A Sermon of Christ Crucified, Prayer
¶ The Prayer in this Sermon made for the Church, and all the states therof.
LOrd Iesus Christ, sonne of the lyuing God, who wast crucified for our sinnes & didst ryse againe for our Iustification, & ascending vp to heauen, reignest now at the right hand of thy father, with full power & authoritie rulyng & disposyng all thynges accordyng to thyne owne gracious and glorious purpose, we sinfull creatures, and yet seruantes & members of thy Church, do prostrate our selues & our prayers before thy imperial Maiestie, hauyng no other patron nor aduocate to spede our sutes, or to resort vntounto but thee alone,Prayer for the vniuersall Church. besechyng thy goodnes to be good to thy poore Church militāt here in this wretched earth, sometymes a rich church, a large church, an vniuersall church, spread far & wyde through the whole compasse of ye earth, now driuen into a narrow corner of ye world, & hath much nede of thy gracious helpe. First the Turke wt his sword, what landes,The manifolde daungers to the Church in these latter dayes. nations, and countreyes, what empires, kingdomes, and prouinces with Cities innumerable hath he wonne, not from vsus, but from thee? Where thy name was wont to be inuocated, thy word preached, thy Sacramentes administred, there now reigneth barbarous Mahumet, wt his filthy Alcoran. The florishing Churches in Asia, the learned Churches of Grecia, the manifold Churches in Africa which were wont to serue thee, now are gone from thee. The seuen Churches of Asia, with their candlestickes (whom thou didest so well forewarne) are now remoued. All the Churches where thy diligent Apostle S. Paul, thy Apostle Pete, and Iohn, and other Apostles so laboriously trauayled, preachyng & writyng to plāt thy Gospell, are now gone from thy Gospell. In all the kyngdome of Syria, Palestina, Arabia, Persia, in all Armenia, and the Empire of Capadocia, through the whole compasse of Asia, with Aegypt, and with Africa also (vnles amongest the farre Aethiopians some old steppes of Christianitie peraduenture yet do remayne) either els in all Asia and Africa, thy Church hath not one foote of free land, but all is turned either to infidelitie, or to captiuitie, what soeuer perteineth to thee. And if Asia and Africa onelyonly were decayed, the decay were great, but yet the defection were not so vniuersall. Now in Europa a great part also is shronke from thy Church. All Thracia with the Empire of Constantinople, all Grecia, Epyrus, Illyricum, and now of late all the kyngdome almost of Hungaria, with much of Austria, with lamentable slaughter of Christen bloud is wasted and all become Turkes.
Daungers by the Bishop of Rome, and his fellowes.OnelyOnly a litle angle of ye weast partes yet remaineth in some profession of thy name. But here, alacke, commeth an other mischief as great, or greater then the other. For the Turke with his sword is not so cruell, but the Byshop of Rome on the other side is more fierce and bytter agaynst vsus, sturryng vp hys Byshops to burne vsus, his confederates to conspire our destructiō, settyng kynges agaynst their subiectes, and subiectes disloyally to rebell agaynst their princes, and all for thy name. Such dissension and hostilitie Sathan hath set amongest vsus, that Turkes be not more enemyes to Christians, then Christians to Christiās, Papistes to Protestantes: yea Protestantes with Protestantes do not agree, but fal out for trifles. So that the poore litle flocke of thy Church distressed on eueryevery side, hath neither rest without, nor peace within, nor place almost in the world, where to abyde, but may crye now frō the earth, euen as thyne owne reuerence cryed once from thy Crosse: My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Prayer for the Church of England.Amongest vsus English men here in England, after so great stormes of persecution, & cruell murder of so many Martyrs, it hath pleased thy grace to geue vsus these Alcion dayes, which yet we enioy, and besech thy mercifull goodnes still they may continue. But here also, alacke, what should we say? So many enemies we hauehave, that enuie vsus this rest and tranquilitie, and do what they can to disturbe it. They which be frendes and louers of the Byshop of Rome, although they eate the fatte of the land, and hauehave the best preferrementes and offices, and lyue most at ease, and ayle nothyng: yet are they not therewith content. They grudge, they mutter and murmure, they conspire and take on agaynst vsus. It fretteth them that we liue by them or with them, & can not abyde that we should draw the bare breathyng of the ayre, when they hauehave all the most lybertie of the land. And albeit thy singular goodnes hath geuē thē a Queene so calme, so pacient, so mercyfull, more like a naturall mother then a Princes, to gouerne ouer them, such as neither they nor their aunciters euer read of in the stories of this land before: yet all this will not calme them: their vnquiet spirit is not yet content: they repine and rebell, & nedes would hauehave, with the Frogges of Aesope, a Ciconia, an Italian straunger, the Byshop of Rome, to play Rex ouer them, and care not if all the world were set a fire, so they with their Italian Lord might reigne alone. So fonde are we English men of straunge and forrein thynges: so vnnaturall to our selues: so gredy of newfangle, nouelties, neuer contented with any state longe to continue, be it neuer so good: and furthermore so cruell one to an other, that we thinke our lyfe not quyet, vnles it be seasoned with the bloud of other. For that is their hope, that is all their gapyng and lookyng, that is their goldē day, their day of Iubiley, which they thurst for somuch: not to hauehave the Lord to come in the cloudes, but to hauehave our bloud, and to spill our lyues.
