The Principles of Christian Religion, Principle 2
¶Of Prayer.
¶What Prayer is.
PRayer is a lifting vp of a pure minde vntounto God, wherein we aske somewhat of God that is agreable to hys holy will.
☞Probations out of the holy Scriptures.
We know not what we shoulde desire & pray for as we ought,Rom. viij. nevertheles the spirite it self maketh intercession mightely for vsus, with vnspeakeable gronings. Howbeit, he that searcheth the hart, knoweth what the minde of the spirite is: for hee maketh intercession for the sainctes, according to ye pleasure of God.
The tyme commeth,Iohn. iiij. and is now already, that the true worshippers shall worship in spirite and truth. For y• father will hauehave such to worship him. God is a spirite, and they that worship him, must worship him in spirite and truth.
We are the circumcision,Phil. iij. euen we that serue God in spirite.
I will that all men pray in all places,j. Tim. ij. lifting vp pure hādes without wrath and strife.
This people honoureth me with their lips,Math. …j. but their hartes is farre from me, verily they worship me in vaine.
Aske and it shall be geuen you:Math. vij. Seeke and ye shall finde: knocke and it shall bee opened vntounto you. For whosoeuer asketh, receaueth: and he that seketh, findeth: and to hym y• knocketh, it shall be opened.
Thys is the trust that we hauehave in God,j. Iob. v. that if we aske any thyng according to hys will, hee heareth vsus. And if we know that he heareth vsus whatsoeuer we aske, we know that we hauehave the peticious that we desire of hym.
What benefites we receaue of God by prayer.
By prayer we are deliuered out of trouble.
☞Probations out of the holy Scriptures.
When I was in trouble,Psal. …xx. I called vponupon the Lorde, and hee graciously heard me.
Call on me in the day of trouble,Psal. l. and I will deliuer thee, and thou shalt honour me.
He shall call vpō me,Psal. xcj. and I will heare hym: yea, I am with him in trouble, I will deliuer hym, and bring hym to honour.
When any man in hys trouble did turne vntounto the Lorde God of Israell,2. Chro. 15 and sought hym, hee was found of hym.
By prayer we are preserued from our enemyes.
☞Probations out of the holy Scriptures.
I will call vpō the Lord whichPsal. xix. is worthy to be praysed: so shall I be safe from myne enemyes.
King Ezechias by prayer was deliuered from the proude wicked tyraunt Senacherib,4. Reg. 19. both hee and all hys.
So likewise was Ioseph, Daniell, Susanna, Peter. &c.
By prayer we get the victory of our enemies in battell.
☞Probations out of the holy Scriptures.
The people of Israell gotte the victory ouer the Amalechites,Exod. xvij. so long as Moyses prayed for them.
When the blacke Mores came out to fight agaynst Asa King of Iuda,2. Chro. 14 Asa prayed vntounto the Lorde, and the Lorde gaue him the victory, so that all his enemies were destroyed in battell. Read ye chapter.
Iudas Machabeus after he had called on the name of the Lord,1. Mach. 4. got a noble victory of Gorgias and his company.
By prayer we obtaine health of body.
☞Probations out of the holy Scriptures.
The miracles which Christ wrought vponupon thē that were diseased, & fled vntounto hym for helpe with faythfull prayer, proue this true.
By prayer we obtaine all thinges necessary for the body.
☞Probations out of the holy Scriptures.
Moyses by prayer obtained Mā na from heauen for the Israelites.Exod. xvj
Helias by prayer obtained raine of God to water the earth.3. Reg. 18.
By prayer our sinnes are forgeuen vsus.
☞Probations out of the holy Scriptures.
I sayd I will confesse my sinnes vntounto the Lord,Psa. xxxij and thou forgauest the wickednes of my sinne. For this shall eueryevery one that is godly, make his prayer to thee, in a time when thou mayest be found.
I forgaue thee all that det,Mat. xvij. whē thou desiredst me.
The sinfull Publicaue prayingLuk xviij for remission of hys sinnes, went home more righteous in the sight of God, then the proud Pharisey.
If any be diseased among you,Iacob. v. let him call for the elders of the cō gregation, and let them pray ouer him, and annoint him with oyle in the name of ye Lorde, and the prayer of fayth shall saue the sicke, and the Lord shall raise hym vp: and if he be in sinnes, they shall be forgeuen hym.
By prayer we ouercome the deuill, and all our ghostly enemies.
☞Probations out of the holy Scriptures.
Thys kinde of deuils is not cast out but by prayer and fasting.Mat. viij.
Watch and pray,Mat. 26. that ye fall not into temptation. The spirite is willing, but the fleshe is weake.
By prayer we obtaine God the holy Ghost.
☞Probations out of the holy Scriptures.
