Reading
Working
Good and a Godly Prayer
Text Profile
Genre
Prayer
Date
1563
Full Title
A good and a Godly Prayer to be said at all tymes, of euery Christen, both man and woman, with a prayer vpon the Pater noster or Paraphrase vpon the same.
Source
STC 20189
Sampling
Sample 1
The original format is duodecimo.
The original contains first paragraphas are introduced by decorated initial,
The prayer Of our Lorde.
O Lorde God oureFather in heauen
wee thy myserable
chyldren vppon
earthe, beseche
thee mercifully to loke
vppon vs, & lende vs thy grace,
that thy name may be sanctyfyed
amonge vs and in all
the worlde, through the pure
preachinge of thy wurde, and
trew knowledge and vnderstanding
of the same, and thorowe
earnest charitie in our
dayelye conuersacion and lyuinge,
seclude thou graciously
from vs all false doctrine and
A.ii.
1
euill lyuyng, wherby thy worthyname mighte be blasphemed
and slaundered. Oh let
thy kyngedome come, and be
great to all synfull and blinde
people, and suche as be holden
captiue of the deuell and hys
kyngdome, bring thou Lorde
vs to trewe repentaunce & to
the knowledge of the trewe
faythe, in Iesus Christe thy
sonne. Strengthen vs Lorde
with thy grace, to doo thy wil
in all godlye wurkes, and to
suffer the same in lyfe and in
death, in well and in wo, that
our wil may be alwayes broken,
offered vp and mortified.
Geue vs our dayly bread, preserue
vs from all couetousnes
and immoderate carefulnes of
the belly, that of thee we may
be assured to haue abundau~ce
2
of all good thinges necessaryefor vs, forgeue vs our trespasses,
that we maye haue a glad
and a quiete conscie~ce in thee,
in that we receiue forgiuenes
of oure synnes, as we be wyllinge
to forgeue all them that
trespasse agaynst vs. And lead
vs not into temptacion. But
strengthen vs Lord with thy
spirite, to subdue the fleshe to
dispise the world with the vanities
thereof, & to ouercome
the deuel with all his crafty assaults,
and finally delyuer vs
from all euel, both bodely and
ghostlye. temporall and
eternall, for thyne is
the kyngdom, the
power and the
glory for
euer.
So be it.
A.iii.
3
O Almightye and euerlastyngGod, Father, so~ne
and holy Ghoste. Thou
that hast made heauen, earth
and all thinges in theym conteyned,
haue mercy vppon me
poore wretched sinner, daylye
assaulted with all kynde of miserie
and wretchednes, I beseche
thee o Father, for the
loue of thy so~ne Iesus Christ,
consider my imperfection and
haue mercy vpon me, encreace
thy grace in me, my sauiour,
my redemer, my iustifier, for I
come vnto thee O Lorde, accordinge
vnto thy wurde, for
thou hast sayd, come vnto me
all ye that labor, & are lade~ & I
will refreshe you, O my moste
mercifull Lord & sauiour, ease
me of my burde~ of synne, whiche
I haue vnrighteously committed
4
in deede, wurde andthought, and refresh my soule
with thy mercye, O reconcyle
me with Isope and I shalbe
clean, and open my lippes O
Lorde that my mouthe maye
shewe thy prayse, consider my
imperfection and haue mercye
vppon me, and helpe it with
thy great mercies, remember
thyne olde wonted mercyes,
faythfull promysses made to
oure forefathers, Abraham,
Isaac and Iacob, and al other
thy sainctes in oure sauioure
Iesu Christe, who being compassed
with infirmities and
weakenes of the fleshe come
vnto thee O LORDE the
well of lyfe and euerlastynge
fountayne of their helth and
saluation, and thou mercifully
susteyned them kepest them &
A.iiii.
5
defendest them in all their te~ptationsand tribulations, yf
their feete any tyme slipte or
went out of the waye, and co~mitted
synne against thee, yet
thy mercye was alwaye redy,
so that thou by thy holy spirite
haddest procured them agayn
by repentaunce, so that they
turned again vnto the, which
conuersion or turning agayn
thou mercyfullye acceptest at
their handes, for because they
were desirous to lyue perfectly
in thy sight, thou preseruedest
theym, so that they be
found faythful before thee, O
Lorde thou arte the same, and
thy years e~dure for euer. I besech
thee O father bear my infirmities
and imperfeccion, &
helpe it likewise with thy mercye,
if at any tyme I happen
6
to fall and commytte synne againstthee, yet as thou saidest
by thyne Apostle Paule, lette
thy grace at all tymes be sufficient
for me, so that I may immediatly
turne agayne betyme
to repentaunce vnto thee,
which conuersio~ and turninge
agayn, accepte alwayes at my
ha~ds for Iesus Christes sake.
So shal I be found perfect before
thee, for although ye spirit
be wyllynge, yet is the flesshe
vntowarde and weake. Therfore
doo I not lay myne own
righteousnes before thee, for I
knowe and confesse me, that
is to saye, in my flesshe is nothing
but playn misery, wretchednes
and synne. Therfore
doo I come vnto thee, & beseche
thee for Christes sake to extende
thy mercyfull hand towarde
A.v.
