1 Every Christian who wishes to pray and be devout should let the Psalter be his little book, and it would be good for every Christian to practice it and become so proficient in it that he could use it from word to word and always have it in his mouth, as often as something occurs to him to speak or do, so that he could lead and draw a saying from it as a proverb. For it is true that whatever a devout heart may desire to pray, there it finds its psalms and words so plain and sweet that no man, indeed all men, can devise such good ways, words, and devotions. Moreover, he also teaches and comforts in prayer, and is drawn through the Lord's Prayer, and the Lord's Prayer through him, so that one can be understood very finely from the other, and harmonize together.
2 Therefore, not only the previous prayer books should be read, since they contain almost all unchristian lies and
Forbid and abolish abuses, even in the best little prayers, where our Lord's suffering is drawn inwardly, and yet is used shamefully not for faith but for temporal use and custom, but also see to it that none of the new little prayers are torn down again. For it has already begun that almost everyone wants to make prayers according to his devotion, also paraphrases of the Psalter, and
Thus, his work will be praised and used in the church and among Christians, just as if the Psalter or the Lord's Prayer were a bad, small thing. And where this is not understood and measured, the Psalter and Our Father will be held in contempt. I let them be good in part, but the Psalter and Our Father should be better, even the best. Whoever learns to pray them correctly has learned to pray far above all prayers, especially because the Psalter has now been comprehensibly translated by God's grace.
*The location of this writing in the editions, also otherwise all necessary information about the same, is already given in the fourth volume of our edition, Col. 2, at the end of the note.
(3) I have heard a story of how a devout person was so fond of the Lord's Prayer that she prayed it with tears of great devotion. Then a bishop of good opinion wanted to improve the devotion, took the Our Father from her, gave her many good devotional prayers; but then she lost all devotion, and had to leave the devotional prayers and accept the Our Father again. If anyone should try a little more earnestly with the Psalter and Our Father, he should soon give up the devotional prayer.
Give leave, and say: Oh it is not the juice, strength, heat and fire that I find in the Psalter, it tastes too cold and hard to me etc.
4 Our dear Lord, who taught us and gave us the Psalter and the Lord's Prayer, grant us also the spirit of prayer and grace, that we may pray with joy and earnest faith, strongly and without ceasing, for we have need of it; so he has commanded, and so he would have us do. To him be praise, honor and thanksgiving forever and ever, amen.