Sunday 1st August, 2010
The Ninth Sunday After Trinity
Catechism Prayers: The Lord's Prayer
By Bishop Thomas Ken (1637-1711)
These Prayers are taken from "The Practice Of Divine Love" by Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath And Wells under King Charles II. They are intended to help in the study of the Prayer Book Catechism.
Questions From The Catechism
Q. My good child, know this, that thou art not able to do these things of thyself,
nor to walk in the commandments of God, and to serve Him without His especial grace,
which thou must learn at all times to call for by diligent prayer. Let me hear, therefore,
if thou canst say the Lord's Prayer.
A. Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will
be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day' our daily bread. And forgive
us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Q. What desirest thou of God in this prayer?
A. I desire my Lord God, our heavenly Father, who is the giver of all goodness, to
send His grace unto me and to all people, that we may worship Him, serve Him, and
obey Him, as. we ought to do. And I pray unto God, that He will send us all things
that be needful both for our souls and bodies; and that He will be merciful unto
us, and forgive us our sins; and that it will please Him to save and defend us in
all dangers, both of soul and body; and that He will keep us from all sin and wickedness,
and from our spiritual enemy, and from everlasting death. And this I trust He will
do of His mercy and goodness, through our Lord Jesus Christ; and therefore I say,
Amen, so be it.
Previous Considerations
O INFINITE Love, it is my duty and my happiness to love Thee; but, alas, my own sad experience teaches me how little I am able to love.
Our Impotence To Good
Ah, Lord, there is a dark cloud spread over my soul, that intercepts Thy beams. I cannot clearly see, I cannot fully know, how lovely Thou art.
Ah, Lord, whenever any gleams of Thy loveliness break in upon my spirit and attract my will, a crowd of strange loves importune and tempt me to wander after them.
God Is Our Refuge
Since, O my God, I can of myself neither know nor love Thee: since I cannot by my own strength do "those things Thou requirest, nor walk in Thy commandments, nor serve Thee," nor think so much as one good thought; (2 Cor 3:5) whither can I fly, but only to Thy free and unbounded love? Thou art my hope, my help, and my salvation; (Psalm 62:7; John 15:4-5.) Thou only canst teach and enable me to know and to love Thy own goodness.
Our Assistance From God
By Thy special grace, O my God, by Thy particular assistance, by the strength of Thy love, "I can do all things" (Eph 3:16; Phil 4:13).
O, let Thy grace ever enlighten and inflame me; let it ever prevent, and accompany, and follow me; let it ever excite, and increase, and support Thy love in my heart. O, let it ever work in me both "to will and to do of Thy good pleasure" (Phil 2:13).
Gained By Prayer
I know, Lord, that Thy grace, and all other blessings, "I must learn at all times to call for by diligent prayer;" and I adore and love Thy infinite benignity to sinners, in indulging us the privilege, the honour, the happiness, to pray to Thee, (Rom 10:13) to pour out our souls, to breathe out our desires, to present our wants, and to unbosom our griefs, at Thy throne of love.
Encouragements To Pray
I PRAISE and I love Thee, O sovereign Love, for not only permitting us miserable wretches to pray to Thee, but also for giving us all imaginable encouragement to so important and divine a duty.
I ADORE and love Thee, O munificent Goodness, for inviting (Psalm 50:15), for commanding us to pray (Phil 4:6).
I adore and love Thee for pouring out Thy Holy "Spirit of grace and supplication" (Zech 12:10) on us, to help our infirmities, to assist us in praying, to make "intercessions for us, with sighs and groans that cannot be uttered," (Rom 8:26) with the utmost ardours of a penitential and indigent love.
I adore and love Thee for giving us so many glorious promises (Matt 7:7) of hearing our prayers, so many firm assurances of a gracious acceptance.
A Pattern Of Prayer
O THOU great Prophet of Divine Love, who, as if Thy invitation, and command, and assistance, and promise, were not enough to move us to pray, hast condescended to teach us this duty Thyself, and to give us a perfect pattern of prayer; for which I adore and love Thee.
A Form Most Condescending
Glory be to Thee, O blessed Master of devotion, who, in dictating a form of prayer, and enjoining us to use it (Matt 6:7-9; Luke 11:2), hast complied with our weakness, and warned us not to rely on rash and unpremeditated effusions; who, in dictating a short form, hast taught us to avoid "vain repetitions," or "thinking we shall be heard for much speaking," and to measure our prayers rather by their fervency than length.
Most divine
That prayer, which was composed by Thy own Self, O God, that hearest prayer, we are sure is most divine and excellent, and perfect like its Author, and most agreeable and acceptable to Thee; for which I adore and love Thee.
