The Pomander of Prayer, Prayer 39 – Prayer 42
¶ A prayer to our Lorde Iesus Christe, called Conditor celi et terrae.
OH maker of heauen and earth, king of kinges, & Lorde of Lordes, whiche of nothing didst ma…e me to thy image and likenes, & didst redeem me with thine owne precious bloud, whō I a siner am not wurthy to name, neither to call vponupon, neither wt my hart to think vponupon, humbli I desire thee, and meekly pray thee, that gentli thou doo beholde me thy wicked seruaūt, & hauehave merci on me, whiche hadest merry on the womā of Cā nane, and of Mari Magda lē, whiche didst forgeue the …, & the theef hanging on ye cros. Unto the I confes, O most holy father, my sīnes which if I would, I cannot hide from thee. HaueHave mercy on me Christe, for I a wretche hauehave sore of fended thee, in pride, in couetousnes, in glotony, in lechery, in vainglory, in hatred, in enuy, inadultry, in theft, in lying in backbitīg, in sporting, in dissolute and wanton laughing, in idle wurds, in hearing, in tasting, in touching, in thinking, in sleping, in wurking, & in all wayes, in whiche I a fraill man, & moste wretched sinner might sinne. Mi default, my moste greuous default. Therfore I moste hūbly pray & beseech thy gē tlenes, which (for my helth) descended frō heuē, whiche didst holde vp king Dauid, that he should not fall into sin. HaueHave mercy on me, oh Lorde hauehave merci on me (O Christe) the which didst for geue Peter, that did forsake thee. Thou art my creatour and my helper, my maker, & my redeemer, mi gouernor, my father, my lord, my god, and my king. Thou art my hope, my trust, my gouerner, my help, my cōfort, my strength, my defence, my redemption, my life, my helth and my resurrection. Thou art my stedfastnes, my refuge or succour, my light & my help, I moste humbly & hartely desire and pray thee help me, defēd me, make me strong and cōfort me, make me stedfast, make me mery, geue me light and visit me, reuiue me again, which am dead. For I am thy makīg & thy wurk (oh Lorde) despise me not, I am thy seruant thy bondmā, although euill, although vnwurthy, & a sinner. But whatsoeuer I am, whether I bee either good or bad, I am euer thine. Therfore to whom shall I flee, except I flee vntounto the if thou cast me of, who shal or will receiue me? If thou despise me, & turn thy face from me, who shal look vppon me? Recognise & knowledg me? (although vnwurthy (comming to thee, allthough I be vile & vnclene, for if I be vile and vnclene, thon canst make me clene, If I be sick, thou canst heal me. If I be dead & buried, thou canst reuiue me. For thy merci is much more, thē mine iniquitie, thou cāst forgeue me more thē I can offend. Therfore, Oh lorde, doo not cōsider nor hauehave respect to the number of my sinnes, but according to the greatnes of thy merci forgeue me, and hauehave mercy on me most wretched sinner. Say vntounto my soule, I am thy helth, which saidst: I will not the death of a sinner, but rather that he liue and be conuerted, & turn to thee. Oh lorde bee not angry with me, I pray thee moste meek father for thy great mercy, I most humbely secheech thee, that thou bring me to the blis, that neuer shall ceas.
Amē.
¶ For the glory of heauen.
THe ioyes (o lorde) which thou hast prepared for them yt louelove thee, no eye hath seen, no eare hath heard nether is any hart able to thīk But as the ioyes ar great & vnspeakeable, so ar there few that doo enioy them. For straight is the gate and narow is the way, whiche leadeth vntounto life, and few there be that find it.
Notwithstanding, O heauenly father, thou hast a litle flocke, to whom it is thy pleasure to geue ye glorious kingdom of heauē. Ther is a certaine number of sheep, that heare thy voice, whom no man is able to pluck out of thy hand, whiche shal neuer perish to whō also thou shalt geue eternall life.
