Friday 30th July, 2010
The Eighth Sunday After Trinity
Evensong
The Apostles’ Creed1
The shall be said or sung2 the Apostles' Creed, by the Minister and the people standing.3
Apostles Creed
I BELIEVE4 in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth Ps 33:6: And in Jesus Christ his only Son 1 Jn 4:9 our Lord Eph 4:4-6: Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary5 Lk 1:26-38: Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Mk 15:15 Was crucified,6 dead, Mk 15:33-39 and buried Mk 15:42-47: He descended into hell 1 Pet 3:18-20 Acts 2:27 Art. III; The third day he rose again from the dead Mk 16:1-8: He ascended into heaven, Acts 1:6-11 And sitteth on the right hand7 of God the Father Almighty Heb 1:3-4: From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead Rom 2:14-16. I believe in the Holy Ghost: The holy Catholick Church; The Communion of Saints8 Heb 12:1 Rev 7:9-17: The Forgiveness of sins9 1 Jn 1:5-10: The Resurrection of the body, 1 Cor 15:20-22 Rom 6:5 And the Life everlasting10 Rom 8:18 2 Cor 5:1-5. Amen.
Back to top of pageThe Responses
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After that these Prayers following, all devoutly kneeling:11 the Minister first pronouncing with a loud voice,12 
The Lord be with you. Then the Minister, Clerks, and people shall say the Lord's Prayer with a loud voice. 
OUR FatherRom 8:14-17 Gal 4:1-7, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name.Lev 23:32 Ez 36:22-23 Rom 2:17-24 Thy kingdom come.Lk 11:20 Mk 1:14 1 Cor 11:26 Thy will be done in earth, As it is in heaven.Mk 14:35-36 Give us this day our daily bread.Jn 6:56-58 And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against usMk 11:25 Mt 18:21. And lead us not into temptation,1 Cor 10:13 Jas 1:12-15 But deliver us from evil.Gal 1:3-4 O Lord, shew thy mercy upon us. |
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The Collects13
Then shall follow three Collects; the first of the day;14 The second for Peace; The third for Aid against all Perils, as hereafter followeth : which two last Collects shall be daily said at Evening Prayer without alteration.
A Collect for The Eighth Sunday After Trinity
The Second Collect at Evening Prayer15
O GOD, from whom all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works do proceed Jn 15:5; Give unto thy servants that peace which the world cannot give Jn 14:27; that both our hearts may be set to obey thy commandments, and also that by thee, we, being defended from the fear of our enemies, may pass our time in rest and quietness; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.
The Third Collect,16 for Aid against all Perils
LIGHTEN our darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord 1 Jn 1:5 Eph 5:14; and by thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night; for the love of thy only Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Back to top of pageThe Anthem17
In Quires and Places where they sing here followeth the Anthem.
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A Prayer for the Queen's Majesty18
Then19 these five Prayers following are to be read here: Except when the Litany is read; and then only the two last are to be read, as they are there placed.
A Prayer for the Queen's Majesty.
O LORD, our heavenly Father, the high and mighty, Neh 10:9 King of kings, Lord of lords, 1 Tim 6:15 the only Ruler of princes, who dost from thy throne behold all the dwellers upon earth Ps 33:13; Most heartily we beseech thee with thy favour to behold our most gracious Sovereign Lady, Queen ELIZABETH; and so replenish her with the grace of thy Holy Spirit, that she may always incline to thy will, and walk in thy way. Ps 119:36-37 Endue her plenteously with heavenly gifts; grant her in health and wealth long to live; strengthen her that she may vanquish and overcome all her enemies;20 and finally, after this life, she may attain everlasting joy and felicity; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Back to top of pageA Prayer for the Royal Family21
ALMIGHTY God, the fountain of all goodness, Jas 1:17 we humbly beseech thee to bless Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Charles, Prince of Wales, and the Duchess of Cornwall, and all the Royal Family: Endue them with thy Holy Spirit; enrich them with thy heavenly grace; prosper them with all happiness; and bring them to thine everlasting kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Back to top of pageA Prayer for the Clergy and People22
ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who alone workest great marvels; Exod 34:10 Send down upon our Bishops, and Curates,23 and all Congregations committed to their charge, the healthful Spirit of thy grace; and that they may truly please thee, pour upon them the continual dew of thy blessing. Ps 133:3 Grant this, O Lord, for the honour of our Advocate and Mediator, Jesus Christ. 1 Jn 2:1-2 Amen.
