Skip to main content

"For the use of all Christians": a short catechesis on the Lord's Prayer

Richard Warner in his The Sermon on the mount; in five discourses (1840) - five sermons preached "on several successive Sunday afternoons" - offers a short catechesis on the Lord's Prayer, "that simple but sublime, that short but comprehensive, form of supplication adapted, and intended, for the use of all Christians", recognising its significance as a mainstay of popular Christian and Prayer Book piety and devotion:

Commencing with an ejaculation to "the high and lofty one, that inhabiteth eternity" - the author and preserver of universal being -under the endearing name of "Our Father" - a name which embraces every idea of love; compassion; kindness; protection; long-suffering and forgiveness - this holy form of supplication goes on to combine and recognize, in a few sentences, all our duties to God and man - "Hallowed be thy Name: thy Kingdom come: thy will be done in earth as it is in Heaven" - is a paragraph, which includes our obligation to worship the Most High, in "the beauty of holiness"; and to glorify his name, by a conscientious obedience, to all his revealed commandments - "Give us this day (or, day by day) our daily bread", implies an acknowledgment of our entire dependence upon God, for life, and breath, and all things: which supplicates for a continuance of those "good gifts" which are needful to us, for our support and comfort: and conveys an indirect lesson to us, of gratitude for God's mercies: and resignation and contentment, under his appointments - "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us" binds upon our consciences, the duties of placability; compassion; and forgiveness of offence, to those who have injured or offended us; under the awful penalty, of God's condemnation resting upon our own guilty heads, if we, "from our hearts, forgive not, everyone his brother, their trespasses" - "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" is a supplication for the assistance of the Holy Spirit, to preserve us from being exposed to the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the Devil; and , if assailed by them, to be preserved uninjured by the assault; and rendered triumphant in the conflict - and the sublime conclusion of the Prayer  - "for thine is the Kingdom: and the Power: and the Glory: for ever and ever. Amen" - directs the mind of the supplicant, to a devout acknowledgment, and contemplation, of the glorious attributes of the Being he is addressing: "whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom", the blessed future residence, of penitent sinners, redeemed by the blood of his adorable Son : whose power, unlimited and irresistible, is "able to save", and will save, "to the uttermost", those who labour to ensure its protecting mercy: and whose glory, though " high above the Heavens", condescends to receive some of its rays, from the earth, in the salvation of Mankind, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why I support the ordination of women: a High Church reflection

A number of commenters on this blog have asked about my occasional expressions of support for the ordination of women to all three orders.  With some hesitation, I have decided to post a summary of my own views on this matter.  The hesitation is because I have sought on this blog to focus on issues and themes which can unify those who identify with or have respect (grudging or otherwise!) for what we might term 'classical' Anglicanism (the Anglicanism of the Formularies and - yes - of the Old High Church tradition).  Some oppose the ordination of women (and I have friends and colleagues who do so, Anglo-Catholic, High Church, and Reformed Evangelical).  Some of us support it (again, friends and colleagues covering a wide range of theological traditions). Below, I have organised my thinking around 5 points (needless to say, no reference to Dort is implied). 1. The Declaration for Subscription required of clergy in the Church of Ireland states: (6) I promise to submit ...
25 comments
Read more

How the Old High tradition continued

Charles Gore's 1914 letter to the clergy of his diocese, ' The Basis of Anglican Fellowship ', can be regarded as a classical expression of the Prayer Book Catholic tradition.  A key part of the letter - entitled 'Romanizing in the Church of England' - addressed the "Catholic movement", questioning beliefs and practices within it which tended to "a position which makes it very difficult for its extremer representatives to give an intelligible reason why they are not Roman Catholics".  Gore provides the outlines of an alternative account and experience of catholicity within Anglicanism, defined by three characteristics.  What is particularly interesting about these characteristics is their continuity with the older High Church tradition.  Indeed, the central characteristic as set out by Gore was integral to High Church claims over centuries: To accept the Anglican position as valid, in any sense, is to appeal behind the Pope and the authority of t...
19 comments
Read more

Pride, progressive sectarianism, and TEC on Facebook

Let me begin this post with an assumption that will be rejected by some readers of laudable Practice , but affirmed by other readers. Observing Pride is an understandable aspect of the public ministry of TEC.  On previous occasions , I have rather robustly called for TEC to be much more aware and respectful of the social conservatism of the Red states and regions in which it ministers. A failure to do so risks TEC declining yet further into the irrelevance of progressive sectarianism.  At the same time, TEC also obviously ministers in deep Blue states and metropolitan areas - and is the only Mainline Protestant tradition in which a majority of its members vote Democrat .* With Pride now an established civic commemoration, particularly in such contexts, there is a case for TEC affirming those aspects of Pride - the dignity of gay men and lesbian women, their contribution to civic life, and their place in the church's life - which cohere with a Christian moral vision. (I will n...
4 comments
Read more