Most acceptable
O BLESSED Jesus, the only beloved of God, Thou best understandest the language of love, and in that language Thou hast taught us to pray; and whenever we pray in that language, we have an humble confidence Thy heavenly Father will hear us, who with the words of His own beloved Son will ever be well pleased; and therefore I adore and love Thee.
Necessity Of Prayer
Thou, O heavenly guide of our devotion and our love, by teaching us to pray hast showed us that prayer is our treasury where all blessings are kept, our armoury where all our strength and weapons are stored, the only great preservative, and the very vital heat of divine love. Give me grace, therefore, to call on Thee at all times by diligent prayer.
The Misery Of Those Who Do Not Pray
O, the unspeakable misery of those who either totally neglect the duty of prayer (Ps 10:4), or else profane it by drawing near to God with their lips, when their hearts are far removed from Him; whose prayers, being void of all devotion and concern, are turned into fresh sins (Ps 109:7).
How deservedly shall he have God for his enemy, who would not beg pardon of a most reconcilable Father! How deservedly shall he suffer eternal wrath, who thought heaven not worth the asking!
Prayer Ought To Be Daily
O my God, let me daily offer up to Thee my morning and evening sacrifice (Ps 5:3; Ps 141:2) in private, and in public too, if my circumstances permit; and as near as I can, let me omit no opportunities of praying, or of praising Thee.
Incessant
O my God, may I ever "keep myself in Thy love, by praying in the Holy Ghost," (Jude 20-21) and by "praying without ceasing," (1 Thess 5:17) since I incessantly want the succours of Thy love.
Ah, Lord, I know my devotion has daily many unavoidable and necessary interruptions, and I cannot always be actually praying; all I can do is, to beg of Thy love to keep my heart always in a habitual disposition to devotion, and in mindfulness of Thy divine presence, that I may perpetuate my prayer by frequent ejaculations.
Joined With Reading And Meditation
O my God, as Thy infinite love is ever streaming in blessings on me, O, let my soul be ever breathing love to Thee.
O God, to prayer, whereby I address Thee, give me grace to add the daily reading and meditation of Thy word (Psalm 1:2), whereby Thou art pleased to converse with me.
It is of thy abundant love to us, O Lord, that Thou indulgest us Thy word in thy own mother-tongue, that from those dear volumes of Thy love every devout lover may daily, and on all occasions, supply proper fuel to his love; for which all love, all glory, be to Thee.
The Method Of Prayer
I adore and love Thee, O heavenly Oracle of love, for contriving this prayer in that admirable method: that Thou hast withal taught us all the requisites of an acceptable prayer. Thou, in the preface, hast taught us "how to pray;" in the petitions, for what to pray; and in the conclusion, what ought to be the end of our prayers: for which I adore and love Thee.
Father
The Preface Teacheth Us How To Pray. To Whom. To God Only.
GLORY be to Thee, O Jesu, who hast teacheth how to taught us to whom to direct our prayers; to God only, (Psalm 65:2) since He only is omniscient to know, and all-sufficient to succour us in all our necessities.
For Jesus' sake
Glory be to Thee, who hast taught us for whose sake only we can hope to be heard, even for Thy own, O blessed Jesus; for it is through Thy alone mediation (John 16:23; Eph 1:6; Eph 2:18) that we sinners can call God Father, or have access to His throne.
With The Affections Of A Child
Glory be to Thee, O beloved Jesu, who, in teaching us to call God Father, hast taught us to pray with the affections of a child, with reverential love, and reliance on the paternal care, and benignity, and love, of our heavenly Father (Isaiah 63:15-16; Luke 11:13; Mal 1:6).
Our Father
Of A Brother
GLORY be to Thee, O Lord, who in teaching me to call God our Father, hast taught me not to confine my charity to myself, but to pray also with the affections of a brother, and to enlarge it (Eph 4:1; 1 Pet 3:8) to all mankind, who are children by creation, to all Christians, who are children by adoption, of the same heavenly Father. O give me that brotherly kindness to them all, that I may beg the same blessings for them as for myself, and earnestly pray that they may all share with me in Thy fatherly love.
Which art in heaven
With The Humility Of A Suppliant
GLORY be to Thee, O Thou Beloved of the Father, who in teaching us to pray to "our Father in heaven," hast taught me the infinite distance between God and us, and to pray with the humility of a suppliant (Eccles 5:1; Heb 12:28-29), with that awe that becomes a frail creature, a miserable sinner, before his Creator and his Judge.
O Father Almighty, though Thou fillest all places,yet Thy glory is most manifested in heaven, and There Thy majesty does most illustriously dwell, and to Thy throne there (Psalm 40:4; Is 57:15) are we to lift up our hearts when we pray. O, let my soul fly up to Thee, when I pray, in heavenly thoughts and desires and love. O, let me savour nothing of the earth, whenever I treat with Thee in heaven.
