A Metrical Declaration of the Seven Petitions of the Paternoster

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¶A metricall declaration of the .vij. petitions of the pater-noster.

Luce .xi. when ye pray, saye. Our father whiche arte in heuen. &c.

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THough I be wyllynge and feruent of desyre

Yet for vnkonnynge I dare not me auaunce

Of the heuenly misteryes though ye wold requyre

Of the pater-noster to declare in substaunce

Recordyd in scrypture / yf ye call to remembraunce

This prayer exciteth crysten hartes with deuout maters

Onely in chryst_Iesu to fynde all suffysaunce

As therin is taught by the .vii. prayers

¶Groundely and bryefely also comprehendyd

Whyle he was here / of trouth it is thus falle

Taught his dyscyples / which may not be amendyd

For it transcendeth other prayers all

Most auctorysed / whan we for socour call

Most celestyall and most of dygnite

Crouned amonge prayers in the heuenly stall

Yf it be sayd in perfyt cheryte cheryte: =charity

¶I haue no mouth / playnly to deuyse

Fyrst to remembre / the great dygnyte

Ferefull to take / on me so hygh enterpryse

Moste celestiall / most aungelyk of degre

For to the hygh myghty trinyte

It is dyrecte / lorde of most puissaunce

Whiche called is / one two and thre

All one in vertue / and all one in substaunce

¶This word pater sheweth in substaunce

His myght is most greatest of excellence

Of heuen and erth / hath all the ordynaunce

Called welle of grace / myrour of sapyence

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Whiche to his chyldren / of fatherly prouydence

Hath gyue a fraunchyse / aboue fraunchyses all

That we may boldly / with deuout reuerence

Agayne all myschyefe / to hym for helpe call

¶Fyrst this worde Pater / set us in assuraunce

And this worde / noster / gyueth vs humblenesse

Of hym to requyre with deuout obeysaunce

Remedy / agayne all worldly dystresse

So that charyte with her suster mekenesse

Fayth / trust / and hope / be with them present

Then whan we praye / and saye of faythfulnesse

Pater noster we shall haue our entent

¶In this worde Pater standeth all our confidence

Our hole beleue / whan we say Qui es

Our stedfast fayth / and fully our credence

In heuen abydynge / as souerayne lorde of peas

Where thre iera[r]chyes / day and nyght not ses ierarchyes] ierachyes 1530

To crye in celis / with heuenly melodye

Cherubyn nor seraphyn / not slouth nor reckles

Synge Osanna / with feruent armonye.

¶Whose gloryous name / for to magnyfye

Mouth and tonge / be lame of theyr langage

But the holy-gost / by grace lyst vs to guye

Us to enspyre / in our mortall passage

As goostly chyldren / borne of hye lynage

Neuer to thyne hyghnesse / be no mortall offence

In this dredfull perylous pylgrymage

Tyll clere contrycion / our gyltes recompence

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¶We were renewed / full nye to thyne alye

By the holy-gostes / gracyous influence

Fyrst by baptyme / to begynne at that partye

Next confermed / by thy magnyfycence

To ben acceptyd / to thy beniuolence

As chose chylderne to thyne herytage

That we may saye / with deuout reuerence

Lorde haue mercy / on all our olde outrage

¶These .vii. peticions / be of vertue most

Onely to god / of hole harte applyed

To the .vii. vertues / of the holy-gost

Fyrst whan we saye / this name be sanctifyed

Name of all names / halowed and gloryfyed

As the gospell playnly doth commaunde

But here my symplenesse / with Argus not clere-eyed

Meue this questyon / askynge this demaunde

¶How myght in vs be kyn[d]led suche desyre kyndled] kynled 1530

Boldly to saye / conceyued our feblenesse

Though charyte brent in vs as flame of fyre

Lyke as in Seraphyn / brenneth all perfytnesse

I answere thus / a ground take of mekenesse

Uertue of vertues / doctours saye the same

Under support / of his paternall goodnesse

To say or thynke / halowed be thy name

¶Without addicyon to sette our harte at reste

That therwithall we haue this sentence

For our party / to conclude for our beste

In our inwarde / gostly intellygence

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Fyrst that his name / name of moste excellence

Within hym-selfe / euery houre and space

Be sanctifyed so / that by his prouidence

It maye in vs / be sanctifyed by his grace.

Adueniat regnum tuum.