That that is it which they would hauehave,Prayer for the Queene. & long since would hauehave had their wils vponupon vsus, had not thy gracious pitie and mercy raysed vp to vsus this our mercyfull Queene, thy seruaūt Elizabeth, somewhat to stay their fury. For whom as we most condignely geue thee most harty thankes, so likewise we besech thy heauenly Maiestie, that as thou hast geuen her vntounto vsus, & hast from so manifold daungers preserued her before she was Queene: so now in her Royall estate, she may cōtinually be preserued, not onelyonly frō the handes, but from all malignant deuises wrought, attēpted, or cōceaued of enemies, both ghostly and bodely agaynst her. In this her gouernemēt be her gouerner, we besech thee: So shall her Maiestie wel gouerne vsus, if first she be gouerned by thee. Multiplie her reigne with many dayes, & her yeares with much felicitie, with aboundance of peace, and lyfe ghostly. That as she hath now doubled the yeares of her sister, and brother: so (if it be thy pleasure) she may also ouergrow in reignyng, the reigne of her father.
And because no gouernement can long stand without good Counsell:Prayer for the Counsell. neither can any Counsell be good except it be prospered by thee, blesse therfore we besech thee, both her Maiestie and her honorable Councell, that both they rightly may vnderstand what is to be done, and she accordyngly may accomplish that they do Counsell, to thy glory, and furtherance of thy Gospell, and publicke wealth of this Realme.
Furthermore we besech thee (Lord Iesu) who with the Maiestie of thy generation, doest drowne all Nobilitie,Prayer for the Nobilitie. beyng the onelyonly sonne of God, heyre and Lord of all thynges, blesse the Nobilitie of this Realme, and of other Christen Realmes, so as they Christianly agreyng among them selues, may submit their Nobilitie to serue thee, or els let thē feele (O Lord) what a friuolous thyng is yt Nobilitie which is without thee.
Likewise to all Magistrates,Prayer for the Magistrates. such as be aduaunced to authoritie, or placed in Office, by what name or title soeuer, geue we besech thee, a carefull conscience, vprightly to discharge their duetie, that as they be publike persons to serue the common wealth, so they abuse not their office to their priuate gayne nor priuate reuenge of their owne affections, but that iustice beyng administred without brybery, and equitie balanced without crueltie or partialitie, thynges yt be amisse may be reformed, vice abandoned, truth supported, innocēcie relieued, Gods glory mainteined, & the common wealth truly serued.
Prayer for the Bishops and Pastors.But especially to thy spirituall Ministers, Byshops, and Pastours of thy Church graūt we besech thee (O Lord Prince of all Pastours) that they folowyng the steppes of thee, of thy Apostles and holy Martyrs, may seeke those thynges which be not their owne, but onelyonly which be thyne: not caryng how many benefices, nor what great Byshoprikes they hauehave, but how well they can guide those they hauehave. Bene them such zeale of thy Church, as may deuoure them, and graunt them such salt, wherewith the whole people may bee seasoned, and which may neuer be vnsauery, but quickened dayly by thy holy spirite, whereby thy flocke by them may be preserued.
Prayer for the people, and the whole state of the Realme.In generall geue to all the people, and the whole state of this Realme such brotherly vnitie in knowledge of thy truth, and such obedience to their Superiours, as they neither prouoke the scourge of GOD agaynst them, nor their Princes sword to be drawen agaynst her will, out of the scaberd of lōg sufferance, where it hath bene long hyd. Especially geue thy Gospell long continuance amongest vsus. And if our synnes hauehave deserued the contrary, graunt vsus we besech thee, with an earnest repentaūce of that which is past, to ioyne a harty purpose of amendement to come.
Prayer for cōuersion of the Papistes.And for as much as the Byshop of Rome is wont on this Goodfriday, and eueryevery Goodfriday to accurse vsus as damned heretiques, we here curse not hym, but pray for hym, that he with all his partakers either may be turned to a better truth, or els, we pray thee (gratious Lord) that we neuer agree with hym in doctrine, and that he may so curse vsus still, and neuer blesse vsus more, as hee blessed vsus in Queene Maryes tyme. God of his mercy keepe away that blessyng from vsus.
Finally, in steade of the Popes blessyng, geue vsus thy blessyng Lord we besech thee, & conserue the peace of thy Church, and course of thy blessed Gospel. Helpe them that be nedy and afflicted. Comfort them that labour and be heauy laden. And aboue all thinges continue and increase our fayth. And for as much as thy poore litle flocke can scarse hauehave any place or rest in this world,Apoc. 16. come Lord, we besech thee, with thy Factum est, and make an ende, that this world may hauehave no more tyme nor place here, & that thy Church may hauehave cest for euer.
For these and all other necessities requisite to be begged & prayed for, asking in Christes name, and as he hath caught vsus, let vsus say the Lordes prayer. Our father which art in. &c.