upon thee, to be thankful to thee, and in all my need to come unto thee, not only when I have ordinary means by the which thou commonly workest, but also when I have none, yea, when all means and helps are clean against me.

[Here remember the state of your children and family, also your parents, neighbours, kinsfolks; also your friends, country, and magistrates, &c., as you shall have time thereto, and by God's good Spirit shall be provoked.]

Forgive us our debts, as we forgive them that are debtors unto us.

BY

Your debts', are understood, not only the things we have done, but the omission and leaving undone of the good things we ought to do.

By our, are not only understood the particular sins of one, but also generally the sins of all and every one of thy church.

By forgiveness, is understood free pardon and remission of sins, by the merits and deserts of thy dear Son Jesus Christ, who gave himself a ransom for us.

By our forgiving of other men's offences to us-ward', is understood thy good will; not only that it pleaseth thee that we should live in love and amity, but also that thou wouldest have us to be certain of thy pardoning us of our sins. For as certain as we are that we pardon them that offend us, so certain should we be that thou dost pardon us; whereof the forgiving our trespassers is (as it were) a sacrament unto us.

2 Our.

1 Debts.
4 As we forgive, &c.

3 Forgiveness.

So that by this petition I am taught to see that thy children, although by imputation they be pure from sin, yet they acknowledge sin to be and remain in them, and therefore do they pray for the remission and forgiveness of the

same.

Again, I am taught hereby to see how thy children do consider and take to heart, not only the evils they do, but also the good they leave undone, and therefore they pray thee heartily for pardon.

Moreover, I am here taught to see that thy children are careful for other men, and for their trespasses, and therefore pray that they might be pardoned in saying, our sins, and not my sins.

Besides this, I am taught here to see how thy children not only forgive all that offend them, but also pray for the pardoning of the offences of their enemies, and such as offend them. So far are they from maliciousness, pride, revengement, &c.

Last of all, I am taught to see how merciful thou art, which wilt have us to ask pardon, (whereof thou wouldest that we should in no point doubt, but be most assured that for Christ's sake thou hearest us,) and that not only for ourselves, but also for many others; for thou dost not command us to ask for any thing which thou wilt not give us.

By reason whereof I have great cause to lament and rejoice. To lament, because of my miserable estate, which am so far from these affections that are in thy children; which am so ignorant and careless of sin, not only in leaving good undone, but also in doing evil, and that daily in thought, word, and deed, &c. I speak

not of my carelessness for other folk's sins, as of my parents, children, family, magistrates, &c., neither of the sins of them to whom I have given occasion to sin.

To rejoice I have great cause, because of thy mercy in opening to me these things, in commanding me to pray for pardon, in promising me pardon, and in commanding others to pray for me. And surely I ought to be persuaded of thy mercy, though my sins be innumerable; for I see not only in this, but in every petition, how that every one of the church prayeth for me: yea, Christ thy Son, who sitteth on thy right hand, prayeth for me, &c. Oh, dear Father, be merciful unto me, and forgive me all my sins, and of thy goodness give me thy holy Spirit to open mine eyes, that I may see sin, the better to know it, the more truly to hate it, and most earnestly to strive against it, and that effectually both in myself and others.

Again, grant me the same thy holy Spirit to reveal unto me the remedy of sin by Christ only, and to work in me faith to embrace the same thy Christ and mercies in him, that I may henceforth be endued with thy holy Spirit, to begin to obey thy good will more and more, and to increase in the same for ever.

[Here call to mind the special sins you have committed heretofore. Remember if you have occasioned any to sin, to pray for them by name'. Remember that God's law should be so dear unto us, that the breaking thereof in others should be an occasion to make us to lament with tears, &c.]

Pray for them to whom you have given any occasion of sin.

Lead us not into temptation.

BECAUSE of our continual and great infirmities, because of the great diligence and subtleties of our enemies, and because thou art wont to punish sin with sin (which of all punishments is the greatest' and most to be feared); in this petition thou wouldest have thy children to have the same in remembrance, and for a remedy hereof thou hast appointed prayer2; so that the only cause why any are overcome and led into temptation is, for that they forget, what they desire in the petition going before this, which should never be out of their memory, to provoke them to be more thankful to thee, and more vigilant and heedy hereafter for falling into like perils. For which to be avoided, thou dost most graciously set forth a remedy, in commanding us to pray after pardon for our sins past, and for thy grace to guide us, so that we be not led into temptation, but might be delivered from evil. And because thou wouldest have all thy children to hang wholly upon thee, to fear thee only, and only to love thee, thou dost not teach them to pray, Suffer us not to be led, but, Lead us not into temptation, that (I say) they might only fear thee, and certainly know that Satan hath no power over so much as a pig, but whatsoever thou givest unto him, and of thy secret, but most just judg

1 The greatest punishment.

2 Remedy against evil is prayer.

3 Our sins should not be forgotten of us, if we would have them forgotten with God.

* Commodities coming by remembering our sins be thankfulness, vigilancy, and gentleness towards offenders. 5 Why we pray not, Suffer us not to be led, &c.

6 Matth. viii.

ment dost appoint him to use, not as he will, (for then we were all lost,) but as thou wilt, which canst will nothing but that which is most just, as to give them to the guiding of Satan, which will not be guided by thy grace, as thou didst Saul, &c.

Occasions to evil are in two sorts7; one by prosperity and success, another by adversity and the cross, &c. The evils coming of success commonly are unthankfulness, pride, security, and forgetting ourselves, forgetting of others, forgetfulness of God, of our mortality, &c. The evils coming of adversity commonly are impatience, murmuring, grudging, despairing, contemning of God, flattering of men, stealing, lying, with many other evils, whereto temptations will entice a man that is left to himself: whereas to one that is guided with God's Spirit, temptations are but trials to the glory of God, comfort of the tempted, and edifying of thy Church. But (as I said) if a man be left alone, temptations entice even to the devil himself: and therefore thy children pray to be delivered from evil, understanding thereby Satan himself, the sower and supporter of all evil. And this thy children do as well for others as for themselves. So that I may learn hereout many good things. First, to remember often our infirmity and weakness, and the dangerous estate we stand in, in respect of our flesh, of the world which is full of evil, of Satan which seeketh to sift us and as a roaring lion to destroy us, and of our sins, which deserve all kind of punishments and correction, that I might with thy children fear

7 Occasions to evil in two sorts.

8 What temptations are to the godly, and what they are to the wicked.