A FORME of Prayer to be publikely vsed in Churches, during this vnseasonable Weather, and aboundance of Raine.
¶ Set forth by Authoritie.
In their affliction they will seeke me early.
¶ Imprinted at London by Robert Barker, Printer to the Kings most Excellent Maiestie. 1613.
¶ A forme of Prayer to be publikely vsed in Churches, during this vnseasonable weather, and abundance of Raine.
At Morning Prayer after the 95. Psalme, O come let vs sing vnto the Lord, &c. Read the 105. Psalme, and the 10. Psalme.
For the first Lesson, the 6. and 7. of Genesis.
For the second Lesson, the 17. of Luke, or the 24. of Matthew.
After the Collect, O Lord our heauenly Father, Almighty and euerlasting God, &c. Say this Prayer.
MOst gracious God, and mercifull Father, forasmuch as wee are taught by thy holy Word,Leuit. 26. that thou wilt breake the pride of our power, bring vpon vs burning Agues to consume vs, make our hearts heauie; And that thou wilt suffer vs to sow [Page 2]our Seed in vaine, and breake the staffe of our Bread, when we despise thy sacred Ordinances, and walke stubbornly against thee: in that thou hast partly visited, partly threatned vs with thy dreadfull punishments, thou doest thereby graciously admonish vs of our manifold sinnes, and wilfull transgressions against thy most sacred Maiestie. Wee haue a long time securely stumbred in the senselessenes of our iniquities, and it hath pleased thy Gracious goodnesse by these thy chastisements mercifully to awaken vs. Wherefore we see the grieuousnes of our impietie, and beholding it, our hearts are filled with sorrow, and our eyes are watered with penitent teares. We do humbly acknowledge and confesse our great vnthankefulnesse for the continuall multiplying of thy blessings vpon vs. For the more thou hast heaped on vs thy Mercies, the more haue we, wretched sinners, by our transgressions prouoked thy Iustice: and therefore [Page 3]most iustly hast thou laid thy heauie hand vpon vs, in smiting some of vs with a lingering sicknesse, & by vnseasonable wether menacing dearth, and further scarcity. These extraordinarie afflictions, are infallible signes of thy wrath & anger kindled against vs, yet because we know thee not onely to be a iust, and righteous, but likewise a mercifull God in thy deare Sonne Iesus Christ; through his mediation, wee presume to prostrate our selues before thy Throne of grace, most humbly beseeching thy Fatherly goodnesse to wash away the vncleane pollutions of our sinnes with his precious blood, and to cast them into the bottome of the Sea, that their lowd crie may no longer pearce the Heauens, and thence pluck downe thine irefull indignation vpon vs: but wee being receiued into thy fauour, and henceforth walking in pietie, obedience, temperance, sobriety, and bringing forth fruits worthy of amendment of life, may to our [Page 4]comfort enioy thy temporall blessings in this life, and in that which is to come eternall glory, for Christ his sake our onely Aduocate and Mediatour. Amen.
¶ Then reade the Letanie, where, after the Prayer, Almighty and euerlasting God, which onely workest great marueiles, &c. say this Prayer.
O Most Omnipotent Creator, who by thine infinite power hast framed the whole world, and all things therein contained, of nothing, and out of thine vnspeakable loue towards man hast placed glorious lights in the firmament to shine vpon the earth, and to be signes for Seasons, for Dayes, and for Yeeres, & hast appointed the Heauens to shed down fruitful showres, and the earth to bring foorth euery greene and liuing thing in due season: for this thine inestimable goodnesse [Page 5]we are incessantly bound to dedicate our selues, our soules and bodies, yea, all our thoughts, and endeauors to be perpetuall sacrifices of thankefulnesse vnto thy holy Name, and euermore to praise and magnifie the riches of thy mercy towards vs. But wee, like a disobedient, and sinfull people, haue bin altogether vnmindfull of thy great clemencie, and made thy gracious blessings instruments of horrible ingratitude against thy diuine Maiestie: abusing them to pride, wantonnesse, surfetting, drunkennesse, and all kind of riot and excesse; wherewith wee most iustly haue prouoked thy fearefull wrath, and indignation against vs. And as we by the multitude of our sinnes haue frequently violated thy diuine ordinances, and Statutes, so hast thou of late commanded the heauens, the earth, and the times and seasons depending on them, to breake and alter their course, so to punish vs for these sinnes, with an vnusuall disease, and [Page 6]with feare of future famine, if out of thy bottomlesse mercy thou stretchest not out thy sauing hand to stop the streame of thy fury, like to be powred downe vpon vs. We haue sinned, we haue sinned, O Lord, and in the immoderate showres, vnnaturall seasons of the yeere, and long lingring sicknesse continuing yet amongst vs, We haue felt the weight of thy heauie displeasure. But now from the ground of our hearts, We grieue and are sorry, We mourne, and lament for these our transgressions: Lord then let thy heauie displeasure cease, and be no longer angry with vs. We doe vnfainedly repent vs of all our iniquities, and through the gracious assistance of thy holy spirit doe most seriously purpose to turne vnto thee: Lord then turne vnto vs, and let the light of thy countenance shine vpon vs, in vouchsafing vnto vs moderate showres, healthfull seasons, and the fruitfull increase of the earth. Blesse [Page 7]vs O Lord, that we may blesse thee; giue vnto vs strength, and health, that we may praise thy sauing health: graunt vnto vs seasonable weather, and with it, thy plenty and aboundance, that so we may be taught to magnifie the abundance of thy mercies through all generations, to our euerlasting saluation, and thy endlesse honor and glory, through Iesus Christ our onely Lord and Sauiour. Amen.