If ye which are euill,Luke. xj. can geue your children good giftes, how much more shall your father which is in heauen, geue the holy ghost to them that desire it of hym.
As the disciples of Christ were gathered together in one place,Acte. j. ij. and continued in prayer, they were all filled with the holy ghost.
By prayer we obtaine all good thinges, both for the body and soule.
☞Probations out of the holy Scriptures.
What thinges soeuer ye desire whē ye pray,Marke. xj. beleue that ye receaue them, and ye shall hauehave them.
The haruest is much,Math. ix. but the labourers are fewe. Pray ye therfore the Lorde of ye haruest, that he will send labourers into hys haruest.
If any of you lacke wisedome,Iacob. j. let hym aske of hym that geueth it, euen God which geueth to all men indifferently, and casteth no man in the teeth, and it shall bee geuen him. But let him aske in fayth. &c.
The Lord is euen at hand.Phil. iiij. Bee careful for nothing: but in all prayer and supplication, let your peticions bee knowen vntounto God with thank esgeuing.
¶Many other benefites receaue we of God through prayer, which here to rehearse, were to long. Read diligently my booke, called the Pathway vntounto Prayer, and that shall sufficiently instructe thée in all thing…s concerning prayer.
¶The Lordes prayer called the Pater noster, with confirmations of eueryevery Peticion, out of the holy Scripture.
The Disciples sayd vntounto Christ:Luke. xj. Lord teach vsus to pray. And he said vntounto them: when ye pray, say: Our Father which art in heauen, hallowed be thy name. &c.
¶The Preface of the Lordes Prayer.
OVr Father which art in heauen.
☞The confirmations.
Our Father.
Is not the Lord God the father and thine honour?Es…. lxiij. Hath hee not made thee & ordayned thee? Thou O Lorde God, art our father and redemer.
HaueHave we not all one father?Malac. 2. Hath not God made vsus? no …hy doth eueryevery one of vsus then despise hys owne brother?
Should not a sonne honour his father,Malac. j. and a seruaunt hys master? If I bee now a Father, where is myne honour? If I bee a Lorde, where is my feare?
Ye hauehave not receaued the spirite of bondage to feare any more,Rom. viij. but ye hauehave receaued y• spirite of adoption, wherby we cry, Abba (that is to say) father. The same spirite certifieth our spirite, that we are the sonnes of God. If we bee sonnes, then are we also heyres, the heyres I meane of God, & fellow heyres annexed with Christ.
Which art in Heauen.
Heauē is my seate▪ Esa. lxvj.and the earth is my footestoole.
The Lorde hath prepared his seate in heauen.Psal. cij.
Our God is in heauen,Psal. …xv. hee doth whatsoeuer pleaseth hym.
Unto thee lift I vp myne eyes,Psal. ciij. which dwellest in the heauens.
Call no man father vponupon earth,Mat. xxi…. for one is your father, which is in heauen.
¶The first Peticion.
HAllowed bee thy name.
☞The confirmations.
I will make the name of my holines to be knowen amōg my people of Israell,Ezech. 39. and I wil not let my holy name to be euill spoken of any more, but y• very heathen also shall know that I am the Lord, the holy one of Israell.
The time shall come,Ioell. 2. that who soeuer calleth on the name of the Lord, shall be saued.
From the rising vppe of the Sunne,Malac. j. vntounto the going downe of the same, my name is great among the Gentries, yea, and that in all places.
The Lord gaue,Iob. j. and the Lorde hath taken away. Now blessed bee the name of the Lord.
Sing vntounto the Lorde,Psal. ix. and prayse hys name. Bee telling of hys saluation from day to day. Declare hys honour among the Heathen and hys wonders among all people.
I will declare thy name vntounto my brethren.Psal. xxj. In the middest of the congregation will I prayse thee.
The name of the Lord is a strong Tower,Pro. xviij the righteous flyeth vntounto it, and shall be saued.
By Christ do we offer the sacrifice of prayer alwayes vntounto God,Heb. xiij. that is to say, ye fruite of those lips which confesse hys name.
¶The second Peticion.
THy Kingdome come.
☞The confirmations.
Seeke fyrst the kingdome of God,Math. vj. and the righteousnes therof, and all thynges shall be ministred vntounto you.
The kingdome of heauen suffereth violence,Mat. xj. & the violent plucke it vntounto them.
Who soeuer receaueth not the kingdome of God as a childe,Luk. xvi… hee shall not enter into it.
Except a man be borne of water and of the spirite,Iohn. iij. he can not enter into the kingdome of God.
The kingdome of God is not meate and drinke,Rom. xiiij but righteousnes, peace, & ioy in the holy ghost.
The kingdome of God is not in wordes,j. Cor. iiij. but in power.
¶The third Peticion.
