inner life than the choicest poems, in which the best expressions of thought are fettered by rhetorical rules, or are made to seem insincere by the very melodies and graces of verse. The clearest pictures of the joy and peace of the soul in communion with its Divine parent are to be found, not in metrical language, but in prayer.

It is well known how much Queen Mary feared the influence of John Knox; and the prayers of Knox are believed to have been the salvation of Scotland. How does a single passage from one of Knox's prayers show the fire of his spirit, and the grandeur of his confidence in God! On the death of Edward, which he regarded

as a punishment of the people for their ingratitude, he prayed:

"All are found fruitless, even the princes with the prophets withered trees.

"Take not from us the light of thy evangely, and suffer thou no papistrie to prevail in this realme.

"Mytigate the hearts of those that persecute us, and let us not faynte under the cross of our Saviour, but assist us with the Holy Ghost even unto the end."

We have here one of the truest insights of the motives, purpose and faith of the Reformers, whose prayers crumbled the Scottish throne.

So far as we know there is no work on devotion that presents notable prayers with their biographical or historical connections. The thought has occurred to the author, that the preparation of such a work would not only supply a want in religious literature, but present, under a new light, many noble and beautiful portraits of Christian character,

HEZEKIAH BUTTERWORTH.

CONTENTS.

I.

THE PRAYERS OF THE BIBLE.

II.

THE LORD'S PRAYER IN DIFFERENT

LANGUAGES.

Metrical, for Church Use, about Three Centuries Ago.

Modern Metrical Version. - From a MS. in the Bodleian

Library of the 15th Century. From the Prymer in

English and Latin, Paris, 1538. - Latin (without the

Greek.

Ascription of Praise). - Ascription of Praise. -

German.-French. - Metrical Version.

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vi.

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PAGE

13

28

III.

THE PRAYER OF TOBIT FOR DEATH.

Eventide

IV.

PSALM XXXI. 5 (as repeated in history).

V.

PRAYERS IN THE EARLY CHURCH.

Te Deum Laudamus. - The Prayer of Polycarp on being

brought to the Stake. — The Oldest Prayer in Metre for

Children. Prayer of Chrysostom. Cyprian. — The

So-called Prayers of St. James and St. Mark. — A Prayer

from the Eastern Liturgy of St. Mark

-

VI.

EASTERN EVENING PRAYERS.

VII.

ST. BONAVENTURA.

VIII.

ST. AUGUSTINE.

Religious Experience and Devotions. God All-in-All. -

The Divine Illumination.

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PAGE

35

37

40

. 51

53

55

64

X.

THOMAS A. KEMPIS.

For Contentment in Christ.

-

GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS.

Gustavus Adolphus before the Battle of Lutzen

XII.

THE PRAYER OF KEPLER.

XIII.

FRENCH PIETISTS.

Pascal.-Perfect Rest in the Will of God.- Madame
Guyon. - A Meditation. - A Meditation. - Fenelon.-
A Prayer for Morning. - For Noon. - For Evening.
For Divine Love. - Evening. - Fenelon's Supreme De-
sire. Massillon. - A Prayer of Massillon,

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XIV.

-

-

PAGE.

MARTIN LUTHER.

Martin Luther's Prayer at the Diet of Worms, and Prayer

for the Life of Melancthon, 1483-1546

XV.

ENGLISH AND SCOTTISH HISTORY.

-

Knox's Prayers for Scotland. - For the Kingdom. - The
Prayers and Liturgies of Edward VI.- For Gentlemen.
For Landlords.-Lady Jane Gray in Prison.-In Prison.
-The Prayer of Latimer for England. - The Last