The Holy Exercise of a True Fast, Prayer
A Prayer for the Queene.
O Gratious Lorde, and most mercifull Father, we acknowledge thee the Lorde of Lordes, and the King of Kinges, creating at the beginning, and ruling all thinges euermore in heauen and earth, according to thy wonderfull wiſedome and power: and our ſelues to be thy poore ſeruantes, the worke of thy hands, and the ſheep of thy paſture, ſubiected to thy Maieſtic, & depending vponupon thy fatherly prouidence for all things. Neuertheleſſe, ſeeing thou in thy wiſedome annoyntest Kings and Queenes, appointing them to rule ouer thy people, to ſit as Lieuetenants in thy ſeat, to minister iustice, and most of all, as Fathers and Nurſes to maintaine & cheriſh thy Church: commaunding vsus not only to obey and honour them: but moreouer to pray for them, as watching ouer vsus for our good. We therefore beſeech thee for thy great mercies ſake, and for Ieſus Chriſtes ſake, to ſhewe thy mercy to all Kinges and Princes, that maintaine thy glorious Gospell: but especially we pray thee to bleſſe our gratious Queene, in all ſpirituall bleſſings in Chriſt Ieſus, and in all temporall bleſſings, according to thy good pleaſure, that in the great meaſures of thy effectuall louelove, ſhe may more and more finde greate increaſe of vertue, and wiſedome, & ſtrength in Chriſt Ieſus, to the faithfull and happie diſcharge of her duetie, that her holineſſe, and ioy, and zeale of thy houſe may be multiplied and euerlasting.
And ſeeing it hath pleaſed thee, of thy ſingular mercy, to giuegive her this ſpeciall honour, firſt to ſuffer for thy glorious trueth, and afterward miraculouſly deliuering her out of the handes of her enimies, to ſet a crowne vponupon her head, and to make her the inſtrument to aduaunce thy glory & Gospell, for which ſhe ſuffered, and to bring it out of darkneſſe into light, out of perſecution into this great and long peace. As we giuegive thee moſt heartie thankes for this ſingular benefite, ſo we be ſeech thee to make her and vsus euermore thankefull for it, and in thy good pleaſure ſtill to preſerue her for the continuance of theſe bleſſings towards vsus, with all increaſe from time to time, to thy glory, the benefite of the Church, and her infinite peace in Chriſt Ieſus, the prince of peace. And further more, we pray thee for her, and the estate, that ſuch as be enimies of the Gospell, and her enimies alſo, for the defence thereof, may not despiſe the peace offered thē to repentance, but that they may account thy long ſuffring, & her peaceable & vnbloudy gouernment, an occaſion of ſaluation to their ſoules, and vnfeined louelove to the truth, and their mercifull ſouereigne. Otherwiſe of they ſtill remaine diſobedient to the trueth, diſobedient to her highneſſe, and daungerous to the ſtate, then (O God of our Saluation) as thou hast diſcouered them, ſo diſcouer them ſtill, as thou haſt preuented them, ſo preuent them ſtill, and let their eyes waxe wearie with looking, and their hearts faint with wayting for the cō ming of that, which yet commeth not, neither let it come (O Lorde) we beſeech thee, but a bleſſed, and a long reigne to her, and peace to Sion for euermore. Alſo (deare father) ſo bleſſe, ſo louelove, ſo in thy ſpirite ſanctifie and keep her, that ſhe may in the ſpirit of counſel and fortitude ſo rule that other ſiſter alſo, namely this her cōmon wealth, that they may flouriſh together, and growe vp together as palme trees, in beautie, and in ſtrength, giuing ayde and helpe one to an other, that in the Church the glory of God may appeare, as the Sunne in his brightneſſe, and that the lande may flowe with Milke and Honie, and true peace abound therein, as in the triumphant reigne of Debora.
Theſe graces (O Lord) are great, and we miſerable ſinners, vnworthie of the leaſt of them: therefore looke not to vsus, but to thy ſelfe, not to our iniquities, but to thy great mercies, accepting the death and paſſion of thy Sonne, as a full ranſome for all our offences: throwing them into the bottome of the Sea, and making his croſſe and reſurrection effectuall in vsus to all obedience and godlineſſe, as becommeth thy Saintes: that to all other thy good bleſſings towards our gratious Souereigne, this may be added, that ſhe gouerneth bleſſedly, ouer a bleſſed people, a people bleſſed of the Lorde, and beloued of the Lorde, and …hat thy graces may abound as the waters of the Sea, in the Prince and in the people, in the Church, and in the Common wealth, from day to daye, till the day of our tranſlation into thy kingdome, where iustice inhabiteth, where alſo we ſhall inhabite and reigne with thee, according to thy promiſe for euer. Graunt theſe thinges (O mercifull Father) …or thy deare Sonne our Lorde Ieſus Christ his ſake, in whoſe name we craue them at thy mercifull hand, praying furthermore for them, as he hath taught vsus to pray. Our Father which are in heauen, &c.
FINIS.
End of the text · Thomas Cartwright, The Holy Exercise of a True Fast (1580)