Back to top of pageA Prayer of St Chrysostom24
ALMIGHTY God, who hast given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplications unto thee; and dost promise, that when two or three are gathered together in thy Name thou wilt grant their requests; Fulfil now, O Lord, the desires and petitions of thy servants, as may be most expedient for them; granting us in this world knowledge of thy truth, and in the world to come life everlasting. Amen.
Back to top of pageThe Grace25
2 Corinthians xiii.
THE grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore. Amen.
Back to top of pageA Closing Hymn
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A Closing Organ Voluntary
Präludium und Fuge G-Dur Op. 6:4 (Albrechtsberger) | ||||
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Footnotes
1 "The Apostles’ Creed". A very ancient creed, in this precise form it goes back to the Gallican (French) liturgy of the 8th century, and in a near-identical form to the 4th century. Very similar confessions of faith were popular in the 2nd century.
There are very substantial commentaries on the Apostles' Creed online at Google Books, including Bishop John Pearson's Exposition of the Creed and Bishop William Beveridge's The Church Catechism Explained.
...BELIEVING in one God, the Creator of heaven and earth, and all things therein, by means of Christ Jesus, the Son of God; who, because of His surpassing love towards His creation, condescended to be born of the virgin, He Himself uniting man through Himself to God, and having suffered under Pontius Pilate, and rising again, and having been received up in splendour, shall come in glory, the Saviour of those who are saved, and the Judge of those who are judged, and sending into eternal fire those who transform the truth, and despise His Father and His advent.
THE English Church has given considerable prominence to the Apostles' Creed. It is printed in the Book of Common Prayer seven times. Speaking of this Creed, Bishop Forbes writes, "From the days of St. Paul to this, these articles have been the sum and substance of Christianity. Nothing less than that is sufficient. Nothing more than that is of absolute necessity to sal vation. When a child is baptized, the Church demands no more of him, or of his sponsors, than an assent to the Apostles' Creed and when the Christian soul is going out of the world to meet its Judge, it is in the terms of the same Creed that the dying man is interrogated."
See also this longer extract, from Sparrow's Rationale &c., The Benefits Of Constantly Reciting The Creed
2 "Said or sung". "Said" is technical jargon for "chanted in a plain tune", whereas "sung" indicates a more embellished melody such as a professional singer might attempt.
3 "By the Minister and people standing".
FIT it is that every man, as well as the priest, should bear his part in it, since every man may do it for himself as well, nay, better than the priest can do it for him; for as every man knows best what himself believes, so it is fittest to confess it for himself, and evidence to the Church his sound belief, by expressly repeating of that creed, and every particular thereof, which is and always hath been accounted the mark and character, whereby to distinguish a true believer from an heretic or infidel.
We are required to say the creed standing, by this gesture signifying our readiness to profess, and our resolution to adhere and stand to this holy faith.
In addition to this, it is also proper for all people (including the priest and the choir) to face the altar during the recitation of the Creed, and also to bow slightly at the Name of Jesus.
WHEN we repeat it, it is customary to turn towards the East, that so whilst we are making profession of our faith in the blessed Trinity, we may look towards that quarter of the heavens, where God is supposed to have his peculiar residence of glory.
When we come to the second article in this Creed, in Reverence which the name of Jesus is mentioned, the whole congregation makes obeisance, which the church (in regard to that passage of St. Paul, That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow) expressly enjoins in her eighteenth canon: ordering, that when in time of divine service the Lord Jesus be mentioned, due and lowly reverence shall be done by all persons present, as it has been accustomed; testifying by these outward ceremomes and gestures their inward humility, christian resolution and due acknowledgment, that the Lord Jesus Christ, the true eternal Son of God, is the only Saviour of the world, in whom alone all the mercies, graces, and promises of God to mankind,for this life, and the life to come, are fully and wholly comprised.
