The Seven Penitential Psalms; to be used in Times of Penance, Fasting, Affliction, or Trouble, &c. PAGE The Preface, TOUCHING PRAYER AND THE FORMS OF PRAYER. THE FOUNTAIN AND WELL-SPRING FROM WHICH THEY ALL PROCEED, BEING THAT PERFECT FORM OF PRAYER WHICH CHRIST TAUGHT HIS DISCIPLES. FOR the good and welfare of our souls, there is not in Christian Religion any thing of like continual use and force throughout every hour of our lives, as is the ghostly exercise of Prayer and Devotion. An exercise it was, which the holy Apostles had often observed their Lord and Master to use, ever and anon to be still at His prayers, in the Morning before day, in the Evening before night, and otherwhiles to go out and spend the whole night in prayer; that had it not been a matter of some principal dignity and importance, had there not been some excellent benefits to be got by it, doubtless He would never have prayed so often and so much as He did. And therefore they desired of Him to be taught a Form of Prayer, as St. John the Baptist had also taught his disciples. And a Form Christ taught them so absolute and so perfect, as never was the a Mark i. 35. b Matt. xiv. 23. B c Luke vi. 12. like made before "; which, from Him who made it then, was ever afterwards called THE LORD'S PRAYER. A Prayer whereby we have not only Christ's own Name to countenance our suits, (in whose Name if we ask any thing we shall have it, saith the Gospel,) but Christ's own words also, who Himself is our Advocate, and being best acquainted with the laws and phrases of His Father's court, hath drawn up such a bill for us, both for matter and form, as shall make our supplications acceptable and prevalent with Almighty God. And though men should speak with Angels' tongues, yet words so pleasing to the ears of God as those which the Son of God did compose, cannot possibly be uttered; nor any prayers so well framed, as those that are made by His pattern. It is for this cause called by the Fathers, The Prayer of all Prayers, and the Rule or Square whereby all our petitions are to be formed; having likewise been thus used in all ages of the Church, not only as a common part of her Prayers and Service, but as the chief and fundamental part of them, the ground whereupon she builds, the pattern whereby she frames, and the complement wherewith she perfects all the rest of her heavenly devotions, framing them all, as this is framed, with much efficacy, though not with any superfluity of words. Thus we begin at this day all our Church services with the Lord's Prayer, and lay it as a foundation whereon to build the rest of our petitions that follow, sometimes continuing (as after the Creed) and sometimes perfecting (as after the blessed Sacra ment) our most holy devotions with it; thereby d Luke xi. 2; Matt. vi. 9. e John xvi. 23. f 1 John ii. 1. C h th Su e supplying with the fulness of that one, whatsoever 8 may be defective in all our other prayers. Præmissá legitima oratione (saith Tertullian) quasi fundamento accidentium &c. "This is the law we go by, the groundwork and the guide of all those holy prayers that Christians use to make." A part of which ancient piety are these daily Devotions and Prayers that hereafter follow; prayers which, after the same manner and division of Hours as here they are, having heretofore been published among us by high and sacred authority, are now also renewed, and more fully set forth again, as for many other, so chiefly for these four reasons. 1. The first is, to continue and preserve the authority of the ancient laws, and old godly canons of the Church, which were made and set forth for this purpose, that men, before they set themselves to pray, might know what to say, and avoid, as near as might be, all extemporal effusions of irksome and indigested prayers, which they use to make that herein are subject to no good order or form of words, but pray both what, and how, and when they list. Carol. Mag. in Legib. Orationes, quæ ab Ecclesia probata non sunt, rejiciantur: "Let no prayers be used but those which are allowed by the Church.” Microl. de Eccles. obser. cap. 5. Conc. Carthag. 3. Can. 23. Quascunque sibi preces aliquis describit, non eis utatur, nisi prius eas cum instructioribus [fratribus contulerit. "What prayers soever any man hath framed for himself, let him first acquaint those that are wise and learned with them, before he presumeth to use them." And the reason is given in the twelfth canon of the Milevitan Council, which was also repeated in the seventieth canon of the Council of Afric, Ne forte aliquid contra fidem, vel per ignorantiam, vel per minus studium, sit compositum. "Lest either thorough ignorance, or thorough less care than is fit, any thing be said which is not consonant to the faith of Christ's Church." And that men may not think these rules are to be applied to public Prayers only, and not to private, let them weigh those words in the Council of Carthage, Quascunque sibi preces, &c. "The prayers which a man makes for himself," &c. And let them consider, that, when Christ had bidden us enter into our chamber and pray privately, presently He sets us a form to pray by, even there in secret, St. Matt. vi. 6, 7, 9. By which passages, those prayers are chiefly allowed and recommended unto us, (for all sudden and godly ejaculations are not to be condemned,) which with good advice and meditation are framed beforehand by them that best know what belong thereunto: that so, through this means, the worthiest part of our Christian duty to God-ward might suffer no such scandal and disgrace as otherwhiles it is forced to do; and that when we speak to, or call upon the awful majesty of Almighty God. we might be sure to speak in the grave and pious language of Christ's CHURCH, which hath evermore been guided by the Spirit of God, the Holy Ghost and not to lose ourselves with confusion in anys sudden, abrupt, or rude dictates, which are framed by private spirits, and ghosts of our own. In regard whereof, our very priests and deacons themselves ared for their private and daily prayers, enjoined to say the Morning and Evening Devotions of the Church and when at any time they pray, or bid the prayers |