¶ A Prayer against the Turkes.
* 1.1O Eternall Lorde God, father of our Lord Iesus Christ, creator and disposer of all things, iust, gracious, & wise only, in the name and reuerence of thy sonne Iesus, wee prostrate our selues, desiring thine omnipotent maiestie, to looke downe vppon these afflicted times of thy poore creatures and seruaunts: reliue thy Church, increase our faith, and confound our enemies: and as thou hast geuen thine onely begotten sonne vnto vs, promising with hym life to all that shall beleeue vpon his name: so encline the obedience of our faith to thy promises in him, that our hearts may be farre of from all other sinnefull additions and prophane inuentions, which are be∣sides him, and not in him, grounded vpon thy will and promise. And graunt (we beseeche thee) to thy Church, more and more to see how terrible a thing it is, to set vp any other meanes or helpe of saluation, but onely in him, whome thou only hast sent and sealed. Re∣forme thy Church with perfecte doctrine and faithfull teachers, that we seeing our owne weakenesse, may put off our selues, and put on him without whom we can do nothing.* 1.2 So shall we stand strong, when nothing standeth in vs, but thy sonne alone, in whome thou art onely pleased. Renew in this thy Church againe, the decaied faith of thy sonne Iesus, which may plentifully bring foorth in vs, not leaues onely, but frutes of Christian life: And forgeue our wretched Idolatry and blinde phantasies past, wherwith we haue prouoked manifold waies thy deserued indignation against vs: For our hearts haue bene full of Idoles, our temples full of Images, our wayes full of hypocrisie: thy Sacraments prophaned, and thy religion turned to superstition, because the lanterne of thy worde went not before vs, therfore we haue stumbled. Miserably we haue walked hetherto, like sonnes not of Sara, but of Agar, and therefore these Turkish A∣garens haue risen vp against vs. Many hard and straight wayes we haue passed, but the wayes of the Lorde we haue not founde. Much cost we haue bestowed on bread that swageth no hunger,* 1.3 but that bread which onely feedeth and commeth freely, we haue not tasted. We haue sailed farre and nere in barkes of our owne building, but haue not kept within the Arke onely of thy promise, and therefore these floudes haue taken vs. We haue prayed much, but not in thine appoynted temple, and therefore haue not bene heard. Wee haue plowed and tilled, but without thy haiffer, and therfore this vntidie ground of ours, bringeth foorth so many weedes We do fish apace and that all night, but because we fish not on the right side of the boate, in our fishing we catche neuer a sinne. Our buildings be full of good intentions & great devotiōs, but because the groud worke is not surely laid vpō the rocke of thy promise, the East winde riseth and shaketh them all to shiuers. We walke and haue walked long after the precepts and doctrines of men, hauing a shew of wisedome, but not as holding the heade, where lieth all our strength, and therefore these Philistian Turkes haue hetherto so preuailed against vs. Briefly, all the partes and bones of the body be shaken out of place, Wherefore we beseeche thee (O Lorde) put to thy holy hand, and set them in the right ioynt againe. And finally, reduce this same thy mysticall body againe, to his perfect and naturall head, whych is thine onely sonne Iesus Christ, and none other. For him onely hast thou annoynted and appoynted. Neither is there any other head, that can minister strength and nutriment to this body, but he alone: for asmuch as all other heades be sinnefull, and are not able to stande in thy sight, but make thys body rather worse then better. Onely this thy welbeloued and perfecte sonne is he, in whome onely dwelleth all our strength and fulnesse: him onely we confesse and knowledge. For whome, and with whome, wee beseeche thee (O Lorde God of hostes) graunt to thy Church strength and victory against the malicious fury of these Turkes, Saraeens, Tartarians, againste Gog and Magog, and all the malignaunt rabble of Antichrist, enemies to thy sonne Iesus our Lord and Sauior. Preuent their deuises, ouerthrow their power, and dissolue their kingdome, that the kingdome of thy sonne so long oppressed, may recouer and flourish ouer all: and that they which wretchedly be fallen from thee, may happely be reduced againe into the folde of thy saluation, throughe Iesus Christe our only mediatour and most mercifull aduocate. Amen.
* 1.4IN this long digression; wherin sufficiently hath bene de∣scribed the grieuous and tedious persecution of the Sa∣racens, & Turkes against the Christians, thou hast to vn∣derstand (good reader) and beholde the image of a terrible Antichrist euidently appearing both by his own doings, & also by the scriptures, prophecied & declared to vs before. Now in comparing the Turke with the pope, if a questi∣on be asked whether of them is the truer or greater Anti∣christ, it were easy to see and iudge,* 1.5 that the Turke is the more open and manifest enemye agaynst Christe and hys Church. But if it be asked, whether of them two hath bene the more bloudy and pernitious aduersary to Christe and his members: or whether of them hath consumed and spilt more Christian bloud, he with sword, or this with fire and sword together, neither is it a light matter to discerne, nei∣ther is it my part here to discusse, which do onely write the history, and the Actes of them both, wherfore after the sto∣ry of the Turkes thus finished, nowe to teenter agayne there, whereas we left, in describing the domesticall trou∣bles and persecutions here at home vnder the Byshop of Rome:* 1.6 after the burning of Babram in Northfolke a∣boue declared, pag 737. I signified also of an other certaine aged man mētioned in an old written Chronicle borowed of one in yt tower, instituted Polychron. (although I finde not his name in the saide Chronicle expressed) which suffe∣red the paines of burning in Smithfield, about the same time which was the yere of our Lord. 1500. Ex Polycron.
This aged father, I suppose, be hee of whome I finde mention made in certaine olde papers and recordes of W. Larye Citizen (all be it the day of the moneth doth a little differ) wherin is thus testified, that on the 20. day of Iuly. An. 100. vpon the day of S. Margaret, there was an olde man burned in smithfield for an hereticke, & the same per∣son vpon the 10. day before he was burned, wold haue sto∣len out of the Lolardes tower, and so falling out of the to∣wer did fowly hurt him selfe: wherupon he was caried in a car•• to his death, as he went to his burning.
In the foresaid papers of auncient recorde, is further∣more declared, how in the yere aboue prefixed, which was An. 1499. In the time of one Perseuell, many were taken