THERE are two customs connected with the recitation of the Creed which require notice; the one, that of turning to the East, or towards the Altar, in saying it; the other, tbat of bowing at the holy Name of Jesus. Both of these customs are relics of habit which have only ceased to be universal (in tbe English Church, at least) in very modern times.
Clergy and people used formerly to look one way throughout the prayers and Creeds, that is, towards the Altar. "In some Churches," writes Thorndike, "the desk for the Prayer Book looks towards the Chancel; and for reading of Lessons we are directed to look towards the people. As the Jews in their prayers looked towards the Mercy-seat or principal part of the Temple (Ps. xxviii. 2), so Christians looked towards the Altar or chief part of the Church, whereof their Mercy-seat was but a type. Christ in His prayer directs us to Heaven, though God be every where; for Heaven is His throne, and we look toward that part of the church which most resembles it. Herein we correspond to the Jewish practice."
AMBROSE [of Milan, ?339-397] says, "Thou art turned to the East: for he that renounces the devil, turns unto Christ;" intimating that turning to the East, or rising sun, was considered as a conversion from Satan unto Christ; a change from darkness unto light: from serving idols to worship the fountain of light, the sun of righteousness.
4 "I believe".
IT should be remembered, that our Creed does not, like our prayers, run in the plural number. The Minister does not say in the name of the congregation, "We believe;" but he for himself, and every individual for himself, is directed to say, "I believe." We may, and in Holy Scripture we are often admonished, to pray for one another: But every man must believe for himself, and ought to make the profession of his belief with his own mouth, since every one is to be justified and saved by his own faith, and not by the faith of others. Let none of the people imagine, if they hear the Minister repeat it, and themselves say Amen, that this is sufficient; for every member of the congregation is as much concerned in the rehearsal of it, as the Minister himself.
5 "Born of the Virgin Mary". Bishop William Beveridge explains an important theological belief, that Mary is called Mother of God, a term enshrined in the Third Ecumenical Council, held at Ephesus in 431. His account is particularly important for the light it sheds on how authority is measured in classical Anglicanism.
THE Council, for the determination of this question, did not only consult the several texts in Scripture relating to our blessed Saviour, but considered likewise in what sense those places had been understood by the catholic Church before that time; for which end they caused the Nicene Creed, and several passages out of St. Cyprian, St. Basil, Athanasius, Gregory Nazianzen, and many others, to be read in council.
And from thence they gathered, and therefore pronounced, that according to the Scriptures, as interpreted by the catholic Church, Christ, though he have two natures, yet he is but one person, and by consequence that the Virgin Mary might properly be called Θεοτόκος,† because the same person who was born of her is truly God as well as man: which being once determined by an universal Council to be the true sense and meaning of the Scriptures in this point, hath been acknowledged by the universal Church ever since, till this time.
† "Theotókos", God-bearer, Mother of God.
6 "Was crucified". Docetism, a very ancient heresy, claimed that Christ only appeared to be a fleshly human being, and that he did not really die on the cross. But if he did not truly die, he did not rise from the dead; and then how can he truly raise us from the dead (cf. 1 Cor 15:12-10)?
STOP your ears, therefore, when any one speaks to you at variance with Jesus Christ, who was descended from David, and was also of Mary; who was truly born, and did eat and drink. He was truly persecuted under Pontius Pilate; He was truly crucified, and [truly] died, in the sight of beings in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth. He was also truly raised from the dead, His Father quickening Him, even as after the same manner His Father will so raise up us who believe in Him by Christ Jesus, apart from whom we do not possess the true life.
7 "At the right hand".
ACCORDING as He prayed also when He was upon earth, "Father, I will that they also whom Thou hast given Me be with Me where I am" (John 17:24). This intercession, I believe, Jesus Christ is continually making in Heaven for all His faithful people upon earth. For He was not only set there at first, but, as it is in the Creed, "He sitteth at the right hand of God:" He sitteth there at this time, and at all times continually: and so never ceaseth to make intercession for us: but we may always say, "He now appeareth in the presence of God for us."
