Devotions of the ancient church in seaven pious prayers with seaven administrations. Collected for a private use, and now at the desire of some judicious persons, made publick.

Prayers for the Fifth of November.

These Prayers following, framed or approved by the reverend Bi∣shops of that age, do demonstrate how causelesly that conjunction of Prelacy and Popery hath been of late years continued to their reproach.

Prayers and Thanksgivings for the happy de∣liverance of his Majesty, the Queen, Prince, and States of the Parliament, from the most traiterous and bloody intended Massacre by Gunpowder, November 5. 1605.

I.

ALmighty God, who hast in all ages shewed thy power and mer∣cy, in the miraculous and graci∣ous deliverances of thy Church, and in the protection of righteous and religious Kings, and States professing thy Holy and Eternal truth, against the wicked conspiracies, and malicious practises of

all the enemies thereof: we yield unto thee from the very ground of our hearts all possible praise and thanks for the won∣derful, and mighty deliverance of our gracious Soveraign King James, the Queen, the Prince, and all the Royal bran∣ches, with the Nobility, Clergy, and Commons of this Realm assembled together in Parliament, by Popish treachery appointed as sheep to the slaughter, and that in most Barbarous and Savage manner, no age yielding ex∣ample of the like cruelty intended to∣wards the Lords anointed, and his people. Can this thy goodness, O Lord, be for∣gotten, worthy to be written in a pillar of Marble, that we may ever remember to praise thee for the same, as the fact is worthy a lasting monument, that all po∣sterity may learn to detest it? From this unnatural conspiracy, not our merit, but thy mercy, not our foresight, but thy providence hath delivered us, not our love to thee, but thy love to thine anoint∣ed servant, and thy poor Church, with whom thou hast promised to be present to the end of the world. And therefore not unto us, not unto us, Lord, but to

thy Name be ascribed all honour and glo∣ry in all Churches of the Saints, through∣out all generations: for thou Lord hast discovered the snares of death, thou hast broken them, and we are delivered; be thou still our mighty protector, and scat∣ter our cruel enemies, which delight in blood: infatuate their counsel, and root out that Babylonish and Antichristian sect, which say of Jerusalem, down with it, down with it, even to the ground. And to that end strengthen the hands of our gracious King, the Nobles and Ma∣gistrates of the land with judgement and justice to cut off these workers of iniqui∣ty, (whose Religion is rebellion, whose faith is faction, whose practise is mur∣thering of souls and bodies) and to root them out of the confines and limits of this Kingdome, that they may never prevail against us, and triumph in the ruine of thy Church, and to give us grace by true and serious repentance, to avert these and the like judgements from us. This Lord we earnestly crave at thy merciful hands, together with the continuance of thy po∣werful protection over our dread Sove∣raign, the whole Church, and these

Realms, and the speedy confusion of our implacable enemies, and that for thy dear Sons sake, our only mediatour and advocate.

II.

ALmighty God and heavenly Father, which o•• thy everlasting providence and tender mercy towards us, hast pre∣vented the extream malice and mischie∣vous imagination of our enemies, reveal∣ing and confounding their horrible and devilish enterprise plotted against our Soveraign Lord the King, his Royal house, and the whole State of this Realm, for the subversion thereof, together with the truth of thy Gospel and pure Religi∣on amongst us, and for the reducing into this Church and land of Popish supersti∣tion and tyranny: we most humbly praise and magnifie thy glorious name, for thine infinite gracious goodness in this our mar∣vellous deliverance; we confess it was and is thy mercy, thy mercy alone, (most merciful Father) that we are not consu∣m••d, that their snare is broken, and our soul is escaped. For our sins cried to Heaven against us, and our iniquities justly called for judgement upon us: but

