An Exposition of the Lords Prayer, Part 2 – Part 3
Of the diuers sortes of Prayer.
Q. HOw many sortes of Prayer bée there?
A. Although we hauehave set downe but two in generall, yet vnderunder them are contained many particular kindes.
Q. Show which those be?
A. Petition is two folde:
1. In respect of others.
2. In respect of our selues.
Q. Petition in respect of others, of how many sortes is it?
A. It is of two sortes, either for them. or against them.
Q. Petition for others, how many waies is it?
A. It is either generall, or speciall.
Q. How generall?
A. When it is made for the whole Church of God, militant vponupon the face of the whole earth, as in Psalme 28. 9.Psalm. 28. 9. Saue thy people, and blesse thine inheritance, feede them also, and exalte them for euer.
Q. How is it speciall?
A. When it is made for particular Churches, or persons.
Q. Where finde you, that prayers hauehave béene made for particular Churches?
A. In Rom. 1. 9. 10.Rom. 1. 9. 10. Paul saith, that continually in all his prayers, hee prayed for the Church which was then at Rome. And in Philip. 1. 3. 4.Philip. 1. 3. Hee saith that in like manner he remembred the Church of the Philippians.
Q. Where finde you any praying for particular persons?
A. Dauid prayed for his childe.
The Centurion for his seruant.2. Sam. 12 16.
The womā of Canaā for her daughter.Matth. 8. 6.
The congregation for Peter in prison.Matth. 15. 22.
And Saint Iames saith,Act. 10. 5. Iam. 5. 16. The prayer of a righteous mā auaileth much, if it be feruent.
Q. When is prayer to bée made against others?
A. 1. When we see Gods glory by others defaced.
2. When wee our selues are iniuried, and oppressed by others.
Q. How proue you the first?
A. In Esa. 37. 17.…sa. 37. 17. Hezekiah hearing the railings, and blasphemies of Rabsakah (who was sent by Senacherib for that purpose) fell to prayer saying: Encline thine eare O Lord and heare, open thy eyes, O Lord and see, and heare all the wordes of Senacherib, who hath sent to blaspheme the liuing God.
Act. 4. 24.Act. 4. 24. And when they heard it, they lift vp their voyces to God, with one accord, &c.
Q. How proue you the second?
A. In Exo. 22. 23.Exo. 22. 23. If you vexe, or trouble such, (that is) the widdowe, or fatherles childe, they shall call and crie vntounto me, and I will surely heare their crye.
Apoe. 6. 9.Apo. 6. 9. I sawe vnderunder the altar the soules of them that were killed for the word of God, and for the testimonie which they maintained, and they cried with a loude voyce, saying, How long Lord, holy and true, doest not thou iudge and auenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
Alexander the Coppersmith hath done me much harme (saith S. Paul) the Lorde rewarde him according to his workes. See also in Luke 18. 7. 8.2. Tim. 4. 14.
Q. What say you of Prayers which respect our selues?
A. In them we desire of the Lord two things in generall:
1. To turne away euill things from vsus, and this is called deprecation.
2. To grant vsus good things, which we stand in neede of, & this is called petition.
Q. Where hauehave we any examples of the first?
A. Salomon prayed: Prou. 30. 8. Gen. …2. 11.Remoue from me vanitie, &c. Iacob prayed in like manner. I pray thee deliuer mee from the hand of my brother Esaw, for I feare him, &c.
Q. Where finde you any of the latter?
A. In Salomon, when he saide,Prou. 30. 8. Gen. 24. 27. giuegive me foode conuenient: And in Abrahams seruant, who prayed and saide, O Lorde God of my master Abraham, I beseech thee, send me good speed this day, and shew merciemercy, &c.
Q. When we hauehave occasion to pray against euils & calamities, what course is best to be taken?
A. In these prayers the saints in times past, hauehave vsed two things, which doe also belong to vsus:
1. A confession of their sinne, whereby they deserued that punishment which was vponupon them.
2. A lamentation of their present estate, thereby to set an edge vponupon their prayers.
Q. How proue you this?
A. In Dan. 9. 5.Dan. 9. 5. 6. 7. We hauehave sinned, and hauehave committed iniquitie, and hauehave done wickedly, yea, we hauehave rebelled, and hauehave departed from thy precepts, and from thy iudgements, for we would not obey thy seruants the Prophets, which spake in thy name to our Kinges, to our Princes, to our Fathers, and to all the people of the land: O Lord, righteousnes belongeth vntounto thee, and vntounto vsus open shame, as appeareth this day, &c.
