prayer much more wicked, which beyng enflamed with the fyre of malicious fury, & furious malyce, do desyre euell to thē selues, that worse maye chaūse vntounto theyr brother, whome they hate. Yea there want not, which not only coulde be content with all theyr hertes to lose one of theyr eyes, so that he, whome they hate, myght lose both, but also, put theyr owne lyues in iopardy to brynge deathe vntounto other. O cruell tyranny. Such peticions be detestable, & are to the desyrers therof, not only much pernicious, but also very damnable, in asmuch as they stonde not with the order of Charite. This also is to be iudged of them, whiche curse and banne such as they hate. Let vsus therfore aske nothynge, but that maketh to the glory of God the auaūcemēt of his moost holy worde, the encrease of vertue, the destruccion of vyce, ye helth of our soules, the conseruacion of the publigue weale, & the profytte of our neyghbour.Not… In all our peticions let vsus submyt our selues to the wyll & pleasure of God nothyng doubtyng but that he wyl graunt vsus that we aske, or els thynges of more weyghtye importaunce & more profitable for our saluacion. For it is not alwaye cōuenient that we shoulde obtayne what soeuer we aske of God. He knowethe muche better what we hauehave nede of, then we our selues do. It is many tymes more expedient for vsus to hauehave scasenes than aboūdaūce, to be vexed wt warres & persecucions thā to enioy carnall securite & flesshely quietnes, to be sick thā to be whole, to be tēted thā to be wtout tētaciō Paule at diuers tymes desyred God yt he myght be delyuered frō ye prych of ye flesshe,ii. Cor. xii… but it was answered my grace is sufficiēt for the, & he reioyced in his in …yrmite & weakenes. Therfore in al thynges let vsus praye for godly & honeste thynges, beynge alwaye contented to receyue, as it shall be Gods moost holy pleasure to gyue.