¶Thy kyngdome lorde illumined with thy face

Where is full gladnes / of all goostly lyght

May come to vs at the tyme set and space

Whan thou assygnest / by thyne eternall myght

Of thy presence / that we maye haue a syght

O gracyo[u]s lorde / our tyme, so prouyde

Claymed with mekenesse / of mercy more than ryght

Be mene of thy passyon / that we may there abyde Be: =By

¶Thy kyngdome lorde fyrst in this present lyfe

Come to vs / to rewle vs and gouerne

Agayne the assawtes / and the treble stryfe

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Of our thre ennemyes / lorde holde so the lanterne

By thy grace whiche that is eterne

Reygne so in vs / of reason holde so our brydell

Betwene good and euyll / we may so dyscerne

Agayne thy pleasure / to do nothynge in idell

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¶Lorde by thy mercy / reygne in vs so here

Of all vyces / that we maye haue vyctory

To clayme a tytle / aboue the sterrys clere

Thy passyon chyefe / set fyrst in memory

With the to reygne / in thyne eternall glory

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Asked by bylle wrytte / with thy precyous blood Asked ='Proclaimed'? See OED s.v. ask v, 20

Sheed from thy body for our carefull mysery

On hygh vppon the mount / at caluary on the rood

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Fiat voluntas tua.

¶So as thy wyll fulfylled is in heuen

Ryght so in erth / fulfylled mout it be mout: =might

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Lyke as the court / aboue the sterres seuen

Of orders nyne / and ierarchyes thre

Syngynge sanctus / thryes before the trinyte

So make vs lorde / with deuout obseruaunce

Daye and nyght / knelynge on our kne

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Thy deth thy passyon to haue in remembraunce

¶Fyrst thy preceptes / and ten comaundementes

We may fulfylle bytwene hope and drede

And forsake with all our hole ententes

All that sholde dysplease the in dede

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Syth to a pyller / thou lyst for vs to blede

Therwith to do / all that thou lyste commaunde

Suffre thy mercy / so vppon vs sprede

Part to receyue / that thou gafe at thy maunde maunde: =maundy, 'the Last Supper'

To thy dyscyples for a memoryall

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For a perpetuall commemoracyon

Of thy fleshe and thy blood / take in especyall

Of a pure mayde / thyne incarnacyon

Thy meke sufferaunce / for our redempcyon

With minde also / thou lyst for vs be ded

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That we may clayme for our saluacyon

Receyue thy body amonge in fourme of bred

Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie

¶That we dare say with all humilyte

Under the wenges of thy proteccyon wenges: =wings

Panem nostrum da nobis hodie

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Knoden afore Pilat / baken in thy passyon Knoden: =Kneaded

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Our dayly brede our restauracyon

Our fode our manna / agayne fendes violence

Stronge with Helyas / byble maketh mencyon

To mount_Oreb / to haue there resydence

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¶This brede of lyfe gyueth vs force & myght

Agayne gostly enemyes / when they wolde assayle

Helthe of the soule oure body stronge in fyght

With spyrites infernall / to holde a batayle

Sathan abydeth not for all his apparayle

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Where this brede is sacred with chrystes mouth

Clenly receyued / the fende may not auayle

So great vertue / this brede hath east and south

¶This brede of aungels / brede celestyall

Brede that excellyth / reason and nature

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Callyd brede of lyfe and repast eternall

Gyueth lyfe euer-lastyn[g]e / and euer shall endure euer-lastynge] euer-lastynke 1530

Most commendyd by prophetes in scrypture

Bothe to soule and body / brede of most comfort

Folke in sykenesse / this bred doth them recure

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To poore pylgrymmes restoratyfe and support

Et dimitte nobis debita nostra &c.

¶In this peticion o lorde do vs socourre

Fyrst consyderynge / our fragilitye

Forgyue our dettes / as we forgyue oure

Aboue all-thynge / to loue and drede the

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Next oure neyghbour / in perfyt cheryte

Fyrst deme my-selfe / worst of any man

Uoyde of presumpcyon / bowynge done my kne done: =down

And to remembre vppon the publycan

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Durst not lyfte his eyen / vp vnto heuen

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To loke vp ferefull / on the sonne-streme

And I am soyled with the synnes seuen

That in myne eyen / can not se a large beme

Though it spredde / all abrode this reame reame: =realm

Yet can I se well motys in other mennes syght

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A small sparke / that castyth out no beme

Blent in fautys / though torches were clere lyght Blent ='Blinded'? (see OED s.v. blend v1), or 'Shone, glittered'? (see OED s.v. blenk v, 6)