Hence it is, that although the Almighty Creator and Governor of the world be continually offended by all men upon earth; yet He is good and kind unto them all: but infinitely gracious and merciful to such as repent and believe the Gospel, because they have a Mediator or Advocate sitting continually at His right hand, and interceding there so effectually for them, that their sins are all pardoned, and God is perfectly reconciled to them.
8 "Communion of saints". The fact that the Church of England does not encourage addressing petitions to the saints does not, at all, mean that we are oblivious of the communion of saints, i.e. the company of those who have died in the faith of Christ. We are obliged by this article of the creed to recognise that they are alive, and praising God even now.
FOR this honour also have all the saints, that all the honour done to them, all the honour done by them, by the saints in earth to the saints in heaven, all the virtues of the one, all the praises of the other, are to the honour, and praise, and glory of God, in all the "congregations of the saints," whether in heaven or earth.
It is not fit, therefore, any of them should be forgotten, from whose memories God receives so much; not reasonable to deny them any honour that so redounds to God's. The Psalm (Ps 149:9) gives them it, and the day gives them it; God says they shall have this honour, and the Church this day pays it, and we must pay it, if we honour either him or her, God or the Church, or father or mother; pay it to them all — to all to whom it is due, all honour that is due.
9 "Forgiveness of sins".
THE third part of repentance is faith, whereby we do apprehend and take hold upon the promises of God, touching the free pardon and forgiveness of our sins: which promises are sealed up unto us, with the death and bloodshedding of his son Jesu Christ.
For what should avail and profit us to be sorry for our sins, to lament and bewail that we have offended our most bounteous and merciful Father, or to confess and acknowledge our offences and trespasses, though it be done never so earnestly, unless we do steadfastly believe, and be fully persuaded, that God, for his son Jesuss Christ's sake, will forgive us all our sins, and put them out of remembrance, and from his sight?
10 "Life everlasting".
IS not this a salvation, which may well call forth all our strongest efforts, though the gate may be narrow, and the way steep and uneven? What do we behold, what do we hear, which can draw us aside from so glorious a journey, or persuade us to desert our Heavenly Guide, who is leading us forward to happiness and victory?
11 "Devoutly kneeling". Both priest and people are to assume the Prayer Book's standard posture for prayer.
12 "A loud voice". Sometimes, this indicates the opposite of the old secreto, to read privately. However, as this response is evidently addressed to the congregation at large, it must be a translation of another Latin direction, clara vox, clear chanting.
THIS is an ecclesiastical or technical phrase, the explanation of which is to be found in a Rubric before the Te Deum in the previous editions of the Prayer Book: "Then shall be read two Lessons distinctly with a loud voice." "Then shall the Lessons be sung in a plain tune, after the manner of distinct reading; and likewise the Epistle and Gospel." It is the clara vox of older ritualists, and presupposes a musical intonation, with or without inflection, to be the customary way of reciting Divine Service.
13 "The Collects".
THAT the greater part of the Collects retained in the Book of Common Prayer, were the production of the ancient Fathers of the Church, is a consideration, which to the pious Christian will afford satisfaction and delight. In the Collects and Prayers of the Church, we offer up those consecrated devotions, which from the mouths and hearts of holy men, have, from age to age, ascended like the incense up to heaven; and have been a more pleasing and acceptable sacrifice to the Almighty, than "thousands of rams and ten thousands of rivers of oil."
CONCERNING their authors and antiquity, we may observe, that our Church endeavouring to preserve, not only the spirit but the very forms (as much as may be, and in a known tongue) of ancient primitive devotion, hath retained these very Collects (the most of them) among other precious remains of it: for we find, by ancient testimony, that they were composed or ordered, either by St. Ambrose, Gelasius, or Gregory the Great, those holy bishops and fathers of the Church; and therefore, having daily ascended up to heaven like incense from the hearts and mouths of so many saints in the ages since their times, they cannot but be very venerable, and relish well with us, unless our hearts and affections be of a contrary temper.
