Certain prayers and godly meditations very needful for every ChristenCerteine prayers and godly meditacyons very nedefull for euery Christen

he is a great thing that I desire o Lord Jow be it sith thou art god a great Lord / and king over all gods / he doth the injury which asketh small things of thee. All transitory and corruptible things are but small in thy sight: but spiritual & everlasting things are great / and precious. Take away the spirit / and soul from the body / and what remaineth but most vile dung dust & a vain shadow therefore even so much difference is between the spirit and the body / as is between the ⟨image 121⟩body & his shadow / so may I conclude that he which asketh bodily things asketh but vain trifles but he that desireth spiritual things doth surely desire great things / but specially he that desireth thy saving health / what is thy saving health but Jesus thy son? which is very god / & everlasting life / why shall I not then ask of the this thy saviour / sith thou art almighty and most liberal father / which gavest him unto the death of the cross for me. Now sith thou hast so offered him for me / why should I be ashamed to ask him of thee? It is a great and noble present nether am I worthy to have such a gift how be it it becometh thy worthy liberality to give such noble gifts / for this therefore thine ineffable gentleness I dare presume to come boldly unto thee and to desire thy saving health in whom I might fully rejoice. For if of his carnal father any son ask fish / will he teach him a serpent. And if he ask an egg / will he give him a scorpion? or if he ask breed / will he give him a stone? Now if carnal fathers being evil and sinners / will give unto their childer good gifts which they have received ⟨image 122⟩of thee: how much more thou heavenly father which of thine own substance art good / wilt give a good spirit to them that desire it of thee? Behold thy son which is returned from a far country sorrowing and repenting / asketh of the the fish of faith / for as the fish lieth secrete under the water / even so is faith of such things as are not seen / he asketh I say a true faith that he may rejoice in thy saving health: wilt thou reach him a serpent?

he is a greate thinge that I desyre o Lorde Iow be it sith thou arte god a greate Lorde / and kynge ouer all goddes / he doth the iniurye which asketh small thinges of the. All transitorye and corruptible thinges are but small in thy syght: but spyrytuall & euerlastynge thinges are greate / and precyous. Take awaye the sprete / and soule from the bodye / and what remayneth but most vyle dounge dust & a vayne shadowe therfore euē so moch difference is betwene the sprete and the bodye / as is betwene the