This to saye I can be well vengeable

When my neyghbour / doth a small trespace

Though I be gylty / and horryble coulpable

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Can fynde wayes / lyghtly for to passe

And agaynst my brother / great gyltes compasse

My-selfe also excuse / and put on hym the wrake

With lyke fals assemblaunt / shew out a fayre face assemblaunt: =assemblant, 'appearance, show'

As in my-selfe there founde were no lacke

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¶And to conclude who wyll no mercy haue

At his most nede he shall go mercyles

And who is besy his neyghbour to depraue

By fals report / escapeth not harmeles

Mourder at the back and language rekles

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Ipocrysye / fraude / compassyth guyle

Symulacyon and flatry put in presse

This sort wyll out though they dure a whyle

¶But yf thou stonde in perfyt cheryte

To loue thy frende / and also thyn enemye

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Without faynynge / or duplycyte

That there be no faute couertly

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To shewe one outwarde / and another inwardly

In such wyse / thy prayer is not good

I dare affyrme / and wryte trewly

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God louyd neuer / two faces in one hood

Et ne nos inducas in temptacione.

¶O lorde Iesu of mercyfull pyte

Under the banner of thy passyon

Agayne our dedly / dredfull foys thre

Suffer vs to falle / in no temptacyon

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The fleshe the feende / by fals collusyon

The olde serpent / with many thousande treyne

Without blood / shad for our redempcyon

We may in charyte / not well this prayer saye

¶It is remembred / of Mathees the gospell

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Of a seruaunt / as made is mencyon

Bycause his lorde / was agayne hym fell

He was feteryd and sygned to pryson

In sygne / who wyll do no remyssyon

At suche a streyg[ht] / his seruaunt for to saue streyght] streygth 1530

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Dimitte nobis / put from this orison

Who doth no mercy / he shall no mercy haue

Sed libera nos a malo.

¶Of thy benygne / mercyfull pyte

Lorde in this perilous / dredfull pylgrymage

Saue vs from daunger / and all aduersyte

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And vs delyuer / from all foreyn damage

From peryll passed / without present passage

Future swalowyng / of fortunes floodes

Dredfull carybdys / syrenes mortall rage

And transmutacyon / of all worldly goodes.

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¶Pater-noster this prayer vertuous

Yf it be sayd / with dew reuerence

Of all prayers is most victorious

Agayne our thre enemyes / to stonde at dyffence

So that Maria lyst shewe her presence

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And feruent charyte / be captayne of the felde

Fy on all infernall violence

So chrystes passyon / be portrayed in our shelde

¶Lyke a glenare vppon a large londe

Amonge shokkes plentuous of auctours

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Though I were besy / to gader with my honde

Lyke myne desyre to haue founde out some flours

The grene was ropen / russet were the colours

I founde no suger / in my small liberary

Soil dryed vp / of Tullius syluer shours

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Ferefull and dull / there longer for to tarry

¶In this processe any more to saye

Good-wyll abode in my inwarde entent

The aureate lycour was in my study dreye dreye: =dry

Of callyope / and all her fauour spent

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Founde there no causes / but scrowles all to_rent

Nothynge ellumyned / with golde asure nor red

Whiche shalbe ioyned / with my testament

Layde on my brest / the houre whan I shall be ded

¶Though I was dull / in my deuocyons

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Duryng my lyfe / with cordyall reuerence

Dayly to saye / these .vii. peticyons

Herte and mouth accordynge in sentence

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With cyrcumstaunces / of intellygence

To please the lorde / with hole affeccyon

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Ueyne thoughtes / voyde slouth and neglygence

Mor than a thousand without deuocyon Mor: =More

¶Lenuoy.

¶To all my maysters knelynge on my kne

That shall rede this compylacyon

I praye them mekely / of theyr benygnyte

Fyrste dewly done / examynacyon

And folowynge after iuste correccyon

Whan they haue leysoure and couenable space

That I maye fynde supportacyon

By godly fauour / to correcte of theyr grace.

¶Man lyfte vp thy harte / to the father in heuen

And praye vnto hym / whiche is eternall

That sytteth so farre / aboue [the] sterres seuen the] ther 1530

In his palays most imperyall

To graunte vs grace here in this lyfe mortall

Contricyon of synne / afore our departynge

And or we passe / remyssyon finall

Towarde that lyfe / where ioye is euer-lastynge.

Amen.

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