Make me therfore: O lorde of that number, whom thou frō euerlasting hast predestinate to bee saued, whose names also are written in the book of life. Pluck me out of the cōpany of ye stinkking gotes, whiche shal stād on thy left hand & be damned, & place me among those thy sheep, whiche shal stand on thy right hand and be saued. Graunt me this, o mer cifull Father, for thy deere sonnes sake Iesu Christ our Lorde. So shal I enioying this singular benefite at thy hand, & being placed in thy glorious kingdom, sing per petuall praises to thy godly maiestie, whiche liuest and reignest with thy deerely beloued sonne, and the holy ghost one true and euerlasting God. &c.
¶ A thanks geuing vntounto God for all his benefites.
THy benefites, toward me O moste louing Father, are so great & infinite whether I hauehave respect vntomy body or vntounto my soule, that I finde not in my self how to recompence any part of thine vnspeakable goodnes toward me. But yu whiche needest none of my goods, knowing our beggery, yea ournothing, requirest of vsus for a recompēce of thy kindnes only ye sacrifice of praise and thanks geuing, o lorde and mercifull father, what wurthi thanks am I pore & wretched sīner able to geue the? Notwtstāding trusting on thy merci & fauorable kīd nes, I offer vntounto thee in the name of Christe the sacrifice of praise, euer thanking the moste hartely for all thy benefites, whiche thou hast be stowed vponupon me thine vnprofitable seruaūt from the beginning of my life vntounto this presēt houre, moste hū bly beseeching the to continew thy louing kindnes to ward me, and to geue me grace to walke wurthy of this thy fatherly goodnes, that whē thou shalt call me out of this carefull life, I may enioy yt thy moste singulare last benefite, whiche is euerlasting glori through Iesus Christe our Lord, to whom with thee and the ho li ghost be al honour & praise for euer and euer.
Amen.
¶ A praier to be said at the houre of death.
O Lorde Iesu, whiche art the only helth of all mē liuing & the euerlasting life of thē which die in thy faith. I wretched sinner geue and submit my self wholy vntounto thy most blessed wil. And I being sure that the thing cā not perish whiche is cōmitted vntounto thy merci. O lord, geue me grace that willingly I may leaue this fraill & wicked fleshe in hope of the resurrection, whiche in better wise shal restore it to me agaī, I beseeche thee, moste merciful lorde (Iesus christ) that thou wilt by thy grace make strōg my soule agaīst all temptacions. And that thou wilt couer and defend me with the buckler of thy mercy against all ye assaults of the deuill. I see & knowledge ye there is in my self no help of saluation. But al my confidence, hope, & trust is in thy moste mercifull goodnes, I hauehave no merits nor good wurks, whiche I may alledge before thee. Of my sinns & euill wurks (alas) I see a great hepe, but thorow thy mercy I trust to be in the number of them to whom thou wilt not impute their sinnes: but take & accept me for rightuos and iust & to be ye enheritour of euerlasting life. Thou mercifull Lorde wast borne for my sake, yu didst suffer bothe hunger & thirst, for my sake thou didst preache & teache, thou didst pray and fast for my sake, thou didst al good wurks & deeds for my sake. Thou sufferedst moost greuous paines and torments for my sake. And finally, thou gauest thy moste precious body to die, & thy bloud to be shed on the cros for my sake. Now moste mercifull sauiour, let all these things profit me, whiche thou freely hast geuen me, that hast geuē thy self for me. Let thy bloud clense and washe away the spots and foulnes of my sinnes. Let thy righte ousnes hide & couer my vnrighteousnes. Let the merites of thy passion & bloud be satisfaction for my sinnes Geue me Lorde thy grace that my faith and saluation in thy bloud, wauer not in me, but euer be firm & constant, that the hope of thy mercy and life euerlasting neuer decay in me, that charitie wax not colde in me, finally, that the weaknes of my fleshe bee not ouercome with fear of death. Graunt me (mercifull sauiour) that whē death hath shut vp the eies of my body, yet that the eyes of my soule may stil beholde and look vponupon thee, that when death hath takē away the vse of my tung & spech, yet that my hart may cry & say vntounto thee. In manus tuas domine commendo spiritum meū, that is to say (O Lorde, into thy hāds I geue and commit my soule. Domine Iesu accipe spiritum meum. Lorde Iesu receiue my soule vntounto thee.
Amen.