thy great mercy towards us hath exalted it self above judgement, not to deal with us after our sins, to give us over (as we deserved) to be a prey to our enemies, but taking our correction into thine own hands, to deliver us from their blood∣thirsty malice, and preserve from death and destruction our King and State, with thy holy Gospel and true Religion a∣mongst us. Good Lord give u•• true re∣pentance, and unfeigned conversion unto thee, to prevent further judg••ments: in∣crease in us more and more a lively saith and fruitful love in all obedience, that thou mayest continue thy loving favour with the light of thy Gospel, to us and our posterity for evermore. Make us now and alwayes truely thankful in heart, word and deed, for all thy gracious mer∣cies, and this our special deliverance. Protect and defend our Soveraign Lord the King, with the Queen and all the Royal progeny, from all trea∣sons and conspiracies, preserve them in thy faith, fear and love, under the sha∣dow of thy wings against all evil and wickedness, prosper their raign with long happiness on earth, and everlasting glo∣ry

following in the kingdome of Heaven. Bless the whole State and Realm with grace and peace, that with one heart and mouth we may praise thee in thy Church, and alwayes sing joyfully, that thy mer∣ciful kindness is ever more and more to∣wards us, and the truth of the Lord en∣dureth for ever, through Jesus Christ our only Saviour and Redeemer, Amen.

III.

ETernal God, and our most mighty protector, we thy people of this land, confess our selves, above all the Nations of the earth, infinitly bound unto thy hea∣venly majestie for thy many unspeakable benefits conferred and heaped upon us, especially for planting thy Gospel among us, and placing over us a most gracious King, a faithful professour and defender of the same; both which exasperate the enemies of true religion, and enrage their thoughts to the invention of most dread∣ful designes: all which notwithstanding it hath pleased thee hitherto either to pre∣vent or overthrow, at this time principal∣ly thou hast most strangely discovered an

horrible and cruel plot and device, for the massacring as well of thy dear servant and our dread Soveraign, as of the chief States assembled in thy fear, for the con∣tinuance of thy truth and good of this Realm. We humbly present our selves at thy feet, admiring thy might and wis∣dome, and acknowledging thy grace and favour, in preserving them and the whole Realm by their safety, beseeching thee for thy Son Jesus Christ his sake to conti∣nue still thy care over us, and to shield our gracious King under the shadow of thy wings, that no mischievous attempt may come near, nor the sons of wicked∣ness may hurt him, but that under him we may still enjoy this his peaceable go∣vernment, with the profession of the Gospel of thy Son Christ Jesus, to whom with thee and the holy Ghost, &c.

IV.

O God, infinit in power and of end∣less mercy, we give thee all possible thanks, that it hath pleased thee so mira∣culously to discover, and defeat the mis∣chievous plots of thine and our enemies:

thou hast delivered our dread Soveraign from the snare of the fowler, and his Nobles from the fire and the fury of the wicked: he shall rejoyce in thy salvati∣on, and we his people shall triumph in this thy wonderful deliverance, thy Gos∣pel shall prosper, and thine adversaries shall be confounded. And multiply (good Lord) we beseech thee, thy great goodness towards our gracious King, and his kingdomes, from this time forth, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

A Prayer used by the Speaker of the Commons House of Parliament. I.

O GOD, most great and glorious which dwellest in the Heavens over all, yet humblest thy self to behold the things that are done upon the earth: we, the people and sheep of thy pasture, as∣sembled by thy providence, to the per∣formance of this high service, whereup∣on, the honour of thy name, the beauty of thy Church amongst us, the glory of our King, and wealth of our State doth depend, knowing, that without thee, we can do nothing: do, at this time, with fear and reverence, in the beginning

of our consultations, first look up unto thee (from whom wisdome and happy success doth come) praying thee, to look down from Heaven upon us with the eye of thy mercy; to draw near unto us with the presence of thy grace: to prepare us all with counsel and understanding; and to be president, and director of all our conferences: that those things may be propounded, conceived, allowed, and confirmed, which may best please thee, and most directly and soundly uphold the honour of thy Name, the sincerity of thy worship; the safety of our King; and peace of thy people: even for thy Son our Lords sake.

And that we may not our selves, be any hinderance to the obtaining of these our desires, either by means of any Sin formerly committed, or of any corrup∣tion yet remaining in us: we humbly pray thee, to forgive our sins, and blot out all our iniquities: and to stand reconciled unto us, in an everlasting covenant of peace, as if we had never sinned against thee.