At Euening prayer, Reade the 78. Psalme, in stead of the Psalmes appointed for the day.
For the first Lesson, reade Deut. 28.
For the second Lesson, reade the Epistle of S. Iude, or, 1. Cor. 10. vnto the end of the thirteenth verse.
Before the Collect, Lighten our darkenes, &c. reade this Prayer.
ETernall God, whose perfect holinesse being euery where present, cannot suffer the wilfull encrease of wickednes and sinne: and therefore by thy manifest and visible iudgments thou declarest vnto grieuous sinners, both the greatnesse of thine indignation, and the weightinesse of their offences: we miserable & wretched sinners, being admonished by the apparent signes of thy displeasure now vpon vs, into [Page 9]what danger wee haue brought our selues by sinne, doe here humbly confesse our multiplied transgressions against thy diuine Maiestie, earnestly desiring thy singular goodnes, to respect vs with the eye of mercy, and to grant vnto vs vnfained repentance, that so the course of thy deserued anger may bee stayed against vs. O Lord, we behold and acknowledge thy hand powring vpon vs this chastisement of immoderate raine and waters: and the long continuance of this vnseasonable weather, hath wrought vpon our cōsciences (which are not so sensible as they should bee) at length to be affrighted, and to call vpon thee. Saue vs therfore, O God, that we perish not: deliuer vs out of the mire, that we sinke not: preserue vs, O Lord, for the waters are come in, euen vnto the soules of many of vs. Let not the water flood drowne vs, neither let the deepe swallow vs vp: and let not the pit shut her mouth vpon vs. We confesse, O God, that iniquitie [Page 10]doeth abound, that our sundry pollutions haue cried euen to the heauens for all thy stormes and tempests to fall vpon vs: but we beseech thee rather of thy infinite mercy to wash vs in the merits of thy Sonne Iesus Christ our Sauiour: for his sake accept our teares, our sighes, and hearty sorrow for our sinnes, and by the assistance of thy gracious spirit, make good our true purposes of amendment of life: Let thy blessed Name rather bee glorified in our saluation. Father of mercies, and God of al consolation, looke vpon the signe of thy Couenant in the clouds, and as thou sauedst thy people in the red sea; so we beseech thee to restraine thy showres, and to deliuer vs from this plague of waters. Furthermore, O heauenly Father, we doe feele that wrath is already gone out from thee, that thou doest threaten vs with scarcitie, and dearth: by these intemperate ouerflowings to make our fruitfull land barren, for the wickednesse of them [Page 11]that dwell therein: wee earnestly desire thee to forgiue the ignorances of the people, that the multitude of poore may not perish whome thou hast created. Our manifold sinnes, O Lord, do deserue, that thou shouldest visit vs with all thy roddes: As thou hast scourged vs heretofore with pestilence, & doest now weaken vs with a new disease: so thou maiest more deseruedly consume vs with scarcitie, and waste vs with death: but we flie vnto the Sanctuary of thy louing kindenesse, and the multitude of thy mercies towards vs, which exceede the variety of our sinnes. Remember thy wonted fauours to this land, how long thou hast giuen vs moderate raine from heauen, and fruitfull seasons, filling our hearts with ioy and gladnesse. Which blessings although we haue abused like prodigal sonnes, by riot, and intemperance, by forgetfulnes and vnthankfulnes, yet for thy goodnes receiue vs when we turne vnto thee by the intercession of [Page 12]thy only obedient Sonne, and grant vs the continuance of these temporall benefits, where of we haue necessitie in this life, vntill wee haue passed to immortalitie, and things eternall in the life to come, by the grace and mercy of our Sauiour Iesus Christ, who liueth and reigneth, &c.
Or this.
ALmightie, and most merciful Father, which vsest to be prouoked by offences, and yet pacified againe by repentance: which by thy punishments desirest the destruction of the sinnes, and not of the soules of thy seruants: We miserable and grieuous sinners doe beseech thee, to encline thine eares vnto our prayers, and to deliuer vs from the future calamities and afflictions, which (we haue iust cause to feare) doe now hang ouer our heades. Thou hast changed [Page 13]already the ordinary custome of the season, and by the ouerflowing of raine and waters doest threaten to wash away the strength and fatnes of the earth; to send scarcity and want amongst vs: We humbly beseech thee to turne away this thy deserued displeasure from vs, to consider our infirmities, and vpon our sorrow and repentance to alter the sentence of seueritie, if any be gone out against vs, and that for thy tender mercy in Christ Iesus, who liueth and reigneth, &c.