Petitions In General Teach Us To Pray For Things Lawful
Glory be to Thee, O gracious Lord, who, hast taught us for what we are to pray: for things lawful. all blessings, temporal and eternal; for all things lawful, "and according to Thy will" (1 John 5:14-15).
And In What Order
Glory be to Thee, O Jesu, who, in ranking the petitions for spiritual blessings first, hast taught us to seek heaven in the first place (Mt 6:33). Grant, Lord, that I may always beg Thy blessings in their due order; that I may pray for blessings spiritual with holy violence (Mt 11:12), with importunity, and resolution not to be denied, as being the proper ingredients of thy Love, and absolutely necessary to my eternal welfare (Gen 32:26); and for temporal with indifference and resignation to Thy will, since I may love Thee, and be eternally happy without them.
Hallowed be Thy name
In Particular For Blessings Spiritual Relating To God
O LORD God, may "Thy name," (Gen 32:26; Ps 8:1, Ps 8:9; Ps 11:9) Thy own glorious and amiable Self, have a love and honour separate and incommunicable.
May thy infinite goodness and greatness be for ever, by all men and all angels, confessed, and admired, and adored, and magnified (Ps 148), both in private and public, in our hearts, our mouths, and our lives.
All creatures share in Thy goodness, O God (Ps 114:9-10): O let all creatures help us to glorify Thy name. "O, may every thing that hath breath praise the Lord!"
Thy kingdom come
O THOU King of kings, may "Thy kingdom of grace" (Luke 1:32; Matt 3:2; Col 1:13), the Church militant, the catholic seminary of divine love, come to its utmost evangelical perfection in this life.
O, may Thy gospel, Lord, be daily propagated, unbelieving nations converted (Is 2:2-3), and the number of Thy saints augmented.
Grant, O Lord God, that Thy true religion, Thy worth, Thy conveyances of grace, all the holy institutions, laws, and governors, fixed by Thee in Thy spiritual kingdom (Jn 17:36), may be loved, and honoured, and obeyed; and that Thy faithful subjects may be protected against all the malice of wicked men, or the powers of darkness (1 Pet 3:13; Mt 7:28-29).
O my God, let it be Thy good pleasure to put a period to sin and misery, to infirmity and death; to complete the number of Thine elect, and to hasten Thy kingdom of glory (2 Pet 1:2); that I, and all that wait for Thy salvation, may, in the Church triumphant, eternally love and glorify Thee.
Thy Will Be Done In Earth, As It Is In Heaven
O MY God, Thy will and Thy commands "are most holy, just, and good" (Rom 7:12), and condescending to our weakness, and by no means grievous (1 Jn 5:3). O, give me grace conscientiously to observe them.
Thy blessed angels, O Lord, "always behold Thy face in heaven" (Mt 18:10); they have the beatific vision of Thy incomparable amiableness; they cannot but unalterably choose Thee; they must needs, to the utmost of their capacity, praise and love Thee; they cannot possibly offend Thee (Ps 103:20); they ever perfectly obey Thee, and are always upon the wing at Thy command.
Lord, give me grace, in imitation of the blessed spirits above, to set Thee always before me; O, fix my serious contemplation on Thee.
Ravish my soul with a lively sense of Thy infinite amiableness; O, vouchsafe me one short glimpse of Thy goodness. O, may I once "taste and see how gracious Thou art" (Ps 34:8), that all things besides Thee may be tasteless to me; that my desires may always fly up towards Thee; that I may render the love, and praise, and obedience, pure and cheerful, constant and zealous, universal and uniform, like that the holy angels render Thee in heaven.
Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread
Petitions Relating To Ourselves
GLORY be to Thee, O heavenly Benefactor, "who openest Thy hand, and fillest all things living with plenteousness" (Ps 114:16).
O let it be Thy good pleasure to give me, and all that wait on Thy beneficent love, our food in due season; "give us bread," and all that is comprehended by it, health, food, raiment, and all the necessaries of life.
Give us, O heavenly Father, "daily bread"; nothing to gratify our luxury, but such a competence (Prov 30:8-9) as Thy divine wisdom sees fittest for us.
Give us, O bountiful Creator, "daily bread" this day; teach us to live without covetous anxiety for to-morrow, with a fiducial dependence on Thy fatherly goodness, and to be content and thankful for the present portion (1 Tim 4:4; 1 Tim 6:6; 1 Pet 5:7) Thy love has indulged us.
O merciful Lord, give us "our bread," that which is our own bread by honest labour (Gen 3:19; Deut 22:17) or a lawful title; and grant that we may never eat the bread of idleness or of deceit.