7
me, do away myne offences,for I know O Lorde
that all grace and goodnes
commeth of thee, and therfore
arte thou praysed O Lorde &
feared in the congregation among
thy saincts, for thou only
arte he that geueth victory.
O Lorde God of hostes, and
that as thou saydest by thy
Prophete Zacharie, neyther
throughe an hoste of men nor
through strength, but through
thy spirite. Therfore I besech
thee geue me not only stre~gth
& knowledge of thee, but also
a redy earnest purpose & wyll
to subdue myne affectio~s, and
graunte me grace at all tymes
too lyue as thou in thy holye
wurd hast prescribed vnto me
moreouer I besech thee make
me perfecte in thy sighte, that
8
I may re~dre co~tinual thankesby Iesus Christe vnto thee, &
where as I haue not hetherto
endeuoured my self, according
to ye power whiche thou haste
geue~ me to lyue after thy wil,
I praye thee of forgeuenes for
Christes sake thine only so~ne
our Lord, and now I proteste
before thee through ye helpe of
thy holy spirite, to order my life
from henceforth accordinge
to thy wurd, and to walk perfectly
before thee. Neuerthelesse
I besech thee for Christes
sake at al times to bear the imperfection
that any tyme is
founde in me and delyuer me
by thy power and mercye, encreace
my faythe O my redemer,
encreace my fayth O my
sauiour, encreace my fayth O
my iustifier, encreace faith hope,
9
loue, charitie and all othervertues consonaunte, & agreable
to a godly lyfe, for I come
vnto thee O Lorde the Well
and euerlastinge Fountayne
of all helth & saluacion. O my
heauenly father, let me and al
other which seek thy wurde to
the entent to forsake sinne & to
ame~de their liues, liue in thy
sight, I thanke thee O Lord
with all my harte, soule and
mynde, yt it hath pleased thee
of thy great mercye and goodnes
to creat and fourme me of
the molde of the earth, & geue
me members needefull to my
body, and that it hath pleased
thee to preserue al which thou
hast created in me sithe~s the
tyme of thy creatio~ vntil now,
& that it hath pleased thee to
deliuer me fro~ the hour of te~ptacion
10
and in my tribulacion,as wel slepi~g as waki~g whe~ I
was forgetful of thee as whe~
I remembred to cal vpo~ thee &
yt it hath pleased thee to minister
to my necessities, meat,
drinke and clothynge and as
inward reioysing, quietnes of
mynd, helth of bodie and such
lyke, and that it hathe pleased
thee to geue me this woma~ to
be my wyfe as a remedie co~solatie
and comforte in al my necessities.
Graunt vs grace O
Lorde truely together to honour
loue and serue thee, for I
know that whatsoeuer I do,
either good or euil, it shalbe rewarded
of thee. Lighten vs
therfore dayly, I beseche thee
with thy grace that we maye
gouerne our selues, our housholde
and chyldre~, which thou
11
hast geue~ vs in the true faith,feare and knowledge of thee,
so yt it maye bee an acceptable
sacrifice vnto thee, by Iesus
Christe our lord. And seyng it
hath plesed ye O father to lighten
ye inward eies of my mynd
with thy grace, & to cal me fro~
the great blyndenes of ignoraunce
and synne, wherein al
men are born, to ye knowledge
of thee, let it now muche more
as sainct Paule sayth please
thee to preserue me & all other
whom thou hast called, which
be dayly oppressed by synne, &
desire to turne and come vnto
thee of what tunge or nacion
whatsoeuer thei be thorough
the whole worlde, and seing it
hath pleased thee to cal me by
grace to the knowledge of thy
wurd, & geue me a wil to seek
12
it to loue & beleue in it, let it bethy will to directe my wayes
that I erre not, staye my feete
with thy holy ha~d, & preserue
me with thyne arme, for I am
els farre to weak, for without
thee I can doo nothing, O let
me lyue in thy sight O Lord,
and put me not oute from thy
presence, but geue me a newe
hart and a newe spirite, that
I maye alwayes cal vpo~ thee
in tyme of my trouble, and offer
thee an acceptable sacryfyce
by Iesus Christe before
thee, euen the fruyte of those
lyppes, which confesse thy name,
geue me grace O lord paciently
to receyue the Cup of
helth & saluatio~ at thy ha~d, &
call vpon thy name in the tyme
of mine aduersitie, O hear my
prayer I besech thee lette my
13
power and pleasure be alwayin the frute of the tree of lyfe,
whiche is in the Paradyse of
God, O accept these volentary
sacrifices at my handes as
the sweet smell of incence, and
let the lifting vp of my ha~des
be an eueni~g sacrifice, pleasa~t
and acceptable vnto thee thorough
Iesus Christe oure
Lorde, to whome be
euerlasting prayse
honour and glorie,
now &
euer. Amen.