BOOK rumque quæ concludentur de II. et super negotio præfati matrimonii contractus ejusdem legetur, promulgabitur in acta, referetur in omnibus curiis, tam regni Franciæ, quam regni Angliæ, quibus potest, et fieri assolet, ab eisdem decernetur, confirmabitur, et promulgabitur.

XII. Quod inter regem Christianiss. regna Angliæ et Hiberniæ, et liberos procreatos ex dicto matrimonio, eorumque posteros, erit perpetua amicitia, et confœderatio.

XII. Conceditur.

Number XIX.

The prayer of Mr. John Fox, after his Good-Friday sermon, preached at St. Paul's-cross, about the year 1578. concluding his sermon with these words: "And now let "us pray as we began, making our earnest invocation to "Almighty God for the universal state of Christ's church, "and all other states and degrees in order particularly, "as custom and also duty requireth."

LORD Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, who wast crucifyed for our sins, and did rise again for our justification, and ascending up to heaven, reignest now at the right hand of the Father, with full power and authority ruling and disposing all things, according to thine own gracious and glorious purpose: wee, sinful creatures, and yet servants and members of thy church, do prostrate our selves and our prayers before thy imperial Majesty, having no other patron or advocate to speed our suits, or to resort unto, but thee alone. Beseeching thy goodness to be good to thy poor church militant here in this wretched earth;

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sometime a rich church, a large church, an universal church, BOOK spred far and wide through the whole compass of the earth; now driven into a narrow corner of the world: and hath much need of thy gracious help.

First, the Turk with the sword, what lands, what na- The Turk. tions and countries, what empires, kingdoms, and provinces, with cities innumerable, hath he won, not from us, but from thee: where thy name was wont to be invocated, thy word preached, thy sacraments administred; there now remaineth barbarous Mahumet, with his filthy Alcoran. The flourishing churches in Asia, the learned churches in Græcia, the manifold churches in Africa, which were wont to serve thee, now are gone from thee. The seven churches of Asia, with their candlesticks, whom thou diddest so well forwarn, are now removed. In all the churches, where thy diligent apostle St. Paul, thy apostles Peter and James, and other apostles so laboriously travailed, preaching and writing, to plant thy gospel, are now gone from thy gospel, in all the kingdoms of Syria, Palestina, Arabia, Persia, in all Armenia, and the empire of Cappadocia : through the whole compass of Asia, with Egypt and with Africa also, unless among the far Ethiopians, some old steps of Christianity peradventure yet do remain. Either yet in all Asia and 126 Africa, thy church hath not one foot of free land; all is turned either to infidelity or to captivity, whatsoever pertaineth to thee. And if Asia and Africa were decayed, the decay were great, but yet the defection were not so universal.

Now of Europe a great part is shrunk from thy church. All Thracia, with the empire of Constantinople; all Græcia, Epirus, Illyricum; and now of late all the kingdom almost of Hungaria, with much of Austria, with lamentable slaughter of Christian bloud, is wasted, and all become Turks.

Onely a little angle of the west part yet remaineth in some profession of thy name. And here, alack! cometh another mischief, as great or greater than the other. For the Turk with the sword is not so cruel, but the bishop of

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Rome.

BOOK Rome on the other side is more bitter and fierce against us: stirring up his bishops to burn us; his confederates to Bishop of conspire our destruction; setting kings against their subjects, and subjects disloyally to rebel against their princes. And all for thy name. Such distinction and hostility Satan hath sent among us, that Turks be not more enemies to Christians, than Christians to Christians, papists to protestants. Yea, protestants with protestants do not agree; but fall out for trifles. So that the poor little flock of thy church, distressed on every side, hath neither rest without, nor peace within, nor place almost in the world where to abide; but may cry now from the earth, even as thine own reverence cryed out from thy cross, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

England's alcion days.

Papists.

Among us Englishmen here in England, after so great storms of persecutions and cruel murthers of so many martyrs, it hath pleased thee to give us these alcion days; which yet we enjoy, and beseech thy merciful goodness still they may continue. But here also, alack! what shall we say, so many enemies we have, that envy us this rest and tranquillity, and do what they can to disturb it. They which be friends and lovers of the bishop of Rome, although they eat the fat of the land, and have the best preferments and offices, and live most at ease, and ayl nothing, yet are they not therewith content. They grudge, they mutter and murmur, they conspire and take counsil against us. It fretteth them, that we live by them, or with them, and cannot abide that we should draw the bare breathing of the air; when they have all the most liberty of the land. And albeit thy singular goodness hath given them a queen so calm, so patient, merciful, more like a natural mother than a princess, to govern over them; such as neither they nor their auncestors never read of in the stories of this land before: yet all this will not calm them; their unquiet spirit is not yet content; they repine and rebel, and needs would have, with the frogs of Egypt, a Ciconia, an Italian stranger, a bishop of Rome, to play rex over them, and care not if all the world were set on a fire, so that they with their Italian

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lordships might reign alone. So fond are we Englishmen BOOK of straunge and foreign things; so unnatural to our selves; so greedy of new-fangle novelties; never contented with any estate long to continue, be it never so good. And furthermore, so cruel one to another, that we think our selves not quiet, unless it be seasoned with the bloud of others. For that is their hope, that is all their gaping and looking: that is their golden-day of jubilee, which they thirst for so much; not to have the Lord to come in the clouds, but to have our bloud, and to spil our lives. That, that is it which they would have; and long since would have had their wills upon us, had not thy gracious pity and mercy raised up to us this our merciful queen, thy servant Elizabeth, somewhat to stay their fury.

and council,

For whom as we most condignely give thee most hearty Prayer for thanks, so likewise we beseech thy heavenly Majesty, that the queen, as thou hast given her unto us, and hast from so manifold dangers preserved her before she was queen; so now in her royal estate she may continually be preserved, not only from the hands, but from all malignant devices, wrought, attempted, or conceived, of enemies, both ghostly and bodily, against her. In this her government be her governour, we beseech thee; so shall her majesty well govern us, if first she be governed by thee. Multiply her reign with many days; and her years with much felicity; with abundance of peace, 127 and life ghostly. That as she hath now doubled the years of her sister and brother; so, if it be thy plesure, she may overgrow in reigning the reign of her father."

Who reign

And because no government can long stand without good ed 37 years. counsil; neither can a counsil be good, except it be prospered by thee: bless therefore, we beseech thee, both her majesty and her honourable counsil; that both they rightly understand what is to be done; and she accordingly may accomplish that they do counsil, to the glory and furtherance of the gospel, and public wealth of this realm.

Furthermore, we beseech thee, Lord Jesu, who with the For the nomajesty of thy glory dost drowne all nobility, (being the bility. only Son of God, heir and lord of all things,) bless the nobi