the very beginninning of whose reigne, a new light as it were, of Gods religion, semed to vs for to spring, & rise. The Iewes did blesse the widow Iudith with one voyce, sayinge: Thou art the glory of Hierusalem, thou arte the ioye of Israell, thou art the honor of our people, for that thou hast loued chastitie, and thou shalt be blessed for euer.

And we the Englyshe, with one agreable consent doo crie: Thou Mary art the glorie of Englande, our ioye, the honor of thy people, for that thou haste embraced chastitie: thine hart is strengthened. for the hand of our Lord hath comforted thee, and therfore thou shalt be blessed for euer. But bowe downe, O most mercifull father thyne eare, & open thine eyes and behold our affliction, and our humbled confession. Thou knowest Lorde, that against Philippe, not by humayne, but by thy prouidence our king, and against thy seruaunt Mary, by thy ordinaunce our Quene, the restorers and mainteiners of thy Testament, and of thy fayth and moste constant defenders of thy churche: thou knowest I saye that against these our two gouernours (the enemies of thy holy testament, and of the churche thy spouse) be moste rancke rebels and spitefull murmurers, walkyng after their lustes, whose mouth speaketh wordes of pride, to the ende they may set vp the kingdom of Heretikes and Schismatikes. By the power of their hands, they wold chaunge thy promisses, and destroye thyne inheritaunce, and stop and shut vp the mouthes of them that prayse thee, and extinguishe the glory of thy catholyke churche and altar. It is manifest and playne, howe many contentions howe many conspiracies, and seditions, howe great warres, what tumultes, howe many, and howe great troublesome vexations, howe many heresies & schismes (for these be the most ready deuises, and euident tokens of heretiks) for our synnes do hange ouer vs, if thy seruāt be taken from this lyfe: for we acknowledge that our lord is omnipotent, who hath pitched his dwellyng place in the myddes of his people, to the intēt to deliuer vs out of the hands of our enemies. Tourne therfore thy countenaūce vnto vs, shew vnto vs O Lord thy face. Punishe vs for our synnes accordinge to thy wyll and pleasure, only nowe deliuer vs. We bowyng the knees of our harte, beseche thee that thou wilt not reserue vnto vs punyshement for euer, and we shall prayse thee, all the dayes of our life. Heare our crie, and the prayer of thy people, and open to them the treasure of thy mercy, thy gracious fauour, the spryng of lyuely water. Thou that hast begon, make in the hand of thy seruaunt a perfect worke. Suffer not, we pray thee, the faithles rebels to say of thy seruaunt and her coūsellours: thei haue deuised matters which they can not performe.

And graunt vnto thy seruaunt an happy and an easy trauayle. for it is not impossible to thy power, nor indecent to thy iustice, nor vnwonted to thy mercie. It is well knowen vnto vs, howe maruelously thou diddest woorke in Sara of thage of. xc. yeares, and in Elizabeth the barren, also far strickē in age: for thy coūsell is not in the power of men. Thou Lorde that art the searcher of hartes and thoughtes, thou knowest that thy seruaunt neuer lusted after man, neuer gaue her selfe to wanton company, nor made her selfe partaker with them that walke in lightnes: but she consented to take an husbande with thy feare, and not with her luste. Thou knowest that thy seruaūt toke an husband, not for carnall pleasure, but only for the desire and loue of posteritie, wherein thy name myght be blessed for euer and euer. Geue therfore vnto thy seruauntes, Philippe our kyng, and Mary our Quene, a male issue, whiche may sytte in the seate of thy kingdom. Geue vnto our Quene thy seruaunt, a litle infant in fashiō and body comely and beautiful, in pregnaunt wytte notable and excellent. Graunt the same to be in obedience lyke Abraham, in hospitalitie lyk Loth, in chastitie and brotherly loue like Ioseph, in mekenes and myldnes lyke Moses, in strēgth & valiauntnes lyke Sampson. Let him be founde faithfull, as Dauid after thy heart. Let him bee wise amōg kings as the moste wise Salomō. Let hym be like Iob, a simple and an vpright man, fearing God & eschewyng euyl. Let him finally be garnished with þ^e cōlines of al vertuous cōditiōs, and in the same let him waxe olde and lyue, that he may see his chyldrens chyldren to the thirde and fourth generation. And geue vnto our soueraigne Lorde and Lady, kyng Philip and Quene Mary, thy blessyng, and long lyfe vpon the earth. And graunt that of them may come kynges and Quenes, whiche may stedfastly continue in faith, loue, and holines. And blessed be their seed of our God, that al natiōs may knowe, that thou art onely God in all the earth, whiche art blessed for euer and euer.

Amen.

¶ A short prayer for Quene Mary, set foorth in Englyshe by Thomas Smyth, seruaunt to her Maiestie, to be dayly & hourely praied and sayde of good Subiectes.  

Commentary     Close

The third prayer (1563, pp. 1016-17; 1570, p. 1654; 1576, p. 1411; 1583, p. 1481) is stated (only in 1563) to be by Thomas Smith; presumably Sir Thomas Smith. The note identifying Smith as the author of this prayer may well have been removed at Smith's request.

O Almightie father, whiche diddest sanctifie the blessed virgyn and mother Mary in her conception, and in the byrth of Christe our sauiour (thy only sonne): And also by thy omnipotent power diddest safely deliuer the Prophet Ionas out of the Whales bely: Defende O Lorde, we beseche thee, thy seruaunt Marie our Quene (with chylde conceiued) and so visite her in, and with thy godly gifte of healthe, that not onely the childe (thy creature) within