14 "Of the day". That is, the Collect for the day according to the Calendar, which on "ferial" (free) days will simply be the Collect for the most recent Sunday.
THE first in order among the Collects is that for the day. Now as on every day or season there is something more particularly commended to our meditations by the Church; so the first Collect reflects chiefly upon that, though sometimes more generally upon the whole matter of the Epistle and Gospel, desiring inspiration, strength, and protection from God Almighty, in the practice and pursuance of what is set before us. But concerning the matter of the Collects for the day, is spoken afterward in the particular account that is given of each Epistle, Gospel, and Collect.
15 "Second Collect". Like that of Morning Prayer, a prayer from peace taken from the Gelasian Sacramentary (5th century).
THE second Collect is for peace, according to St. Paul's direction, 1 Tim. ii. 1, 2, and orbem pacatum, that the world might be quiet, was ever a clause in the prayers of the primitive Church; and good reason, for peace was our Lord's legacy — My peace I leave with you; His new year's gift — pax in terris, Xenium Christi. He prayed for peace, paid for peace, wept for it, bled for it: peace should therefore be dear to us, all kind of peace, outward peace and all: for if there be not a quiet and peaceable life, there will hardly be godliness and honesty (1 Tim 2:2). This Collect then is fit to be said daily, being a prayer for peace, and so is that which follows.
THIS prayer is the Collect of the same Missa pro pace, of which the Morning Collect for Peace is the " Post-Communion." It also was used at Lauds, at Vespers, and in the Litany in the ancient Services: and dates from the Sacramentary of Gelasius, A.d. 494.
Coming as it originally did, at the close of Evensong, it formed a sweet cadence of prayer, fitly concluding with the following short but touching collect. It follows up very exactly the tone of the Nunc Dimittis, and rings with a gentle echo of the peace that lies beyond this world, as well as of the peace which the world cannot give, nor the soul entirely receive while it is in the world. In the morning collect the tone of the prayer was that of one who asks God of His mercy to bless and co-operate with his own in their strife against spiritual foes: but in the evening the words are more those of one who is no longer able to strive against his enemies, but looks to his Lord God alone to be his defence and his shield.
BETWEEN the second and third Collect at Evening Prayer, Bishop Cosin wished to insert the second of the Collects appended to the Communion Service, "O Almighty Lord, and everlasting God," [here] under the title of "The Collect for grace and protection," but the alteration was rejected. The idea seems to have been taken from the York Litany.
16 "Third Collect". Taken from Compline in the Sarum Use, and ultimately from the 5th century Gelasian Sacramentary.
THE third, for grace to live well: for if there be not peace with God by an holy life, there will never be peace in the world. No man can so much as think a good thought, much less lead a godly life, without the grace of God; therefore that is also prayed for, together with God's protection for the day or night following.
THIS prayer is of equal antiquity with the preceding: and is expressly appointed to be used at Evening Prayer in the Sacramentary of Gelasius. It was taken into our Evensong from the Compline of the Salisbury Use. Here again the Nunc Dimittis is followed up in its tone: but the words are taken almost literally from the Psalms, which have been the great storehouse of Prayer as well as Praise to the Church of all ages.
17 "The Anthem". The direction to sing an anthem at this point was inserted for the 1662 Book. However, the practice was already well established.
THE 24th [of March], being Midlent Sunday, Dr. Sandys, bishop of Worcester, preached at St. Paul's Cross in his habit; the mayor and aldermen present, with the earl of Bedford, and divers other persons of quality: as was customary in these times for the nobility and court to resort to these sermons.
The same day, in the afternoon, bishop Barlow, one of king Edward's bishops, now bishop of Chichester, preached in his habit before the queen. His sermon ended at five of the clock: and presently after her chapel went to evening song: the cross, as before, standing on the altar, and two candlesticks, and two tapers burning in them: and, service concluded, a good anthem was sung.