THy will be done, as in heauen, so likewyse in earth.
☞The confirmations.
Teach me (O Lorde) to doe thy will,Psal. cxlij. for thou art my God.
Not eueryevery one that sayth vntounto me,Math. viij. Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdome of heauen, but hee that doth the will of my father which is in heauen.
Whosoeuer doth the will of my father which is in heauen,Mat. xij. he is my brother, sister, and mother.
This is the will of him that sent me,Iohn. vj. that whosoeuer seeth y• sonne, and beleueth on him, hath euerlasting life.
Fashion not your selues lyke vntounto thys world,Rom. xij. but bee ye chaunged through the renuing of your mind, that ye may proue, what thing that good and acceptable and perfecte will of God is.
This is the will of God,1. Thess. 4. euen your sanctifying, that ye abstaine from whoredome, that eueryevery one of you know how to keepe his vessell in hol…es and honour, and not in the lust of concupiscence, as the heathen do which know not God.
For asmuch as Christ hath suffered for vsus in the flesh,j. Pet. iiij…. arme ye your selues likewise with ye same minde. For he which suffereth in the flesh, ceaseth from sinne, that hee from hence forth shoulde liue (as long time as he remayneth in the flesh) not after the lustes of men, but after the will of God. For it is sufficient for vsus, that we hauehave spent the time that is past of the life, after the will of the Gentiles, walking in wantonnes, lustes, excesse of drinking, and abominable idolatry.
¶The fourth Peticion.
GEue vsus this day our dayly bread.
☞The confirmations.
I hauehave bene younge & now am old,Psal. 37. & yet saw I neuer ye righteous forsakē, nor hys sede begging their bread. He is euer mercif… and lendeth, & yet hauehave his children Gods plentie and inough.
The eyes of all waite vponupon thee (O Lorde) and thou geuest them their meate in due season.Esa. cxlv. Thou openest thy hand, and fillest eueryevery liuing creature with thy blessing.
The Lorde will not let the soule of ye righteous suffer hunger:Prou. x. but he taketh away ye riches of ye vngodly.
The blessing of the Lord maketh men rich: as for carefull trauaile, it doth nothyng therto.
Two thinges hauehave I required of thee,Pro…. xxx. that thou wilt not deny me before I dye. Remoue from me vanitie and lies. Geue me neither pouertie nor riches, onelyonly graunt me a necessary liuing, least if I be too full, I denie thee, and say: who is the Lord? And least I being constrayned through pouertie, fall vntounto stealing, and forsweare y• name of my God.
Be not careful for your life,Mat. vj. what ye shall eate or drinke, nor yet for your body, what rayment ye shall weare. Is not the life more worth then meate? and the body more of value then rayment? Read forth the chapter.
Cast all your care on God,j. Pet. v. for he careth for you.
¶The fift Peticion.
ANd forgeue vsus our debtes, as we forgeue our debters.
☞The confirmations.
And forgeue vsus.
I am he,Esa. xlv. yea, I am he, which put away thine iniquities, and that for mine owne sake, and will remēber thy sinnes no more.
As for thine offences,Esa. xliiij. I driue thē away like the cloudes, & thy sinnes as the miste. Turne thee again vntounto me, and I will deliuer thee.
God is the king which forgeueth hys seruaunt the ten thousand talentes.Mat. xviij
No man can forgeue sinne but God alone.Marke. ij.
God is the most louing father,Luke. v. and .xv. which ioyfully receaueth home againe hys lost sonne, when hee repenteth and conuerteth.
Our debtes.
They are all gone out of ye way,Psal. xiiij. they are altogether abominable, there is none that doth good, no not one.
Who can tell,Psal. xix. how oft hee offendeth? Oh clense thou me from my secrete faultes.
Who can say,Prou. xx. my hart is cleane, I am free from sinne.
There is not one righteous mā in all the earth,Eccle. vij. that doth good, and sinneth not.
Behold,Iob. iiij. xv. xxv. God hath found vnfaithfulnes among his own Sainctes, Yea, y• very heauens is vncleane in hys sight. How much more then abominable and vile is mā, which drincketh wickednes lyke water.
All the children of men are wicked,3. Esa. 4. & all their workes are nought, neither is there any truth in them.
All are hypocrites and wicked.Esa ix.
We are all become vncleane,Esa. …xiiij. and all our righteousnesses are as a cloth polluted with menstrue.
We are all vnprofitable seruants.Luk xvij.
All hauehave sinned,Rom. iij. and want the glory of God.
If we say we hauehave no sinne,j. Iohn. j. we deceaue our selues, and the truth is not in vsus. But if we confesse our sinnes, God is faithfull and righteous to forgeue vsus our sinnes, and to make vsus cleane frō all iniquitie.
As we forgeue our debters.
