Just as nothing can equal your name, so we desire that it be both acknowledged and worshiped by all mortals. This will be done if, just as you often rescued your people from grave dangers, so in the present you look upon them, give them strength, and grant them true salvation when the enemies of human salvation rise up mightily against them. We beseech you to unfurl this splendid banner so that the opponents of your glory, after taking notice of it, may earnestly be converted unto you. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Peter Martyr Vermigli, Sacred Prayers from the Psalms of David (pp. 82-83).
Peter Martyr Vermigli (1499-1562) is one of the greats of the Protestant Reformation. His influence—personal, through his writings, and by way of his students—had a profound impact throughout Protestant lands as well as in significant portions of Roman Catholic Europe as well. As the first and most significant mentor in Zanchi’s life, he also has a special claim on my affections.
Vermigli’s prayers on the Psalms are a fascinating window into his heart and theology… as well as a delightful devotional supplement for anyone reading through the Psalter. It’s not clear when, precisely, he wrote the prayers, since they were only found and published after his death, but they give a great deal of internal evidence that they were penned during a period of persecution and suffering for the reforming churches.
Vermigli himself was twice an exile for the Gospel, first from his native Italy (with the Inquisition on his heels) and then again, in the mid-1550s, from England when Mary Tudor came to the throne. This second exile was preceded by his arrest, six month’s imprisonment, and the very real threat of execution. In other words, Vermigli’s prayers came from a place of suffering and uncertainty about what this life would bring. They often call upon God to remember those who look to him for their salvation, despite their many sins, for his own name’s sake. Seeing this impulse in Vermigli’s prayers is not surprising.
What is surprising is the emphasis on what we would now call “missional thinking.” The Reformation is often accused of being lukewarm about taking the gospel to the nations. But if PMV is any indication, maybe we need to do some rereading.
Over and over, Vermigli calls upon God to see to the ever increasing proclamation of his goodness and inexhaustible kindness to all peoples (Ps. 93), the extolling of his name everywhere that all peoples might adore and reverence the divine majesty with pure worship (Ps. 96), the refreshing of the downtrodden so that God’s fairness and justice might shine forth as widely as possible to all people (Ps. 98), and on and on and on.
If the ultimate goal of Vermigli’s prayers was God’s glory, then their penultimate goal was very often framed in terms of the fulfillment of the Great Commission. He saw the expansion of Christ’s kingdom to the ends of the earth as, perhaps, the primary way in which God would get the glory.
But, Vermigli believed, that expansion would only happen as God overthrew the church’s enemies. He cast that divine rescue as the “splendid banner” that, being seen by all people, would cause them to be astonished (Ps. 86). As God strengthened and delivered his people by the power of his hand, then the nations would see and know, then the church’s witness to their own enemies and to the nations would be compelling.
As Psalm 126 puts it, “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with shouts of joy. Then it was said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’ The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad.”
Vermigli wasn’t really interested in what we now call missions. I doubt that he had any concrete plan in mind for reaching unreached people groups. He wasn’t thinking about sending agencies or support raising or the complexities of cross-cultural ministry. In terms of ministry energy, he was more focused on the lost around him—the millions of people placing their hope in a false gospel—than he was on converting China or India. But make no mistake, he earnestly prayed that the Lord would bring reform to the church and end its suffering at the hand of its enemies so that the ends of the earth might hear the Gospel preached and turn to Christ in faith.
We live in the wake of Vermigli’s prayers, and many of us enjoy remarkable freedom in sharing the Gospel as we go about our ways. We get to follow both the general and specific calls that God has set upon us without fearing exile, imprisonment, or execution. Thank God for his mercies.
Being a Christian isn’t easy and there’s suffering to be had, even in the land of plenty. But let’s remember the divine faithfulness that has time and again met the church in its need. Let’s testify to that faithfulness as we bear witness to what God has done and trust that he will be there in the future.
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