At this time, the service in the 1559 Prayer Book finished after the Third Collect ("for Grace"). It was here that an anthem or hymn was sung. The encouragement to sing a free choice of anthem came from Queen Elizabeth herself.
FOR the comforting of such as delight in musick it may be permitted, that in the beginning or at the end of the Common Prayer, either at morning or evening, there may be sung an hymn or such like song to the praise of Almighty God, in the best sort of melody and musick that may be conveniently devised; having respect that the sentence [i. e. sense] of the hymn may be understanded and perceived.
IN its earliest form, the Anthem, or Antiphon, seems to have been a single verse out of any Psalm repeated after the recitation of the Psalm (and, in later times, before its recitation also) with a view of fixing the key-note, so to speak, of the Psalm; of bringing into prominence, and fastening attention upon, some special idea contained within it. In course of time the Antiphons came to be selected, not exclusively from the particular Psalms to which they were affixed. Appropriate passages of Scripture from any part, even short uninspired sentences in prose or verse, came to be similarly applied. ...
OUR Church composers, in casting about for suitable words, seem first to have had recourse to the old Antiphons, many of which they set to music. Other similar brief and characteristic passages of Holy Scripture, Prayers, Hymns, and the like, were speedily selected for the same purpose; but the name "Anthems," whether they happened to have been used as Antiphons or not, equally attached itself to all.
18 "Then". John Henry Blunt took the view that the rubric is a single direction: "In Quires and Places where they sing here followeth the Anthem. Then these five Prayers following are to be read here &c".
Blunt understood this to mean that where there is no quire (i.e. in most parish churches, as opposed to Cathedrals, and Royal and University Chapels) the whole service still ends, as it always did, after the Third Collect. The prayers for the Queen and the Clergy are responsibilities that fall on institutions with some national status.
IT is clear that, the two Rubrics being placed where they are at the same time, the "Then" of the second derives its meaning entirely from the words which immediately precede it in the first Rubric.
From this the conclusion may be drawn that where an Anthem does not follow the third Collect, the five remaining prayers are not to be said, but the Morning Prayer terminated (as it was for a hundred years after the Reformation, by express rule) at the third Collect. This view of the second Rubric is confirmed by the "as they are there placed" which concludes it.
An explanation of such an usage may be found in the difference of position between ordinary parish churches and the churches defined by the expression, "Quires and places where they sing." The latter are of a more representative character than the former, and usually in a more public situation; and in these, the daily commemoration of the Sovereign, the Royal Family, and the Clergy becomes a public duty, in a higher degree than in village churches, or others where the service is usually of a more humble character.
You can see the closing prayers at the Litany here.
19 "A Prayer for the Queen". Cf. 1 Tim 2:1-4.
THIS occurs first in two books of Private Prayers, the one entitled "Psalmes or Prayers taken out of Holye Scripture" (1545—1548), tho other, "Prayers or Meditations ... collected out of holy works by the most virtuous and gracious Princess Katherine [Parr], Queen of England, France, and Ireland. Anno dni 1547." It was also inserted in the Morning Prayer, printed in the Prymer of 1553, as the "Fourth Collect." In Queen Elizabeth's reign (1559) it was placed with other prayers and in its present shape, before the Prayer of St. Chrysostom at the end of the Litany. Our present usage was first adopted in the Form of Prayer for March 24, 1604, commemorating the entry of James I. into England.
It was Bishop Cosin who recommended that their use at Morning and Evening Prayer be made explicit, with one eye on the republican sympathies of what had lately been Oliver Cromwell's Parliament.
THE prayer for the queen and the royal progeny is not authorized by Act of Parliament, but first added by the order and commandment of King James, and since continued by King Charles, with some variation, agreeable to his own time and condition. Which, to free it from any exception that a Parliament might take against it, were not amiss to be here noted by a special rubric in the margin.
The Revd Archibald Alison reminded us that our Constitutional Monarchy envisages not an absolute Ruler or lawmaker with unrestricted powers, but an inspiration and a guide from whom we learn respect and responsibility.