He that seeketh vengeance shall finde vengeance of ye Lorde,Eecle. 28. which shall surely keepe hym hys sinnes. Forgeue thy neighbour the hurt that he hath done thee, and so shall thy sinnes bee forgeuen thee also, when thou prayest. A man that beareth hatred agaynst an other, how dare hee desire forgeuenes of God? He that sheweth no mercy to a man which is lyke him selfe, how dare he aske forgeuenes of his sinnes? If he that is but fleshe, beareth hatred and kepeth it, who will intreate for hys sinnes? Remember the ende, and let emnitie passe.
If ye forgeue other men their trespasses,Mat. vj. the heauenly Father shal forgeue you. But if ye wil not forgeue men their trespasses, no more shall your Father forgeue you your trespasses.
When ye stand & pray,Marke. xj. forgeue if ye hauehave ought against any mā, that your father also which is in heauē, may forgeue you your trespasses.
Forgeue,Luke. vj. and it shalbe forgeuen vntounto you.
Forbeare one an other,Coloss. iij. and forgeue one an other. If any man hauehave a quarell agaynst an other, like as Christ hath forgeuen you, euen so do ye likewise.
Christ forgaue his persecutors,Luk. xxiij and prayed for them saying: father forgeue them, for they know not what they do.
S. Stephen forgaue his enemies,Acte. vij. and prayed for them on thys maner: O Lord lay not this sinne to their charge.
¶The sixt Peticion.
ANd lead vsus not into temptation.
☞The confirmations.
My Sonne,Eccle ij. if thou wilt come into the seruice of God, stand fast in righteousnes and feare, & arme thy soule to temptation. &c.
Watch and pray that ye fall notMat. xxvj into temptation. The spirite is willing, but the flesh is weake.
Blessed is the man that standeth fast in temptation.Iacob. j. For when he is tried, he shall receiue the crowne of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that louelove him.
Let no man say whē he is tempted that he is tempted of God: For as God cannot be tempted with euill, so neither he himselfe tempteth any man vntounto euill. But eueryevery mā is tempted, when he is drawen away, and entised of his owne concupiscence. Then when lust hath conceaued, she bringeth forth sinne, and sinne when it is done in deede bringeth forth death.
¶The seuenth Peticion.
Bvt deliuer vsus from euill.
☞The confirmations.
Sathan hath desired after you,Luk. xxij. y• he might sift you euen as wheat. But I hauehave prayed for thee, O Simon, yt thy faith may not faile: And when thou arte conuerted, strength thy brethren.
God is faithfull,j. Cor. ij. which will not suffer you to be tēpted aboue your strength: but shall in the middest of the temptation, make a way to come out, that ye may bee able to beare it.
Be sober and watch,j. Pet. v. for your aduersary the deuill walketh about like a roaring Lion seeking whō he may deuour. Whome resist stedfast in the fayth.
The Lord knoweth how to deliuer the godly out of the temptation.ij. Pet. ij.
We knowe that whosoeuer is borne of God,j. Ioh. v. sinneth not, but hee that is begotten of God keepeth himselfe, and that wicked toucheth him not.
¶The conclusion of the Lordes Prayer.
FOr thine is the kingdome, and the power, and the glory, for euer and euer.
☞The confirmations.
Blessed be thou Lorde God of Israel our father for euer and euer.1. Chro. 29. Thine (O Lord) is might, power, glory, victory, and prayse: for all that is in heauen and in earth, is thine: thine is the kingdome, O Lord, and thou excellest aboue all, euen as the head of all. Thine are the riches, treasures, honour & dominion ouer all, and in thy handes is the vertue, might, power, excellencie, empire, and rule vppon and aboue all thinges. Wherfore now (O our God) we geue laude, prayse, and glory to thy most noble name.
Of hym,Rom. xj. and through hym, and in hym, are all thinges. To hym be prayse for euer.
To God,Rom. xvj. which alone is wife, be glory through Iesus Christ for euer.
Unto hym that is able to do exceding aboundantly aboue all that we aske or thinke,Ephe. iij. according to the power yt worketh in vsus, bee praise in the congregation by Christ Iesus, throughout all ages, worlde without end.
Unto God, king euerlasting,j. Tim. j. immortall, inuisible, alone wyse, bee honour, and glory, for euer & euer.
Thou art worthy (O Lorde) to receaue glory,Apoc. iiij. and honour, & power, for thou hast created all things, and for thy wills sake, they were and are created.
Blessing,Apoc. v. honour, glory, & power, be vntounto hym that sitteth vppon the seate, and vntounto the Lambe for euer more, Amen.
¶All these Peticions, I vndoubtedly beleue that I shall inioye, when soeuer I aske them in fayth of God my heauenly father, through Iesus Christ our Lord.