Meditation Upon the Lords Prayer

To the Christiā reader.

Surelye even now in great scarcity lack and dearth of meat, drink, clothing, and all other necessaries, the sorrowful sighs of the poor and nedye, must either sink into the riche men's hearts, and from them procure relyue, and comfort, unto the nedye members of Christ's body: or else directlye ascend unto the throne of God's Justice, and from thence bring down indignacyon and vengeance, to destroy wicked worldelings, which being thē selfs in wealth and abundance, fele no gryete of their brothers distress and misery.

But if any man, every week will be content, to spare one meal of himself, & bestow the price of that meal in Charitable Almose to relyue the pore, and the time of the same in godly meditacion and Prayer, to dispose his own mind devoutly: then shall all such feel and taste, both of poor men's hunger, and of Godly comfort in abstinence and prayer, yea, and many poor be much relyued, and no rich man any thing charged, and so thereby God's vengaunce avoided and God's grace procured, when as fasting and prayer doeth pluck out of men's hearts covetousness which is the root of all evil and the cause of all calamities that now do trouble, grieve, and danger all men: This meditacion therefore of the Lord's prayer, shall be good comfortable spiritual food, in that time of bodily abstinence.

A medytacyon upon the Lord's prayer.

O Vre father which art in heaven.

We (gloriously formed unto the Image of thy divine Maiestye, created by the gracyous goodness unto highest honor, howbeit, by our own sinfulness disfigured with vileness deseruinge damnation, and yet by Christ's death restored unto grace, to be citezēs with saints of the family of God) now all together in Christian unite, as members of one body, with this one voice, for the manifold miseries of every member, and worthy merits of Christ our head, pray, desire, and trust, to obtain of the our heavenly father, according unto thy gracious goodness, mighty power, and faithful promise, unto us that ask abundance of thy grace.

[ i.] That thy name may be hallowed.

That thy dyuine power and glorious Majesty, may be certainly know̄ & reverently honored. That y ^e hearts of us men, by thy word and prayer, may be sanctified frō worldly vanyties & fleshly lusts, so that we with all that we have, serving the in holiness & righteousness, may shine so afore men upon the earth, that they thereby may be occasyoned, to honor, and glorify the, our father in heuē

Thy kingdom come [ ii.]

Thy word be so frutefully Preched unto us thy people, that we may be thoroughly instructed and taught, to bridle our sensual appetyte by natural reason, and submit our wyttie reason unto a Godlye spirit, and try our spirits by the true Scryptures, so that within us may reign the Kyngdome of God, which is neither meat nor drink, but righteousness, peace, and comfort in the holy Ghoste, by the which we now tastyng of thy heavenly joys, may be made from henceforth weary of all worldly vanytyes, continually wishyng and looking for the spedy appearance and coming of thy eternal and everlasting kingdom.

[ iii.] Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.

In heaven the Angels of reverent love, do thy will and commandment, with comfortable courage, and joyful pleasure: in hell the wicked spirits through malice and envy, repinyng and grudging, do torment and vex thenselves, whatsoever they be doing: and vpō earth we men being subject unto syn do think it a labor & pain, to be occupied in anything that is good and godly. Wherefore we pray that the grace of thy heavenly Spirit may so work in our earthly bodies, that our minds may be delivered from sin and vanity, freely to delight and take pleasure in Godlines and virtue, so that we with a comfortable courage, may find delight and pleasure to do thy commandment and will, being men upon earth, as the glorious company of Angels do which be in heaven.

Geue us this day our [ iiii.] daily bread.

We being in great need, and not able of our selves to deserve anything beseech thy Fatherlye goodness of thy bounteous liberalite, to give freely unto us all in generally, so that none be hurt or hyndered severally, this day when as we cry, constrained by present need, not craftily crauyng for vain care against tomorrow, our daily bread, our daily and necessary food and relyue, both bodily and gostly and especyally the Spiritual food of Christ's flesh and his blood, by daily Prechyng of the Gospel, and ministracion of the Sacraments, to replenyshe, refresh, and renew our hearts & minds, with the comfortable remembrance of Christ's death and his passion daily to be used for necessary and spiritual consolacion.

[ v.] Forgeue us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us.

Geue unto us that felyng and knowing our own synfulnes, do need and desire thy merciful forgiveness of our trespaces and faults, which we have committed against thy divine Majesty, so that we freely forgeuinge other that have offended us in any thing whatsoever it be, may be sure that mercy spryngynge in the, hath proceeded unto us being graciously offered of the hath been thankfully received of us, and being charitably used of us towards other shall most certaynlye be confirmed and enlarged of the towards us, and so finally, by gracious mercy springinge and proceeding from the, all faults and trespasses shall be freely forgiven, even as those which other have committed against us, so likewise those that we have done against the.

[ vi.] And lead us not into temptation.

And suffer not the devil, by thabule of thy benefits, to lead us captive into deceytefull and damnable temptaciō, drawing us by deinteth meats unto gredye glottony, by money and riches unto vnsaciable covetousness. and by wealth and prosperytye unto pride and vayneglorye, and by all thy godly gracyous gifts, unto every dyuelyshe abominable sin.

[ vii.] But deliver us from all evil.

Deliver our gooddes frō abuse, our bodies frō corrupcion, our Souls from damnation, yea, deliver us by Christ, frō the bondage of sin, unto the liberty of the Gospel, so that without danger of dyuelyshe temptation driuyng unto everlasting dānation we may serve thee in holiness and righteousness all the days of our lives, with most certain and comfortable hope, of everlasting life and salvation, through Christ Jesus in whom our hope and thy promise is moste certain, that is to say. Amē. SOBEIT.

Imprinted at London by John Daye, dwelling over Aldersgate beneth Sainte Martins.

These books are to be sold at his shop in Schepesyde, by the Little Counduit at the sign of the Resurreccion.

Cum priuilegio ad imprimendum solum. Per sepēnium.