Do Thou, Lord, give us our bread; for unless Thou givest it, we cannot have it; and together with our bread give us Thy blessing (Eccles 5:19; Mic 6:14), otherwise our very bread will not nourish us.
Above all, O Lord God, give us the bread of life, the bread that came down from heaven, the body and blood of Thy most blessed Son, to feed our souls to life eternal.
Blessed Jesus, O, that it might be "my meat," as it was thine, "to do the will of Thy heavenly Father" (Jn 4:34).
And Forgive Us Our Trespasses, As We Forgive Them That Trespass Against Us
FOR Thine own infinite mercies' sake, and for the merits of the Son of Thy love, "forgive me" and all penitent sinners "our trespasses," our sins, known or secret, of omission or commission, which are the vast debts (Matt 6:12; Luke 11:4) we owe to Thy vindictive† justice.
† Ed.— "Vindictive" as in one who "vindicates" (upholds) those we have injured, not in the modern sense of malicious and spiteful.
"Forgive us," O Lord, "as we forgive all them," even our greatest enemies, that "trespass against us," their trespasses, which are infinitely inconsiderable in comparison of our trespasses against Thee.
Glory be to Thee, O Lord, who, to teach us charity, hast made our forgiveness of others the condition of obtaining Thine.
O easy, O gracious condition of pardon! Who would not forgive his brother a few pence in this life to have "ten thousand talents" (Mt 18:22-28) forgiven in the next!
O, let my love, Lord, learn from thine, not only to forgive my enemies, but to be zealous also to do them good.
And Lead Us Not Into Temptation
O LORD God, Thou seest how our spiritual enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil, are every moment soliciting, enticing, alluring, or tempting us to evil. O, be merciful to us, save, and help, and deliver us.
Thou seest, O my God, how infirm I am, and how ready my own deceitful heart is (Jer 17:9) to surrender itself to the tempter; and I know that Satan cannot tempt me without Thy permission (Mt 8:31). O, lead me not, if it be Thy good pleasure, suffer me not to fall into violent or lasting temptations, that may endanger my perseverance.
I know, O heavenly Father, that to be tempted is no sin, for Thy own beloved Son, God incarnate, was tempted (Mt 4:1-9) to the most horrid of all sins, to fall and worship the very devil; I know, Lord, the sin lies in yielding to the temptation.
O my God, if Thou, for trial of my love, lead me into any great temptation, and let me continue under it, Thy will, Lord, be done, not mine (Matt 4:1, Matt 4:9 1 Cor 10:13; 1 Pet 5:8; 2 Cor 12:7-9; Jas 4:7).
O, let Thy paternal tenderness limit and control the tempter; O, let Thy all-sufficient grace restrain my consent, and keep me always on my guard, watching and praying, and let me at last be more than conqueror.
I am content, Lord, to be tried and assaulted, so I be not wicked, though it be grievous for those that love Thee to be tempted to offend Thee.
But Deliver Us From Evil
O FATHER of mercy, if Thou thinkest fit to "lead me into temptation, deliver me from the evil" to which I am tempted: deliver me from the evil of sin, and the evil of punishment, from the evil one (1 John 2:14), from the evil world (Gal 1:4), and from my own evil heart (Heb 3:12), and from all suggestions to evil; for all that is evil is most hateful to Thee, who art infinite goodness, and most destructive of Thy love. And therefore from all that is evil, O Almighty Lord, defend me.
For Thine Is The Kingdom, The Power, And The Glory, For Ever And Ever
I ADORE and love Thee, O Jesu, who, by concluding this prayer with a doxology, hast taught us, that the right end of our prayers should be the glory of God, that we should be ever careful to mix praise with our prayers, and to be as zealous to give thanks for what we receive (Phil 4:6; Neh 9:5-6), as to pray for what we want.
To Thee, O Lord God, do we pray; on Thee only we rely and depend for acceptance; to Thee only we offer up our praises; for "Thine is the kingdom" (Ps 47:2; Ps 47:7), and sovereign right to dispose of all things; Thine is "the power" (Ps 135:6) almighty to relieve and bless us; "Thine is the glory" (Ps 96:7-8). All the communications of Thy goodness, as they flow from Thee, return to Thee again in sacrifices of love, of praise and adoration.
Amen
FOR the sake, O heavenly Father, of thy Beloved (2 Cor 1:20; Rev 3:14), in whom all "Thy promises are Amen," and who is himself "the Amen, the faithful and the true Witness" of Thy love to us; hear me and pardon my wanderings and coldness, and help me to sum up and enforce my whole prayer, all my own wants, and all the wants of those I pray for, in a hearty, and fervent, and comprehensive Amen.
