Christian praiers Now lately augmented In the Evening & Morning ¶ Imprinted at London Delton. Anno Domini. On the back of the title is as follows: Titus. 2. THE grace of God that bringeth saluation vnto all men hath appeared, and teacheth us that we should deny vngodlines, and worldly lustes, and that we should liue soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world, looking for that blessed hope and notable appearing of the glory of the mighty God, which is of our Sauiour Iesus Christ. ENOX LIBRARY NOTICE OF THE PRESENT EDITION. THE number of books of private prayer and manuals of devotion, sanctioned by the church of Rome for the use of the people, has always been very great, though for the most part replete with error and superstitious addresses to the virgin and saints. Early in the English Reformation there was a demand for improved books of private devotions; and several primers and other manuals of prayers, more scriptural in their contents, were sent forth. During the reign of Queen Mary the greater part of these were destroyed, and the Popish Hours, and similar collections, were again used. In the first years of Queen Elizabeth the need for Protestant manuals was again felt; but while the Queen and the Convocation gave especial attention to the Public Liturgy, or Book of Common Prayer, the care of providing smaller books for private devotions was left to individuals; although some, as a book of devotions called the Horarium or Hours of Prayer, and a Primer, were set forth in 1560, by the Queen's authority, the former of which Bishop Cosins adopted in forming his manual in the following century, entitled, "A Collection of Private Devotions in the practice of the ancient church, called the Hours of Prayer." But other collections, still further removed from the Romish manuals, soon appeared: amongst these is one in great part very nearly conformed to the Liturgy, entitled "Preces Privatæ in studiosorum gratiam collectæ, et Regia authoritate approbatæ." Maunsell, in his Catalogue of English Printed Books, London, A. D. 1595, enumerates the titles of more than eighty works under the general head of "Praiers." A history or general account of these English Protestant manuals of devotion, printed in the latter part of the sixteenth century, would be interesting in itself, and throw considerable light upon other subjects; but as such a statement may be prefixed to some of the collections of a later date than the present, only a few remarks will now be attempted. The work here reprinted is one of the earliest English books of private devotion in this reign at all complete. It was preceded by some others much smaller, and more limited in their contents: still they are interesting, and the more so as they are now of rare occurrence. Two of these, one entitled "Certayne Godly Exercises, Meditations and Prayers, printed by William Powell," without date, and the other "Godlie Meditations upon the Lordes prayer, the beliefe and ten commandmentes, with other comfortable Meditations, Praiers and Exercises, printed by Rowland Hall in 1562," of which there are copies in the library of St. John's College, Cambridge, are of this description. They formed a part of the valuable collection presented to that college by Thomas Baker, who has written in the volume in which they are bound together, "This volume contains pieces by T. Lever, Ja. Pilkington, R. Coles, J. Lydley, &c., which, being little things, are very scarce and hard to be met with elsewhere; and are therefore of value, though they be imperfect. There is no date of the print to the first three; but they must have been wrote in Queen Eliz. time, who is here prayed for, and probably after the fire at St. Paul's, which seems to be here meant. The last, for the sake of Mr. Bradford, a holy good man, I have perfected; of the others I never saw another copy." The judicious antiquarian was right in his conjecture as to the dates; for, as Herbert states in his Typographical Antiquities, William Powell did not print after the year 1567 or 1568. He had a license from the Stationers' Company, A. D. 1566, to print "Ludlowe's Prayers," probably the Lidley's Prayers in this volume. Most of the prayers in the two small collections above mentioned are included in the present work, which is generally known by the appellation of Henry Bull's Prayers. The earliest edition men tioned by Herbert, Lowndes, and other bibliographers, is of the date 1570; after which time it was frequently reprinted. That edition, however, is stated on the title to be "lately augmented;" and the one which supplied the copy for this reprint, being printed, as the colophon at the end states, by William Powell, must be considered the earlier edition. The copy used for this reprint is deficient in the title and a few other leaves. It was presented to the Parker Society by the Rev. William Wilson, D.D., Canon of Winchester: and as yet another copy has not been met with, nor is this edition mentioned by any of the bibliographers. It appeared to be the most suitable for this reprint, being the earliest edition of what may be considered as the first extended collection of private prayers of that reign. It, in fact, contains more articles than the edition of 1570, and has some prayers wanting in that edition, though subsequently again included in the later reprints. This copy also had the stronger claim to be reprinted, as the later editions have very numerous alterations, chiefly verbal, and not always improvements. The few deficient leaves were supplied from a copy of the edition of 1570, which gave evidence of the length of time this manual continued popular, it having been richly bound with embroidered covers by the Ferrars, of Little |