And, because our hearts by nature are not fit for good cogitations; create a

new heart, and renew a right spirit in us: remove far from us all vain-glorious hu∣mour, of commending our own wit; all covetous humour of advancing our pri∣vate profit, all envious humour of dis∣gracing other mens gifts; all malicious humour of hurting any mans person: and (finally) all froward humour of oppo∣sing our selves, against just; needful, and godly things, by whomsoever pro∣pounded. Furnish us with knowledge, wisdome, and zeal by sending down thy spirit into our hearts, that we may un∣derstand, discern, prefer, and set for∣ward all things tending to the advance∣ment of thy glory, and such as may be thought worthy our assent and furthe∣rance.

And, because all good things are not of equal goodness, nor all needful things of equal necessitie: let our care and zeal be equally proportioned to the degrees of things in goodness and necessity different. And therefore; first, make us careful of the glory of thy Name (which is the high end of all thy counsels and works, & ought to be the last end, and first respect of all our purposes and doings.) And therein,

let our especial care be, to provide for the continuance of thy word, and religi∣ous practise of thy worship, by the mini∣stery and means that Christ hath planted in his Church: next, let the good of this whole Iland move our care and zeal; which consisting in the safety and honour of the King, and the enacting and execu∣ting of good laws; let us be wisely care∣ful, and faithfully zealous for the person of our King, whom thou the King of Kings hast in mercy set over us.

And because no Law can be good, that is not agreeable to thy law, which con∣taineth the fundamental equity of all laws: in making laws to govern thy peo∣ple, let us alwayes have an eye unto thy law: not digressing from the holy equity thereof: and what through thy mercy, we shall here profitably enact: we pray thee, through the whole Kingdome it may be truly executed, that our great labour may not be disgraced with little fruit.

And forasmuch as we all and every one of us have, in this place, with wonder and astonishment, and without any merit of ours, found a most evident assurance

of thy mercy and goodness, in a miracu∣lous deliverance from the greatest dan∣ger, by popish treachery that ever was attempted or threatned, towards our King, our State and Us: give us (good Lord) hearts above the hearts of men, to offer unto thee in the same place, a dayly sacrifice of thanksgiving in the highest measure; together with a fervent and incessant zeal, care, and diligence in all our proceedings, for the setling of the peace and happy estate of thy Church a∣mongst us: the preservation of our King; his royal progeny; our selves, and our posterity: and for the preventing, sup∣pressing, and final rooting out of the spring, issue, and fruit of all such hellish and popish hearts, intentions, and practi∣ses: to the everlasting praise and glory of thy blessed name.

Hear us, we pray thee (O Father of mercy) in these our most humble and needful petitions: forgive and answer us, according to thy fatherly and great good∣ness, for Jesus Christ his sake, to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost, three per∣sons, and one God, be all praise, glory, and power, now, and for ever, Amen.

A Prayer for the Parliament, used also in the House. II.

ALmighty God, which by thy holy Prophet David art most truly said to stand in the congregation of Princes, and givest judgement in the midst of the mighty men of the world, and through whose authority Princes do raign, Law∣makers do discern just things, Lords bear rule, and all Judges of the earth execute judgement, and for that cometh of thee all counsel and equity, all understanding and strength: grant unto us here gathe∣red together in thy name, that wisdome which is alwayes assistant to thy seat, to give knowledge to our feeble and igno∣rant mindes. Send down (we beseech thee) the same wisdome out of thy holy heavens, and from the throne of thy ma∣jesty, that it may be now with us, and labour with us, whereby we surely know∣ing what is acceptable unto thee, may be led through it to the debating, weighing,

and final determining of those matters, by the which thy blessed Name may be glorified, thy Catholick Church of Eng∣land confirmed and increased, the Kings assurance established, the common tran∣quillity of this Realm safely maintained, and last of all, all estates and people thereof, in true obedience and charity united and knit together. Grant this, O God, for thy only Sons sake Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.