THE attitude, therefore, which becomes him, is not that of the legislator, or the hero, but that of the Father Of His People;—the virtues which suit the majesty of his situation are not those which dazzle, but those which bless mankind;— and the radiance which ought to surround his throne, is not that of personal and dangerous greatness, but that of legitimate power, and paternal authority.
20 "Overcome her enemies". This prayer must be taken to assume that our Monarch has engaged in conflict for worthy causes.
UNDER temporal prosperity the Prayer includes victory over his enemies; "that he may vanquish and subdue all his enemies." By the enemies of the established Church, this and similar passages in our Liturgy have been misrepresented, as recommending aggrandizement and conquest.
On Christian principles, the Church must presuppose, that Christian princes will engage in no wars, which are not undertaken in just and necessary defence.— She knows, that all war, excepting in cases of unjust aggression from abroad, or unnecessary resistance to the measures of government at home, is equally repugnant both to the letter and spirit of the religion taught by Jesus Christ. In her Offices, day by day, she prays for peace. In her Litany, or general Supplication, thrice a week, she deprecates war, and from "battle and murder" entreats deliverance.
Whenever she prays for a blessing on the arms of her sovereign, and for victory over all his enemies, she must be understood to pray for the ends of victory; the preservation of the lawful and just rights of his Majesty and of these Realms, deliverance from the power of enemies, and the restoration of quietness and peace.
21 "For The Royal Family". Added to the Litany, though not as a formal revision, in 1604 on the Accession of King James I. It was brought into Morning and Evening Prayer for the 1662 revision.
THIS Prayer was added to our Liturgy under James I. before whom no Protestant sovereign had issue. At its first appearance it began "Almighty God, which has promised to be a father to thine elect and their seed." These words were perhaps thought too favourable to Calvinistic opinions; for they were afterwards expunged. The present introduction, "Almighty God, the fountain of all goodness," was borrowed from an ancient Saxon Prayer, which is said to have been composed for the coronation of a Queen.
22 "For The Clergy And People". An ancient prayer, going back to the Gelasian Sacramentary (8th century). It was introduced first into the Litany in 1544, and then into the 1662 Prayer Book.
23 "Curates". Not in the sense of a junior or trainee clergyman, but in the sense of any person with the "cure of souls", including all parish clergy.
BY the word Curates, the Church does not mean in particular to describe what the term now generally imports, Assistant Curates, who for a stipend, at present regulated by Act of Parliament, assist the beneficed Clergy in performing the duties of their respective parishes: but by Curates the Church means all those, to whom the Bishop, as chief pastor under Christ, has committed the cure or care of some part of his flock.
Their office is to catechise the young, to instruct the ignorant, to encourage the good, to reprove the wicked, to help the weak-hearted, to comfort the afflicted, to relieve the distressed, to visit the sick, to present the prayers of the congregation, to preach the word of God, to administer the holy Sacraments, and to perform the other rites and ceremonies appointed by the Church. They are required, not only to be diligent in teaching, exhortation, and prayer, and in the study of the Holy Scriptures; but they are likewise to shew themselves a pattern of all Christian virtues and graces, that, both by their doctrine and example, they may be a means of saving the souls committed to their charge.
When we reflect upon the extent and importance of the sacred office, we shall require no farther considerations to induce us to pray for the Clergy, as well knowing that without the grace of God assisting his labours, the best endeavours of the ablest Minister of the Gospel, will be unprofitable and vain.
24 "A Prayer Of St Chrysostom". Taken from the Divine Liturgy (Communion service) of the Greek Church, attributed to St John (?347-407) "Chrysostom" ("Golden-mouth"), the Patriarch of Constantinople from 398. The Liturgy which bears his name is certainly of a much later date, probably the 9th century in its present form. This prayer was brought into the Litany under the auspices of Archbishop Cramer, in 1544. Like the other prayers in this section, it was added into the Prayer Book Morning and Evening services for the revision of 1662.
25 "The Grace". Taken from the morning service of the Mediaeval Church known as Terce, said at the Third Hour (nine o'clock). Initially, it was however placed in the Litany (1559); it was added into Morning and Evening Prayer in 1662.