Q. When wee praye for any good thing which wée want, what must wée doe?
A. Wee must acknowledge our owneaGen 32. 10. vnworthienes, and craue it in the bIohn. 16. 33 24.name andcFeuela. 5. 9. worthines of the Lorde Iesus.
Q. When God hath graunted our requests, what is then to be done?
A. We are then to returne thankes vntounto the Lord for the same,Gen. 24. 27. as Abrahams seruant did,Iudges 1. as Deborah did, as Moses & the Israelites did,Exo. 15. 1. as Hanna did, as the Leper did,1. Sam. 2. 1. and as all the faithfull doeLuk. 17. 15.
Q. But in whose name must wée returne our thankesgiuing; in our owne, or in some bodies else?
A. It must not bee in our owne name,Ioh. 16. but in the name and mediation of Iesus Christ, in whome God is well pleased, and in whome all our seruice and sacrifices of prayers and praises must be accepted, or else they are most abominable in his sight.
Of the place of Prayer.
Q. WHere must all these kindes of prayer be made?
A. The place is either generall and vncertaine, according to necessitie and occasion, or speciall, and certaine, according to order, and custome.
Q. How generall?
A. In eueryevery place, or in any place it is lawfull to praye, if occasion doe serue,Gen. 24. 12. as Abrahams seruant prayed in the fielde,Dam. 6. 22. Daniel in the Lyons denne, Paul in prison,Act. 16. 24. 25. Dauid in the wildernes: and to this agreeth the Apostle whe… hee saith: Let men praye eueryevery where, lifting Psalm. 42. 6. 1. Tim. 2. 8.vp pure handes without wrath or doubting.
Q. What place call you a speciall place for prayer, that is according to order?
A. It is of two sortes, either publique or priuate.
Q. Which call you publique prayer?
A. That is, when the Churche of God is mette in a publique place with a publique consent, for publique benefites.
Q. Where hauehave you a warrant for that?
A. Iehosaphat proclaymed a fast through all Iudah,2. Chro. 20. 3. 4. and Iudah gathered themselues together to aske counsell of the Lord.
Peter and Iohn went vp together to the Temple,Act. 3. 1. at the ninth houre of prayer.
Q. These are good examples indeede, but what promise of blessing doe you finde, that God hath made vntounto publique prayer?
A. It is promised as a blessing of it selfe, and a blessing is promised vntounto it besides.
Q. Where is it promised as a blessing?
A. In Esa. 56. 7.Esa. 56. 7. EueryEvery one that keepeth the Sabboth, and polluteth it not, & embraceth my couenant, them will I bring to my holy mountaine, and make them ioyfull in my house of Prayer.
Q. Where is a blessing promised vntounto it?
A. In Math. 18. 19. 20. Verely I say vntounto you,Math. 18. 19. 20. that if two of you shall agree in earth, vponupon any thing, whatsoeuer they shall desire, it shall be giuen them of my Father which is in heauen: for where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the middest of them.
Q. What say you of priuate prayer?
A. Of priuate prayer there be certaine degrees.
Some be
more priuate,
lesse priuate.
Q. When is it the more priuate?
A. When a man sequestreth himselfe from al company, and hath none to heare him but the Lord.
Q. Where hauehave we anie warrant for this?
A. Wee are exhorted vntounto it by the Lord Iesus himselfe, in Mat. 6. 6. & we are therin cōfirmed by the example of Christ, in Luk. 22. 41. and of Peter in Act. 10. 9.
Q. Which cal you lesse priuate praier?
A. That is lesse priuate when a man prayeth in companie of others, as the Master with his familie, the Tutor with his pupilles, the Husband with his wife, the wife with her seruants and children, in her husbands absence,Act. 10. 30. or one friend with anothe, as Cornelius prayed with his householde.
Q. Of publique prayer, and priuate prayer which is most forcible?
A. That is publique prayer, for if the prayers of one righteous mā be auailable,Iam. 5. 16. much more are the prayers of many together with one cōsent: & therfore this hath been most desired, and Dauid complained that hee was not suffered to come to the house of God with the congregation, and tooke it for one of the greatest crosses that euer came vntounto him, as it appeareth in Psa. 27. 10. Psal. 42. 1. 2. 3. 4. Psal. 84. 1. 2. 3. 4.